The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University has received a $28,910 Matching Grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation to preserve two experimental animated films by artist Rowena Pattee Kryder: Metamorphosis (1962) and Passages (1982).
Kryder (1935–2014) is a largely overlooked figure in postwar experimental animation. Working outside commercial studios, she created films through handmade animation techniques that reflected her interests in consciousness and spirituality. Preserving her work will make it available for research into experimental animation, visual music, women’s filmmaking, and visionary art.
“These visually and sonically astonishing films have been entirely overlooked by historians and exhibitors of independent and experimental animation,” said Michael Metzger, Pick-Laudati Academic Curator for Cinema and Media Arts at The Block. “Partnering with Prof. Jacob Smith on this preservation project will allow us to situate Kryder’s films within fuller histories of experimental film and alternative spirituality, and will bring new audiences to appreciate her expansive artistic vision.”
The grant will allow The Block to preserve two of Kryder’s four known experimental animated films from rare surviving 16mm prints recently recovered from the artist’s estate. Metamorphosis, Kryder’s MFA thesis film, survives as a single known 16mm print. Passages will also be preserved from a 16mm print in the estate.
The preservation process will include high-resolution scanning, color grading, digital cleanup, and audio restoration. New 16mm viewing prints will be produced, along with digital versions for research, public screenings, and venues without 16mm projection capabilities. Once the work is complete, the films will be available for on-site viewing at The Block and for public exhibition in coordination with the Block Cinema team.
Photographs of the film prints of Metamorphosis (1962) and Passages (1982).
The project is led by Metzger and Jacob Smith, professor and associate chair of Northwestern’s Department of Radio/Television/Film. Film preservationist Ross Lipman will coordinate the restoration work. The NFPF grant requires a partial match from the organizing institution; the preservation project is also generously supported by Mark Kryder.
“I’m so grateful to Rowena’s friend Gayle Dulcey, for keeping these unique films safe and sound all these years, and to Rowena’s family, for supporting the restoration project. As a media historian, it was thrilling to discover these precious materials, but without the knowledge and expertise of the team at The Block, I wouldn’t have known how to take the next steps,” said Smith.
Smith researches and teaches the cultural history of media, with a focus on sound and music. His new book, Bridge to an Unseen Shore: New Age Music as Visionary Art (University of California Press, 2026), explores the connections among music, experimental film, and visionary art within the New Age movement of the 1970s and 1980s. That research provides a broader context for understanding Kryder’s films and their engagement with consciousness and spirituality.
The award marks The Block’s second grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation. Its first supported the preservation of three films by Ed Counts, a project that will conclude in December 2026. The new award extends Block Cinema’s growing work in film preservation, research, and the recovery of underseen moving-image histories.
Announced during Block Cinema’s 25th anniversary year, the grant advances the program’s commitment to connecting public screenings with research, teaching, and film preservation.
