GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Some students with cognitive disabilities got a chance to flex their creative muscles by shooting their own movies.

West Michigan nonprofit Artists Creating Together is all about empowering people with disabilities to learn and grow through the arts.

Leaders with the group recently brought in experts with another nonprofit, the Mosaic Film Experience, to help teach students with disabilities how to make their own movies with mobile devices.

The idea is to provide the students with opportunities to tell their own unique stories and collaborate in a way they wouldn’t normally have an opportunity to.

“The students worked on everything — from writing their film, to directing and shooting it together — and then we had a viewing as our last day, so we busted out the red carpet and watched all our films on the projector right here in the studio. It’s really fun,” Kait Polzin, the coordinator for Artists Creating Together, said.

Artists Creating Together and Mosaic Film Experience helped students with cognitive disabilities create their own films. (Courtesy Artists Creating Together)
Artists Creating Together and Mosaic Film Experience helped students with cognitive disabilities create their own films. (Courtesy Artists Creating Together)
Artists Creating Together and Mosaic Film Experience helped students with cognitive disabilities create their own films. (Courtesy Artists Creating Together)
Artists Creating Together and Mosaic Film Experience helped students with cognitive disabilities create their own films. (Courtesy Artists Creating Together)
Artists Creating Together and Mosaic Film Experience helped students with cognitive disabilities create their own films. (Courtesy Artists Creating Together)
Artists Creating Together and Mosaic Film Experience helped students with cognitive disabilities create their own films. (Courtesy Artists Creating Together)

“The teachers had a great time with it and we thought that that was an important way to show another thing that Mosaic does,” said Derk Baartman, the vice president of Mosaic Film Experience.

Representatives from Artists Creating Together say they always looking for more teaching artists to participate in their projects. More information can be found at artistscreatingtogether.org.