Abina Manning, Director


Abina has worked to promote artists' film and video for many years, in both Europe and the United States. Prior to coming to the VDB in 1999, she worked with a number of arts organizations in the U.K., including the LUX Center, the London Film Maker's Co-op, London Electronic Arts, and Cinema of Women. She was Director of the inaugural Pandæmonium Festival of Moving Images, a major European exhibition presented by the Institute for Contemporary Arts in London that showcased film, video, gallery
commissions, and multi-media works. The Guardian called the Pandæmonium Festival, "A rich lucky-dip of the sublime and the startling."

Abina has participated in many international film and video festivals and conferences as a juror, panel member, curator, and advisor, and hasworked on collaborative projects with arts venues worldwide. Abina has a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Philosophy from Middlesex University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Film and Television from the University of Westminster (London)

Brigid Reagan, Assistant Director

As Assistant Director, Brigid leads VDB’s promotional efforts, processes new submissions/acquisitions, and assists the Director with internal office communications and external community relations. She served as the organization’s Distribution Manager for three years prior to her current appointment, and was previously employed by Cinema/Chicago, the presenting organization of the Chicago International Film Festival, where she worked in Programming and Educational Outreach.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies from the University of Notre Dame and a Master's degree in Arts Management, with a concentration in Media, from Columbia College Chicago. Brigid has been a Grants Panelist for the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs Community Arts Assistance Program in the Media Arts category for three years running. She advises and volunteers for Cinema/Chicago’s Education Committee.

Lindsay Bosch, Distribution Manager

Lindsay is responsible for managing VDB distribution. Her work involves overseeing orders and inquiries regarding title purchases and rentals, artist and client services, and coordinating screenings with national and international festival organizers. Lindsay has a background in Film Studies from Northwestern University and she completed her graduate study in Art History, Theory and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has previously worked in media exhibition and distribution for the Reeltime Film Forum, the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art and most recently the Visual Resources Department of the Art Institute's Ryerson Library.

Tom Colley, Collection Manager

Tom manages technical services at the VDB, and is responsible for fulfilling orders and organizing the collection. His normal activities involve cataloging, preservation, digitization, dubbing, and maintaining equipment. He works closely with Hans on digital projects and enjoys the great assistance of Ethan in the shipping, receiving, and production of tapes and discs.

In addition, Tom collaborates in running the Butcher Shop - an artist run studio space. He has received a bachelor's degree in Art and Anthropology from Oberlin College, and a master's degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois. He is also an active member of AMIA the Association of Moving Image Archivists.

Hans Sundquist, Media Producer

Hans is responsible for many of the digital aspects of the VDB including DVD production, digital asset management, website maintenance, as well as the design and layout of our box set projects, catalogues, and other print material. He is currently redesigning the website and is researching ways to improve the database infrastructure.

Hans maintains a painting practice and is a co-founder of Julius Caesar, an artist run gallery here in Chicago. He attended the Oregon Extension in 2001, received a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Bethel University in 2002, and later received his Masters in Painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Mary Scherer, Distribution Associate

Mary is responsible for managing VDB's front office and screening room, for fielding inquiries about the collection, processing orders and submitting new work to festivals worldwide. She is a practicing visual artist working in video, film and electronic media, with an interest in conceptually-based projects. Mary earned her BFA in Film and Video from The University of Illinois at Chicago in 2006 and also works as an Artist-in-Residence at Children's Memorial Hospital. She has previously worked with the Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago and volunteers with the experimental music organization LAMPO.

Ivan Lozano, Graduate Assistant

Ivan Lozano is a (mostly) video artist currently working on an MFA in Film/Video/New Media at the School of the Art Institute. In another life, while living in Austin TX, Ivan was the programming director for the Cinematexas International Short Film Festival, an arts writer for various publications, and a co-founder of the artist collective the Austin Video Bee.

Ethan White, Graduate Assistant

Video Data Bank Founders
Kate Horsfield and Lyn Blumenthal