Representation, innovation, and opportunity for Rhode Island's next generation of filmmakers.

Legacy Collective RI (LCRI) is a non-profit that began in early 2024 and came about as a result of the work that founder Ian Travis Barnard was doing in the community surrounding impact-focused filmmaking.

Bringing in the other three staff members to the idea, LCRI agreed with the vision and collectively noticed that too often the current landscape of storytellers seemed limited to only a few perspectives. This inspired the team to create and lead an initiative that expands the opportunities for people in all communities across Rhode Island to participate in the freelance/creator economy. LCRI also wanted to reduce the risk that it takes to get started. The team spent hours on end for the better part of two years developing a program that would help young creatives learn about pathways to starting a career in that space.

This work behind closed doors culminated into a 12-week program that teaches the fundamentals of freelance content creation and how to navigate the gig economy while also allowing opportunities to gain experience on a variety of sets & other real-life industry scenarios. Each class is an intimate size of 6-10 students of varying ages and backgrounds with a shared mindset of bettering themselves and their communities through their creative mediums while laying a foundation for a supplemental income stream as entrepreneurs.

Students and alumni also have access to the wealth of knowledge each staff member possesses from years of gathered experience, as well as a rental equipment library to leverage while they save up for their own items.

Long story short: cool people doing cool things for a good cause they wholeheartedly believe in.

Ian Travis Barnard

Founder/Executive Director
Creating imagery for over 15 years across multiple mediums and genres. From working with celebrities gracing the cover of Billboard Magazine to developing short documentaries for MIT, he has a diverse amount of experience in creating all types of content. These days, Ian mostly works as a director and producer on short format videos that are community oriented and impact focused.
Louie Barroso

Relationship Manager
Making words play with intention for 15+ years in many different forms. He is now a published poet and creative content writer that challenges himself to be versed in all aspects revolving around writing. This has also led to working on projects as a production assistant, script writer, and associate producer with Ian. He has been part of, and continues to lead, creative community work with The Daily Note. Louie encourages everyone to write in some way and is always working on becoming the best advocate he can be for Rhode Island writers.
Rich Ferri

Curriculum Coordinator
Cinematographer based in Rhode Island with a focus on commercial, fashion, music, and documentary filmmaking. He has worked independently and in collaboration with production companies to produce content for a wide range of brands, non-profits, and advocacy organizations. Prior to 2016, Rich worked as an educator and advisor at The Met School, a math teacher at Central Falls High School’s “Guide to Success,” and taught undergraduate math courses at The University of Rhode Island.
Alex Terreault

Operations Coordinator
Freelance filmmaker/writer that specializes in narrative based storytelling. He graduated from University of Rhode Island in 2017 with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Film/Media. Outside of a diverse freelance background ranging from weddings to commercials, Alex has directed his own short film and worked on feature films in camera departments and as a script supervisor. Alex can also be found working as a direct care provider for a neurodivergent adult.

We're not here to follow the blueprint — we’re here to redraw it.

Legacy Collective RI exists to challenge the status quo, amplify underrepresented voices, and reshape the creative industry from the ground up. Because real stories deserve real storytellers.