Name:
rebecca
Profile:
Rebecca is the Arts & Culture Ambassador for Pepsi’s REFRESH EVERYTHING project. As a freelance writer, trend analyst and pop culture consultant living in Los Angeles, McQuigg has contributed to various magazines, newsletters, and trade publications including C Magazine, iMedia’s Entertainment Spot and was selected by MySpace and The Wall Street Journal to cover the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as a citizen journalist and blogger. http://www.refresheverything.com/blog/
Think museums are musty repositories of history? Think again. Major metropolitan museums are becoming petri dishes of innovation. Take the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) which recently launched an internet technology consulting service to help cultural institutions and non-profit organizations leverage technology to solve problems and enhance programs. Building on IMA's track record for creating effective open-source digital tools, the new division- IMA Lab- is poised to lead a technological revolution in this largely neglected space. I spoke to IMA Lab visionary, Robert Stein, about his commitment to provide much-needed tech support for the arts...
How was the museum most technologically challenged when you first arrived?
IMA has over 50,000 works within its collection but we can only show about 2,000 of those at a time, so it's only a small percentage of the collection that's actually ever seen by a member of the public. The other stuff sits in our storage room, so if we don't do a good job of putting it online, we're not doing a very good service to our community.
Historically, museums don't have a really deep bent as technology clients. It's hard to be a good client and express to developers what it is you need and why- so as a result, the tools that the museums had weren't and still aren't terribly good. At the same time, our audiences are becoming more sophisticated with the way they use technology; but it continues to be hard for museums to meet those expectations.
What initial steps did you take to address these problems?
Since we weren't getting the kinds of tools that we needed from the marketplace, we began to hire a software team to do our own work and, as a result, started working collaboratively with the community and with other art museums. I'm very much in favor of open source technology and software development where digital tools are shared within a community, so when IMA began developing software, we would give it away to museums with similar needs, in exchange for feedback.
What kinds of open-source digital tools and solutions have been developed through this process?
One of the projects is called ArtBabble. We needed a way to show and aggregate our video online but didn't really see good places for that- lots of museums were putting their videos on YouTube but it was really hard to find them- so we developed ArtBabble as an online portal for museums and cultural organizations to contribute video.
We're the technical lead on the Steve.Museum project, a kind of flickr for museums that allows people to tag photos to make them easier for others to find online and to search for art in a more visceral way. We've also developed a platform called TAP, which is mobile tour software that museums can use to develop their own tours of their collections, exhibitions, grounds and campus.
Why is it so important for other arts and cultural institutions to adapt to modern technology?
We have a charge to make sure that these collections exist hundreds of years from now. I help run our library and archives here at the museum and something that we've been working at for quite some time is figuring out how we can preserve paper. How do we make sure that that information doesn't just disappear? Not only that but how do we make it easier for people to gain access to the art? I think the challenge- or rather opportunity- that we have is to make our content ever more relevant to contemporary society.
I'm continuously blown away by how relevant an artwork created a hundred or even a thousand years ago is to contemporary issues- race, poverty, power, war- all of those are issues today and they were issues a thousand years ago and artists have had a view point about them forever.
What advice would you give the director of a museum or cultural institution with no budget but a real need to expand their technological offerings?
There are a number of good conferences for people in our field of museum technology, free online tools, and regional museum groups- all of which can be good resources. I'm a board member for an organization called the Museum Computer Network which maintains resources dedicated to addressing questions about technology and solutions to specific problems. I would encourage as much collaboration as possible because as a not-for-profit business, we gain nothing by not sharing our work- on the contrary, I get a lot from sharing time and opinions and ideas with other museums, so that would probably be the best way to go.
This post originally appeared on www.refresheverything.com, as part of GOOD's collaboration with the Pepsi Refresh Project.
GOOD: What first attracted you to the world of street art?
MR. BRAINWASH: I've always loved art and have always surrounded myself with it. I began creating [pop] art in 1989 and decided to stop in 1993; a few years later I started filming [artists] because the human element was really appealing to me. I was attracted to all kinds of people who were creating art, but after filming artists for over a decade, I began filming some street artists. I started documenting one person and then another person and then [began focusing on] filming people creating art outside. I liked that it was kind of dangerous and interesting and surprising. Plus, most street art is put up during the night and I'm the kind of person who doesn't sleep so it was ideal for me to follow people that do things at night. Street art is something that you live with, even if you don't want to. It's something that is part of you. It kind of brainwashes you subliminally.
G: What were some of your early inspirations and influences?
MB: I lost my mother when I was really young, when I was 11 years old, and I got attached to memories. I became very sentimental and was obsessed with capturing memories because I knew that life is not forever so you should enjoy it as much as possible and try to see that things are beautiful and incredible and that everything has meaning.
G: What does one need to create art? Is art school necessary?
MB: I never went to [art] school. I learned that the only thing you can do in life is to believe in something and make it happen. You can have a lot of talent but if you don't work, you'll never make things happen; and you can have no talent at all but if you want to work hard, you'll make it happen. It's all about follow-through and the belief in yourself. Sometimes people try to teach these "rules" but I think in the world of art there are no rules.
G: How did Exit Through the Gift Shop come about?
MB: It's a movie that I was making about Banksy and he decided to turn the camera on me because he thought that I was more interesting as a character to create a story about. It's a great movie and there is a lot of truth and life to it.
G: Were you happy with the finished product?
MB: I think it's a great project and I feel honored to have had one of the greatest street artists make a movie about me. It's something I [am] humble about it--there are millions of people out there and someone chose me to be this character so I'm really happy about it. There has been a good response. People like feeling like they are on the "inside."
G: What's the dynamic among street artists? I've heard stories about people who are territorial and extremely competitive and kind of make a game out of it. Is there a competition between those who are better known and those who aren't?
MB: Like with everything else, there's competition within the industry but I tend to keep my head down. I don't look at what other people are doing and I don't care what they're saying about me. I just try to do things without hurting anybody--I have my own vision and don't pay attention to what other artists are going to do. Life is too short to worry about other people. My objective is to make things that will make people happy and try to do things in life to try to help other people. Even if it's to make money that I can use to help other people.
G: Do you support any causes or donate to any charity organizations?
MB: I donate money to schools and I've donated money to the Haiti Relief efforts. I'm donating a piece to Christie's "Green Auction" [at New York's Rockefeller Center on Earth Day to raise awareness around environmental issues]. I think it's very important to give back--I mean, how much can you have? Also kids are very important to me--when I create art, I make sure that it's acceptable to all ages. There are no graphic or explicit images. If it's too hard or harsh, I won't do it. I keep my work very positive--I like to promote the beauty of life.
G: How do you decide where and when you put up your art?
MB: If I see a great blank wall, I might think it looks like a good place to put something up and then I think about what could go there and then I come back and do it. But mostly when you feel like putting stuff up you take some prints and drive around and stop randomly when you feel like it.
G: What's the most powerful thing about using the street as a canvas?
MB: The street is the street. It belongs to nobody--it's for everybody. The street is not mine, so when I put [art] out there, it belongs to the street. The street is alive and street art is not meant to live forever--it [can have] a very short life or a very long life depending on what happens. You can do a beautiful piece one day and the next morning it can be gone because someone didn't like it. The beauty of it is to accept that the street is the street. The street is an open gallery that people are going to visit even if they don't want to.
G: Tell me about "Icon," your current show in New York.
MB: It's about iconic people. It's only part one, there will be a part two--and maybe a part three, because I couldn't do everyone in one show. I wanted to show different faces of people--just normal people--who ended up with extraordinary things because they believed in what they wanted to do. It's delivering a message that I want to communicate [to the audience] that anything is possible.
G: Who are some of your personal heroes?
MB: I respect all of them--it's like cooking. I take a little bit from all of these icons and together they totally inspire me. I see good everywhere--even in the bad things. I like Charlie Chaplin because he came from nothing but proved that you can do many different things--he was a director, he was a writer, he was a musician, he was a composer, he was a performer, and he a filmmaker. He was so many different things.
G: What advice would you give to a young artistic person who feels held back, or is afraid of what people might think?
MB: There is nothing holding you back except yourself. Art is freedom. So go for it. Don't think too much. Follow your heart and you'll make it happen. I believe that anybody--even the worst artist in the world right now--can create good work. If you want to make it happen, you can do it. Everybody has a diamond inside--just believe [in it] and polish it and you will shine.
When arts educator and DIY enthusiast Amanda Mauer Taflinger returned to her hometown of Indianapolis after a decade of soul searching, she was determined to fuel the enthusiasm for the handmade crafting movement that she'd seen while traveling through Austin, Chicago and other cities with thriving creative communities. "When I came back [to Indianapolis] I was impressed by the way the city had grown its art community," recalls Taflinger. "But the one thing I didn't see was a craft community..."
At the advice of her husband Neal, Taflinger set out to launch a local version of The Renegade Craft Fair- a huge DIY crafting event and marketplace that travels to multiple cities each year. "One of the things I really liked about Chicago was that they did have this craft fair and there was a network of young, handmade craft entrepreneurs using their hands to create their own businesses," says Amanda Taflinger.
Indiana's artisan community was more than ready to support the venture and the INDIEana Handicraft Exchange was an immediate success. It has since emerged, over the course of three years, as a celebrated bi-annual event where local artists and hobbyists become small business owners and entrepreneurs.
After a couple years of marked success with IHE, the Taflingers conceived of the idea to open a neighborhood craft collective to serve as a store and workshop space, catering to the growing DIY community and fueling the city's cultural economy. "We started working on a business plan but were unsure of how to get funding because there's not much funding out there for art programs that are not 501C3, so not being a not-for-profit we weren't sure where to look," says Amanda Taflinger.
The couple asked crafty friends on Facebook for ideas on how to get funding for the project. That's how they found out about the Pepsi Refresh Project. Ultimately, it was the support of that same close-knit community that helped the Taflingers win the $5,000 Pepsi Refresh Project grant that will help transform their idea to open Homespun: Modern Handmade, into a reality.
Amanda and Neal have worked strategically and smartly to reach their goals- in addition to applying for the Pepsi Refresh grant, the couple posted their project on the crowd- sourced investment platformKickstarter.com. That helped them to nearly double their dollars.
With money trickling in, the Taflingers are focused on acquiring backend retail systems for the store, work tables and equipment for the workshop space, and product samples from vendors who hope to sell their handmade goods on consignment. They're eager to lend advice to other would-be entrepreneurs and Refresh grant hopefuls.
"People are turning to us to help them get their projects launched, find funding, or figure out how to write a business plan, and that was always one of the goals of this project- to be a resource for people who want to open businesses or go from hobbyist to entrepreneur," says Neal.
By turning a good idea into action, they've realized they've engaged, inspired and invigorated an entire community. "I'm consistently surprised by the number of people who come to us saying 'this is a fantastic idea, I really want to be a part of this in whatever capacity, whether it's volunteering or teaching classes or selling my goods,'" says Amanda. "People simply want to be involved."
Discover other great Pepsi Refresh Project ideas and vote today for your favorite projects to refresh the world.
Today is Arts Advocacy Day- the only national event that brings together America's leading cultural and civic organizations along with grassroots advocates from across the country, to underscore the importance of developing strong public policies and increased public funding for the arts. Maybe you're wondering what that means for you. Here, Bettina Korek, arts advocate and founder of ForYourArt offers some easy steps to commemorating the spirit of the day through the celebration of art and community...
1) Make a list of friends (10 max) who you haven't seen in a while but always enjoy because they're reading or listening to something interesting, or because they aren't afraid to say what's on their mind.
2) Pick an art museum or theater near you. Can't think of one? Check out the arts section of your local paper or go on line. Here are some ideas if you live in L.A., New York, Chicago or Miami: L.A.: Los Angeles County Museum of Art , Museum of Contemporary Art, Hammer Museum
New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim
Miami: Miami Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, The Wolfsonian
Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago , The Graham Foundation for Art and Architecture, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
3) Check out their websites. Museums are innovating the way they communicate- even on Twitter- and they're looking for new ways to connect with you! The same goes for theaters.
4) Read up on the artists/exhibitions/plays/playwrights to impress your friends.
5) Join their membership groups to receive email about upcoming events and exhibitions.
6) Pick your favorite links. Send them with an email to your friends telling them all about the cool stuff they could be seeing.
7) Invite them to get together soon.
Bettina Korek is an arts advocate and the founder of ForYourArt, which galvanizes cultural patronage in Los Angeles and beyond.
"Art matters, art has always mattered, and art will continue to matter...period."
-- 2009 MacArthur winning artist Mark Bradford in April/May ForYourArt
Image Courtesy of Bettina Korek
Story Courtesy of Pepsi Refresh Blog
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Lynne Allard and Jesse Matulis purchased an old bank building in Cohoes, New York several years ago with a vision of a live/work studio space and a hub of art production in the community. That fading edifice of commerce became the Foundry for Art Design + Culture. They chose Cohoes, a bedroom community nestled in the capital region of upstate New York, for its flourishing yet fragmented cultural scene, and its spirit of community-improvement around revitalizing defunct commercial spaces...In the years since Allard and Matulis put down roots in Cohoes, they've fostered significant community relations and development by partnering with local artists and cultural organizations. As Pepsi Refresh Project grantees at the $50,000 grant level, the pair will deepen their regional impact and expand the Foundry's spectrum of services and programs.
"Since we incorporated three years ago, we've been identifying different ways to not only help artists but also help our community," says Allard. "I've been consulting with cities on some of their development efforts and what became really apparent to us was that a lot of these folks are working very separately from one another and there really isn't a place or organization in our region that really can tie all of these people together."
Allard and Matulis aim to establish The Foundry as a regional- maybe even national- hub for creative collaboration. The Foundry will mentor emerging professionals in creative disciplines and advise civic groups and non-profit organizations on best practices to leverage existing cultural assets for economic development. The Northeastern Center for the Blind in Albany recently approached Allard for help curating a show specifically catered to a blind audience. Making these sorts of connections is part of the Foundry's mission.
Once fully renovated, this building in downtown Cohoes will serve as home base for The Foundry for Art Design + Culture and the 3,800 square foot facility will house performance and creative work space available to the entire community. "We really want the community to bring the programming to us," says Allard. "If you have an area of expertise or an idea, we want you to come to us and we will help develop that into a workshop or a class."
The Pepsi Refresh Project grant money will fund construction and material upgrades as well as build out a more comprehensive website and interactive online community portal. This grant, says Allard, has fast tracked the Foundry's timeline. "We are three years ahead of where we would have been," she says.
Discover other great Pepsi Refresh Project ideas and vote today for your favorite projects to refresh the world.
Wouldn't it be great if every campaign for social good attracted the level of feverish media buzz typically reserved for celebrity news and "must have" fashion items? What if all of the people who've tried out for American Idol were equally motivated to volunteer their time to a cause? Marketing expert Andrei Najjar believes in a near-future where such things are possible. He's built a significant name for his company,Atelier Collective, by crafting relevant social movements and campaigns that leverage what's cool to do what's good. He shared some tips with me for the the Pepsi Refresh Project blog for how to tap into pop culture to drive an effective campaign for social change...
1) Have a vision plan. Like any business venture, effective social movements require proper planning. What's already out there in the marketplace for your cause? Who is your target audience? What are you trying to communicate and how do you want to reach them? How will your brand/image be conveyed? These questions will make the process much more effective and will enable you to have more control of the overall process.
2) Carefully select your ambassadors. Which thought leaders will be the face of your campaign? Influential people are always looking to give back and can now endorse an idea or initiative as easily as sending a tweet. Key thought leaders include celebrities, executives, politicians, and social media mavens. Choose them based on passion and fit with your social cause. Ask them to help host an event or communicate on your behalf via social or traditional media.
3) Sell your passion. If something gives you goosebumps, it will likely give others goosebumps as well. Communicate very clearly why this cause is important to you and the world. Get creative. In the era of new media, there are many tools at your disposal to convey your message to as many eyes and ears as possible. Use viral video, digital images, location-based apps, and blogs (to name a few). Don't be afraid to stand up for what you believe in.
4) Use social media to raise funds and ideas. Crowdsourcing initiatives like Kickstarter, Refresh Everything, and SMS text-based campaigns have turned philanthropic fundraising into a democratic and group-based effort. People like to use their voices to get involved in causes that they feel passionately about- make it easy for them to give back and you immediately have a group of passionate ambassadors. You will also get tons of useful ideas from people from all over the world.
5) Be transparent. If your cause has a commercial component (merchandising, etc.), be clear about exactly where funds go. For example, Cart for A Cause is one-for-three: For every $10 meal sold, Meals on Wheels will provide a homebound senior citizen a full day's worth of warm, customized meals. Tom's shoes is one-for-one: Every pair of shoes sold gives a pair of shoes to a child in need of protective footwear in developing countries. People like to see how their actions will directly help someone.
6) Enlist the media. Reporters are always looking for interesting charitable news angles. If you believe that your movement is media-ready, write a letter requesting coverage to editors. News stories and articles can dramatically increase awareness of your cause.
Andrei Najjar is a Professor of Marketing at Otis and founder of Atelier Collective. His most recent effortCart for A Cause benefits the Meals on Wheels organization.
Click here for more "How To" guides and inspiring stories from the PRP.
The record labels have missed the boat again. If these bloated behemoths had devoted the same amount of time and money to find creative in-house talent--or at least to develop innovative ways to work with, not against, technology--perhaps they would have come up with Music Tee. But they didn't. Someone else is responsible for what could be the most innovative channel for content distribution since iTunes.
Here's how it works: Each limited edition t-shirt features album art on the front, a corresponding track list on the back, and a special code on the hang-tag, which allows the t-shirt's owner to digitally download the music. Invisible DJ has collaborated with dozens of artists--including Mos Def, Wale, The Cold War Kids, Robin Thicke, and Devendra Banhart--since last year's Music Tee launch and the response has been positive.
"All of our tees have definitely exceeded our expectations for the short amount of time that our company has been in business," says Jeremy Wineberg, co-founder of Invisible DJ Records and The Music Tee. "Invisible DJ started four years ago as a new way of distributing music at a time when brick and mortar [music] stores were on the decline (of course, now they're almost completely obsolete) but at the time, we were trying to figure out how to effectively distribute music [CDs] in a [brick and mortar] fashion/retail environment," says Wineberg.
Leveraging the symbiotic relationship between the worlds of fashion and music, Wineberg and his partner set up shop at the Los Angeles boutique Fred Siegel, where they built the Invisible DJ name by selling the newest and coolest bands' music by pairing their CDs with different items of clothing. "So, we'd say 'if you buy this pair of jeans, you should buy this new Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah record," explains Wineberg. Eventually Invisible DJ was commissioned by Fred Siegel, Ron Herman, and other boutiques, to create in-store music compilations and the record label (and ultimately the idea to embed graphic tees with downloadable music) was born.
"We saw that it was becoming more difficult to move CDs, even in retail environments that were still relevant and attracting tons of traffic (like Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom's, and so forth). At the same time, there was still a demand for our compilations, so we thought 'If we distribute music in a digital format, which we know consumers will respond to, on a t-shirt, which we know these clothing stores can sell, then maybe we'll have a really great product. And that was the birth of the Music Tee," says Wineberg.
So, what's next for Invisible DJ and The Music Tee aside from further collaborations with up-and-coming and established artists? In 2010, Music Tee will embark on a British invasion, with launches planned for Selfridges, Urban Outfitters (in the United Kingdom), and Top Shop. There are also plans in the works for a special collection of limited edition vintage Music Tee box sets (potentially featuring Jimi Hendrix). One day, there may even be a Movie Tee, "we've had film studios call us asking how we can do this with films ... but we don't want to over-saturate the concept," Wineberg says.
And it appears that Invisible DJ has a stringent enough filtration process to ensure that supply doesn't eclipse demand. In addition to good music, artists are responsible for providing cool artwork for their Music Tee, "we just can't put out a shirt just because it's a great band; the artwork needs to be there as well," says Wineberg.
"People [may be] buying the shirt because it's a cool band but they're also wearing something on their chest and on their back and it needs to look good."
Read more: http://www.good.is/post/not-your-mama-s-concert-tee/#activity#ixzz0j1SSgrQg
LOOK: Is That a Piece of Art in Your Pocket?
When Angie Myung and Ted Vadakan commissioned a handful of their artist friends to create original work for a collection of affordable wallets as part of an exhibition back in 2003, they didn't know the concept - originally intended to support their local creative community - would become a catalyst for significant change within the larger art industry. "We were throwing art shows in San Francisco for our circle of friends but none of us could afford to buy art and no one was making money from doing their art," says Angie Myung co-founder of poketo.com (with Vadakan). "So we decided to try something new- showing wallets with accompanying wall art...and the wallets became an instant hit."
Poketo has become a collaborative marketplace for hundreds of up-and-coming and established artists to create affordable, limited-edition products- wallets, t-shirts, home wares and paper goods-that double as objects de art "for everyday." Poketo allows anyone, anywhere to enjoy and celebrate original art at reasonable prices- increasing the accessibility and reach of the work. "We've believed from the very start that art should be affordable," says Myung."You shouldn't have to have a lot of money to have access to beautiful artwork, and we've applied that concept to everything." The up and coming artists have benefited from their designs populating countless back pockets- many Poketo artists have gone on to land notable gigs with other companies and brands.
Lisa Congdon, a San Francisco-based fine artist-turned-illustrator attributes some of her burgeoning success to her early collaborations with Poketo. "I think any time your work is on products that are in the marketplace, it definitely opens up your work to a wider audience," she says. "[Angie and Ted] were sort of instrumental in helping me launch my illustration career."
Poketo promotes awareness of the arts, but also drives social change through art. Myung and Vadakan partnered with 826, the national nonprofit tutoring, writing, and publishing organization co-founded by writer David Eggers. "A few years ago, we made wallets where we invited a handful of amazingly talented LA-based artists to create artwork around stories written by some of the kids in the program," said Myung."The final result featured the artists' illustrations on the front and the kids' stories on the inside." That project raised funds for 826LA and cemented the relationship that has since inspired musician, Neko Case - an enthusiastic fan of Poketo products- to design a pair of Poketo t-shirts to benefit the innovative programs of 826.
Myung and Vadakan have discerning curatorial skills and keen eyes for talent, and Poketo has emerged as a destination for inspired design and creative innovation. Despite their success and growing currency in the art and design world, Poketo's mission remains simple- to connect the masses with the kinds of everyday artwork they will simply and seamlessly incorporate into their lives. "You shouldn't buy art work because you think that someday the artist is going to blow up," says Myung. "You should buy art because you like it. There's no point in buying something and then locking it up in storage- you should live with it and enjoy it every day."
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