I just got an email from my friend Emily Jacobi asking for support for a cool project.  If you remember, I had the pleasure ofworking with Digital Democracy on their Handheld Human Rights project during NetSquared’s 2009 Conference.  This latest project is an extension of their project.

They’re looking to translate a book called “Little Brother” into 4 Burmese languages.  The money will support activists living around Burma’s borders who will translate the book and distribute it around the country.

Inspiring social change – through a book – using online fundraising.  This is old school AND new school activism.  How can wenot support it?

Make a pledge here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1033999452/little-brother-vs-big-brother

Books are one of the few things you can never waste money on.

This is some exciting news from my fellow awesomes over at Digital Democracy.  Read their news below or become a fan of their Facebook Page.

Gabe Hopkins sent a message to the members of Digital Democracy.

Posted via email from Memeshift’s posterous

Howdy We Operate Best Together Backers and Fans!

Apologies if some of this is old news to some of you, but I thought I’d condense the past months’ adventures for y’all in this email.  Also, I’d asked some of you if I could add you to my eNewsletter list to stay up to date on my project.  Might you resend me a yes or no – even if you already have?  Your privacy is important and I’m currently doing all these batch emails ‘by hand’ – no fancy eNewsletter software yet:p

Onwards with the updates!
-morgan

August and September have been incredibly busy and enriching months for WOBT.  The scope of We Operate Best Together has also expanded a bit to incorporate some new developments in the adventure…

—Adventures in NYC—
I visited NYC (and Boston) and had an amazing time:

•    got a free roundtrip ticket to Boston (care of Ben Sheldon thanks Ben!) for the NAMAC Conference (http://namac.org/conference)
•    toured the Eyebeam art and technology space in New York and interviewed Emma Lloyd, Director of Technology: http://bit.ly/3zfgiy
•    attended my first SHARE event: http://bit.ly/p33AG
•    squatted a loft in Manhattan with a childhood friend: http://bit.ly/1wbtFE
•    visited with WOBT friends at Digital Democracy: http://bit.ly/548f2
•    volunteered some time with the Transmission Project (formerly CTC VISTA) to redo their wiki: http://digitalartscorps.org/wiki

A brilliant, brilliant time in NYC/Boston was had by all…

—WOBT Site Relaunch—

I also relaunched and got a new URL for We Operate Best Together:  Check it out: http://www.weoperatebesttogether.org You can also subscribe to blog updates (different from this newsletter) here: http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=WeOperateBestTogether&loc=en_US

—WOBT is Now in Australia!—

Aaaand in the midst of adventuring on the East Coast, I got a job in AUSTRALIA with an amazing organization called Curious Works (http://www.curiousworks.com.au/about).  Through creative collaborations nationally and locally, they work to ‘reshape the systems of cultural production in Australia, for the benefit of all Australians’ using new media tools and trainings.

While here I will be traveling to remote Australian communities to do technology assessments, develop curriculum and assist with new media/video storytelling.  Throughout, I will be documenting all my work on the WOBT and Curious Works websites.

Today I venture out into a New South Wales‘ (Sydney’s) first dust storm in nearly 25 years to begin my first day of work at Curious Works Sydney artist loft office.  Check out the pix below:

Operate together!
Morgan

P.S.  Don’t forget to send me a quick yay or nay to opt in for ‘hand-crafted’ future updates!

If you want ‘auto’ updates, sign up to get the latest updates from the WOBT blog delivered to your inbox here: http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=WeOperateBestTogether&loc=en_US

P.P.S.  Feel free to share, bookmark, forward or Tweet this post:)

See the full gallery on posterous

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On September 6th, I got to go and visit and jam at my first SHARE in New York City.

SHARE is basically an ‘open jam’ for anyone to come and play their sound/video/visual art with others. From their Facebook Page:

SHARE is first and foremost a platform to explore expression, in a variety of artforms. Through its openjam-styled sessions, SHARE engages its participants and spectators in a continually changing dialog on art and culture. As such, SHARE represents an ongoing exploration of collaborative performance as cultural exchange.

I was also fortunate enough to meet (for the first time!) Keiko Uenishi. We’d been having email exchanges for a couple years while I was starting a SHARE in San Diego with my friends. Keiko (along with some of the other SHARE.NYC folks) were incredibly helpful in getting us up and running, offering advice and even visiting us to see how we operated.

This particular SHARE I attended was held at the Issue Project Room – a relatively new space in a converted can factory. They had a really nice 16 speaker surround sound system for projecting the sound as well as a two story high wall for projecting amazing visuals. Kieko had a pretty neat Wii controlled MAX/MSP patch that she was running. I had Ableton Live and a built-in microphone for my jamming. Below are a few more pictures from the night.

Can’t wait to jam again!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Image via Wikipedia

This August, I was fortunate enough to have a paid flight to Massachusetts AND place to stay (thanks to Ben Sheldon!) for the recent NAMAC Conference – which was a blast!  Thanks NAMAC!   While in Boston, I also decided to visit New York for friends and research for We Operate Best Together.

On first arrival to New York, I stopped in to visit and get a tour of the lovely Eyebeam space in Chelsea.  I had a great ‘after-hours’ tour from Emma Lloyd, Director of Technology at Eyebeam.  Not only does she handle and structure all technical software and hardware support for the 18,000 square foot facility, she also manages all technical needs for their fablab AND their woodshop – from one technologist to another, my hats off to her! I got to see some of the amazing workspaces and interview Emma on some of the way Eyebeam works.

I was particularly interested in their highly-competitive artist residencies and fellowships.  Key things Eyebeam looks for in recruiting artists for their space are:

1. Newness: is this a new and upcoming artist?  How far along are they in their career?  Is there a need for them to develop their art?
2. Ability to contribute: as Eyebeam is pretty communal, reviewers ask: How will this artist be able to ‘give back’ to Eyebeam? You could be an amazing artist, but having something to give back to Eyebeam (teaching, workshops, volunteering) boosts reviewers’ confidence in selecting you.

Residencies and Fellowships
Another part of being a resident or fellow at Eyebeam is in the very ‘open’ nature of one’s work there.  While applicants can outline a project they hope to finish while having access to Eyebeam’s space, veering away from one’s original project is allowable and sometimes, even encouraged – particularly if an impromptu collaboration with another Eyebeam artist is part of the new direction.  To see a space that supports these tenets is inspiring.

Here’s a bit more about Eyebeam, taken straight off their site:

Mission

Eyebeam is an art and technology center that provides a fertile context and state-of-the-art tools for digital research and experimentation. It is a lively incubator of creativity and thought, where artists and technologists actively engage with culture, addressing the issues and concerns of our time. Eyebeam challenges convention, celebrates the hack, educates the next generation, encourages collaboration, freely offers its contributions to the community, and invites the public to share in a spirit of openness: open source, open content and open distribution.

Atelier

The atelier model is fundamental to the concept of Eyebeam. The studio/workspace environment, in which the energies of artistic production, education and curatorial practice fuse, provides a unique, stimulating and vital working context for creating art. This tremendous energy, along with the dialogue exchanged between curators, artists and students of various practices and stages of development, can inform and inspire the creation of artworks that may not previously have been imagined or produced.

And feel free to say hi to Emma on Twitter here: @nydakini

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Travis and Liz

On my last day in New York City, after squatting a loft with my good friend Travis, I had another chance to meet up with Keiko (from the previous Sunday’s SHARE event) and stop by the Digital Democracy offices to see where all of their action happens. It was like a meeting of 3 very separate world for me: my good friend Travis – who I’d grown up with getting into all sorts of trouble with; Keiko, who’d (remotely) helped me start SHARE.San Diego; and Liz Hodes, who along with the rest of the Digital Democracy team made pledges to my We Operate Best Together project.

Wordles of RFP and Org Strategic Plans

Visiting with them was great.  Not only did I get to meet Liz in person, but visiting their offices in New York was fun and I got to talk to Liz a bit about some of the projects that D2 has in store for 2009.

One project which they are launching is D2TV, which documents and allows you to follow the D2 team as they travel throughout SouthEast Asia working on their Project Einstein.  From their blog:

Project Einstein, our digital pen pal program, was born from a photo training Digital Democracy conducted in Bangladesh in January 2008 thanks to support from What Kids Can Do. Partnering with MITʼs Center for Future Civic Media and high schools in Indianapolis, Indiana, we are now creating a platform and curriculum for resettled refugees and their peers in the U.S. to connect with refugees overseas.

Keiko and Liz really hit it off when Liz mentioned the Project Einstein.  Keiko has been working towards getting a SHARE for Kids going – also another project to connect youth with media (sound) making tools and each other to creatively collaborate and SHARE with each other.

I was so happy to simply introduce friends old and new to each other.  Definitely a high point for me on my brief trip to New York.

Me and Keiko 2

Me and Liz Hodes

Me and Travis!

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