List of Presenters for February Arts/Tech Meetup

Updated 3/1/09

I've *finally* uploaded the presentation videos from the February Arts, Culture and Technology meetup. The event was held at Ars Nova theater in Hell's Kitchen last Tuesday (2/24/09) and my Dad was kind enough to come and take pictures and video. The sound is a little low and portions of certain presentations have been cut off, but for the most part, I think they came out really well. 

Glowlab Gallery

Christina Ray is the founder and Director of Glowlab, an innovative art gallery focused on the convergence of contemporary art, technology and the urban environment. Christina is also the founder of the Conflux Festival here in New York; these days she's working with the Times Square Alliance to bring innovative art to Times Square, and is also serving as an Advisory Board Member for the new 92Y Tribeca.

Website: http://glowlab.com

Twitter Updates: http://twitter.com/glowlab

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/christinaray

Artlog.com

Manish Vora is the co-founder of Artlog.com, a resource for art lovers, artists and institutions. Join the Artlog community at http://artlog.com/signup, follow us at Twitter http://twitter.com/artlog or join the facebook group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=37a1e7e7f47d44a813dd00b6ad8e3928&gid=24335970219

Barry Hoggard

Barry Hoggard is co-creator of ArtCal, an opinionated New York visual arts calendar and magazine, and Culture Pundits, an arts and culture advertising network. He also operates a platform for hosting artist and gallery websites called ArtCat. You can find his social media links on his blog, bloggy.com.

ArtCat - http://www.artcat.com/

ArtCal - http://www.artcal.net/

Culture Pundits - http://www.culturepundits.com/

bloggy.com - http://bloggy.com/

MoMA

Victor Samra is the digital marketing manager at the Museum of Modern Art, reporting to its digital media and marketing departments.

http://www.moma.org

http://twitter.com/MuseumModernArt

http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-NY/MoMA-The-Museum-of-Modern-Art/24547752280

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=MoMAvideos

The Film Society of Lincoln Center

After years of creating websites and advertising copy for major corporations, Amanda McCormick entered the nonprofit arts world last August by accepting a web editor position for the Film Society of Lincoln Center. She has grown the organization’s presence in the social media space via a blog (http://filmlinc.com/blog ), a Twitter presence (http://twitter.com/filmlinc ) and a Facebook fan page (http://filmlinc.com/facebook ), among other outlets.

Jaki Levy

Jaki Levy is the founder of Arrow Root Media, new media production company focused on content development. His online audience initiatives in the field of dance + technology have won awards and grants from the Doris Duke Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Cisco.

company: http://www.arrowrootmedia.com

flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jackomo

linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jakilevy

skype: jakilevy

Muxtape

Luke Crawford is an interface designer and programmer and the CTO of Muxtape.

Website: http://www.muxtape.com

Blog: http://tlvx.net

Username on Twitter and elsewhere: luke0x

Indaba

Indaba Music is a network of and for musicians. It is now the leading collaboration tool and social network for musicians, with 125,000 musicians in 175 countries. They've been getting a lot of attention recently from places like TechCrunch, Wired, Ars Technica, and even The Colbert Report.

Website: http://www.indabamusic.com/

Sample session: http://www.indabamusic.com/sessions/joepress/50246

Colbert Remix: http://www.indabamusic.com/contests/show/colbert

Mobile Commons

Mobile Commons is a technology provider to cultural institutions. We make it easy for museums, theaters, zoos and aquariums to launch and manage mobile campaigns. Our technology allows you to collect information, send alerts/reminders, raise funds and interact with guests on site.

website: http://mobilecommons.tumblr.com

twitter: http://twitter.com/mobilecommons

michael@mcommons.com

An Open Letter to Cultural Institutions Online

Lately, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the role cultural institutions play in our society and what kind of function(s) they serve, or should serve. A few weeks ago, NewCurator.com circulated a video in which dozens of museum professionals were asked the question, "What is the single most important function of museums?" Later, @newcurator then posed the same question to the Twitter community. You can view the results of the poll here, as well as a pretty nifty word cloud compiled from the responses.

Needless to say, the question made a huge impression on me, evidenced by the fact that it never left me, to the point where it now informs every thought I have regarding cultural institutions and the arts. While there were many answers given above that I found insightful, the one that resonated with me the most (and, incidentally, was repeated most often) was "to educate."

Part of what I love about the arts is the sense of enlightenment that comes with a particularly moving experience at a museum, dance, opera or philarmonic performance. It's as if someone expanded the corridors of your mind, opened a door or a window or some new avenue, let in some fresh air, and suddenly, you're looking at things from a whole new perspective--if not permanently, at least long enough to make a difference in your day to day. Maybe that's not an experience that happens for everybody, but I'm willing to bet that most people have felt something akin to this at one point or another.

Cultural institutions' capacity for education--and not necessarily in the dullard, didactic, or even scholarly sense, but simply in the sense of imparting ideas and information from one source (a reputed source of authority) to a curious mind--is what I think makes them such a vital part of society. What I don't understand, however, is why so many institutions still feel, or at the very least act like they do, that this exchange of information, this translation of knowledge, can only take place in the physical space (as opposed to the virtual).

Too often, I find myself wondering what happens to all the information I see in program books, exhibition catalogues, all that museum display text and audio guides--where does all that stuff go once the exhibition goes down? Why isn't it repurposed and put up online? Why can't I watch or download the Met's HD Opera broadcasts on their website? Or better yet, on Hulu.com? Why are cultural institutions essentially hoarding this information when everyone agrees their primary role is that of educator, which, near as I can understand, requires disseminating information?

Ok, I admit, I know very little about how cultural institutions operate, and I'm sure there are all sorts of copyright and intellectual property laws that prevent these institutions from having a free-for-all with this content. Not to mention, there is that whole issue of money and how to make it. I get it. But putting that all aside for a moment, I still feel like they're missing out on a few opportunities.

1. To establish themselves as the go-to authorities for the content they provide. When I type an artist's name into Google, let's say Picasso, invariably the first thing that pops up is a Wikipedia entry. WHY?! Wikipedia has become our go-to source for information, though none of us can deny that it's not exactly the most reliable or trustworthy source. It's just a reliable repository of information--you know that whatever you're looking for is going to be there. With the more legit sources, that's not so much a guarantee.

The first reference source for the Wikipedia entry is the MoMA. Why is the MoMA letting Wikipedia steal its thunder? In fact, out of the 10 sources listed on the first page of Google results, only one appears to be a museum--the Picasso Museum in Barcelona. That's not to say that there aren't any useful or authoritative sources on that first page, the Online Picasso Project, for instance, looks like quite a nice catalog of Picasso's work. But then again, so there's also Mr.Picassohead.com, an online game that lets you create a Picasso-style face in Mr. Potatohead mix-and-match fashion.

2. Increased presence and permeation of cultural information online will aid in the education and appreciation of the arts. One of the questions I hear cultural institutions ask a lot is, "How do we engage the young people? How do we get them to come out?" Most people my age might take a trip to the museum about once or twice a year, maybe on an outing with their parents, while something like the Philharmonic or the Opera is seen as dreadfully boring to the point of actual torture. Maybe I'm exaggerating here, but not by much. If an appreciation for the arts is not something that's been instilled in a person from an early age, chances are, the associations they're going to have with something like opera are of the caricature variety--a fat woman wearing a horned helmet belting out awful sounding music in an incomprehensible language...for four hours. That sounds like brutal torture to just about anybody.

Increasing the presence of arts and cultural institutions online, and by extension, increasing the presence of arts and culture itself, could help teach a new generation of Americans to love the arts. The way I see it is as a sort of cultural immersion. If the arts are everywhere--on YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, Vimeo--chances are they will be found and seen and (gasp!) maybe even enjoyed by a larger audience. Exposure is important, I think, because it plants the seed--it breeds curiosity and the desire to know more, but beyond that, it also establishes a sense of familiarity. Familiarity is imporant because it opens up the individual to learning more. The next time the person encounters opera or Picasso, they already have a point of reference, a touchstone which enables an "Oh yeah, I've heard of this before...now what was it about?"

I don't know if any of these ideas are going to help cultural institutions make money, but in a perfect world, that would be the end result. By establishing themselves as authorities and immersing the public in the cultural knowledge, perhaps they'd garner a sense of allegiance from the public. These types of efforts, paired with something like social media, could help people develop very real and personal relationships with the institutions, the communities surrounding the institutions, and the cultural properties themselves.

But like I said, I have only the vaguest idea of how non-profits work and the challenges they are facing. I'd love your thoughts on what I may have missed and what I haven't considered.

Artist's Social Media Toolkit

At my meetup last week, I met a lot of artists who were interested in learning more about how to promote themselves on the web and get their work in front of people. It got me thinking about availble resources online that individual artists could use to self-publish their work, exchange ideas with fellow artists and interact with existing and potential customers/fans. Then, this past Thursday, @bethrharris (Director of Digital Learning at the MoMA and one of the masterminds behind http://www.smarthistory.org/, the most beautiful art history "web-book" I've seen to date. Their use of multimedia is excellent and the content is smart, rich and fascinating.) posted a comment on Twitter about whether the internet turns the individual into a curator and I haven't been able to get the thought out of my head since.

On the web, the artist has an opportunity to circumspect the gatekeepers at traditional galleries and museums (I'm writing in the context of visual art, but these ideas can be applied to just about anything, I think) and curate his own show, where the work is showcased in dozens of different "exhibition halls" all around the web--for instance Flickr, YouTube, perhaps an online community, or a widget. Ideally, the artist would also increase engagement with his audience by de-mystifying the artistic process and helping provide context to the work and what inspired it in the form of a blog or a podcast. Each new work could be documented in the conception and execution phases, the process and thoughts behind it could be explained, the audiences questions could be answered.

In any case, if I were an artist, here are some things I'd be doing to "curate" my web presence:

1. Keep a blog. It doesn't have to be anything fancy--even just something you post on as little as once a week should suffice, provided that one weekly post be one you've put some time and thought into. Write about what you're working on, what you've been doing lately, what has inspired or intrigued you as of late (if possible, you could throw up a link to it, too), maybe some pictures if you're a visual artist, or an audio sample if you're a musician. Keep an almost journal-like account of what you did that day, what you're thinking about.

Beyond that, your blog should become your home base. Set up a gallery of your work to showcase new and existing projects. If your work is for sale, indicate so and set up a PayPal or other system through which your audience can buy your work at the click of a button. The Art K. MacGuffin blog, for instance, is essentially just a virtual marketplace of art for sale with a few podcasts thrown in to liven up the site.

2. Consider starting a video blog. For those who feel comfortable in front of the camera, a vlog might be an excellent supplement (or even substitute) to a traditional blog. Video is undeniably an entertaining and engaging medium, and equipped with a webcam and some basic editing software, you could effectively do what Valerie at Val's Art Diary does. She started a very popular YouTube channel where she posts weekly videos of her painting, interspersed with some random thoughts and musings. Her social media presence, driven largely by the success of her YouTube vlog, is what keeps her in business and helps her sell her work and get commisions. It's also landed her on Wall Street Journal and FoxNews. You can read some more of her tips for artists here.

3. Make connections on Twitter. I'm a huge Twitter advocate, mostly because I've had so much success with it myself. It's a great way to make connections with people from all over the world--and when I say connections, I don't just mean in a "networking" sense. I really mean when you connect with someone over a shared interest or a point of common ground. I would start out searching for people on Twitter who have similar interests as me by using search.twitter.com to find people who are tweeting about the topics I'm interested in. I'd start following them. If they ever tweeted something that stuck a chord with me, for whatever reason, I'd probably say so, and in that way, start a dialogue with them. A few such interactions, and before you know it, you'll have a new friend. Then, see who they interact with and look for the interesting people in their social circle. Basically it builds from there. The stronger your relationships become with these people, the more likely they'll be to check out your latest blog post or comment on your newest work. Twitter, at least for me, is more akin to a community of folks, and I often turn to them with questions or calls for help. The best part is--they listen and answer.

4. Join an online community. Speaking of communities, you should join one. There are tons of online communities [read: social networks, messageboards, forums] for artists, musicians, actors, dancers, etc. Find the ones that more apply to or interest you and join one. If I were a visual artist, I might join DeviantART or Artlog, not just because they're places where I can showcase my work, but also because I can participate in a conversation with my peers, share information and ideas, strike up friendships and collaborations, and accrue a support system for myself via this virtual community.

5. Search for opportunities to display your work. One of the best things about the web is that it's a place of constant change and innovation. New websites, businesses, applications and widgets are cropping up every day, and many of them may be excellent opportunities for you to get your work in front of an audience. The wider you cast your net, the greater your chances of making a sale or scoring a commission--you never know who your work will wind up in front of, or how they may react to it. One thing to remember though, is to make sure all roads lead back to you (or, rather, to your home base--your blog) and at every opportunity available, your contact info or, when appropriate, a "Buy Now" button, are prominently on display.

Some examples of the kinds of opportunities I mean:

Art for iPhone, Artzilla, Add-art.org

I'm sure there are lots other out there. I found out about these via Twitter, blogs, and online communities, which is why it's good to participate in, or at least listen to, the discussions your peers are having in these spaces.

These are what I consider the "essentials." What else do you think should be on this list? I welcome your thoughts!

An Inspiring Quotation

As mundane as it may sound, I've spent the better part of today getting my blogroll in order (check out the new additions in Links) and vetting my Google Reader. I had hoped to write some, but instead I spent a lot of time reading and exploring the dozens of blogs and websites I had bookmarked and saved for later browsing (speaking of which, I should really start using my Delicious account again...).

Just wanted to share an excerpt from a keynote address by Diane Ragsdale at the Australia Council arts marketing summit that I found particularly poignant:

Arts organizations need to find a way to assess their progress in—for lack of a better goal—making great art that matters to people—as evidenced, perhaps, by increased enthusiasm, frequency of attendance, the capacity and desire to talk or write about one’s experience, or in some other way respond to the experience, the curiosity to learn about the art form and the ideas encountered, the depth of emotional response, the quality of the social connections made, and the expansion of one’s aesthetics over time.
We can’t declare mission accomplished just because we get people in the door—we need to care about how the experience has affected them.

And...

The Internet has given everyone with access the tools to create and distribute their own art. Arts organizations could become mentors, resource providers, or sources of content that could be re-purposed by amateur artists. Or they could invite pro-am artists to submit artistic work that could be displayed on their Web sites as a way of building community—and, who knows, maybe even finding new talent or new programming ideas.

Huge thanks to Beth Dunn and Nina Simon for linking to the speech in their blogs last week. It is a lengthy but deeply insightful speech and I highly recommend reading it. I think Ragsdale does a really nice job of outlining the areas where cultural institutions need to reassess their game plan and citing examples of innovators who have already begun making strides. Exploring the ideas, exhibitions, productions and sources mentioned in this speech will keep me busy for quite a while, so I figured I should share.

Do you have any other resources for me? I am a sponge right now.

First Meetup = Success!

This past Thursday was the first meeting of my Arts, Culture and Technology meetup and...it went well! I'm happy to say that all my worrying was for naught--people came, they mingled, they met people with similar interests and had inspiring conversations. Everyone seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves and, for my part, it felt great to bring people together in a meaningful way. By the end of the night, I was on top of the world and giddy with the vibrant energy in the room that night.

I've been trying to remember some interesting details or an anecdote from the night, but to be honest, from the moment the first guest walked into the back room at Art Bar, the night became a blur of greeting, handshaking, brief snippets of conversation, followed by more greeting and handshaking. I did my best to introduce people to one another and facilitate the networking, but I'm pretty sure some of the best connections of the night happened entirely on their own.

What was most illuminating for me was that the very things I dreaded about this meetup--the fact that the group was so diverse and seemingly unweildy--ended up being the things people praised the most. One member wrote in his meetup rating that "Anyone who is interested in the topic should show up, there is a wide variety of people and interests," and I wholeheartedly believe that to be true.

There were artists present who had no idea what Twitter was, but walked away with the intention to join, as well as a whole list of blogs to follow and instructions on how to create a Google Reader. There were also tech innovators looking to make a connection in the non-profit sector or just to get some inspiration for their next project. What surprised me was how the two extremes effectively balanced each other out through a desire to help one another and exchange ideas and information.

I can't speak for anyone else but I walked away from the event excited about the people I had met and with a calendar full of coffee and lunch dates to continue the night's discussions further, as well as the feeling that this was a wonderful new community in the making.