Calendar
Help Launch the 26 Blocks iPad App
Posted on 12/03/10 by Yuri Artibise » No Comments
By now, most readers have probably heard about the 26 Blocks exhibit that has been making its way around town this year (and is now being shown at CityScape). If you haven’t, you can find out more about the project here: 26blocks.com.
Basically, it is a multimedia exhibit featuring 26 of Phoenix’s best photographers, 26 of Phoenix’s best writers and 26 Downtown Phoenix city blocks, along with one of the city’s best sculptors.
Buoyed by the success of the exhibit, the 26 Blocks team is taking the project to the next level. On First Friday, December 3, they are launching a FREE iPad application of 26 Blocks at CityScape. This free, all-ages event will feature a street party, live music featuring Mr. Meeble, live art by Dumperfoo, a beer garden benefiting Ear Candy Charity and an iPad raffle!
To help cover the costs of the launch, 26 Block is seeking support from the community. They are looking to collect 300 donations of $26 each for the 26 Blocks iPad app launch party before midnight tonight. In return, 26 Blocks will put every donor name on the iPad app. If they receive 400 donations, they will include a link from your name on the iPad app to your website! It’s 100% tax-free and you can gift a friend’s name.
If they collect 299 donations or less, your $26 donation will still enjoy 100% tax-free status and you will still get that warm fuzzy feeling knowing your $26 is making the 26 Blocks free music & art celebration for Phoenix possible… but no names will be on the iPad app.
If you can’t make a donation, no worries; you can still come out and celebrate the launch of the app on Friday night!
Exhibit on Politics, Pundits and Minorities Debuts Friday
Posted on 12/02/10 by Yuri Artibise » No Comments
This Friday, come check out one of the more unique art exhibits to hit the Valley this year. Phoenix designer/filmmaker Safwat Saleem is debuting “A Bunch of Crock” on Friday, December 3, at Bragg’s Pie Factory in Downtown Phoenix. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the event will probably go on until 9:30 p.m. The exhibit consists of a poster show and several satirical and over-the-top audio/video installations.
From the artist:
A Bunch of Crock is an art exhibit about the absurdities of political campaigns and the unfortunate role of minorities. Filtering through various political messages in this election year, the common thread seems to be this: 1) politicians and pundits think the general population is too stupid to tell fact from fiction and 2) promoting fear of minorities is good politics.
Using satire and good old-fashioned profanity, this exhibit attempts to bypass the spin and tell the audience what the politicians and pundits actually mean, and how they portray minorities to promote fear and manufacture outrage.
What makes this exhibit unique is that was funded through Kickstarter, a microfunding platform for creative projects. More than 40 donors pledged between $12 and $100 to produce the gallery exhibit, which consists of printing large-format posters; producing stickers, buttons, postcards and signage; renting audio/video equipment (projectors, screens, speakers, etc.) and renting tables and chairs. While the First Friday show has been funded, additional funds are still being sought for rental of a/v equipment for future shows, including a planned Third Friday date (December 17, 6:30 to 10 p.m.)
Safwat’s video submission to Kickstarter explaining the concept and premise for the project can be found here.
NOTE: Both the video and website contain profane text.
Bragg’s Pie Factory is located at 1301 Grand Ave.
PechaKucha 2 This Friday
Posted on 11/08/10 by Yuri Artibise » No Comments
Downtown Phoenix has long been a hub for creatives of all types: artists, architects, graphic gurus, Web ninjas, urban planners and on and on.
This past April, PechaKucha, an event designed as a sounding board for these creative minds lost in the desert sand, arrived in town for the first time. Encouraged by the success of that night, a second event is this Friday evening at Bragg’s Pie Factory.
PechaKucha, pronounced “peh-chak cha” is Japanese for “chit-chat,” meaning the sound of busy conversation going on in a room. Devised in Tokyo in 2003 by architects Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein as a means for designers to show their work, PechaKucha Nights has become a global phenomenon, with events taking place in 326 cities around the world today.
To keep the momentum, a very efficient shotgun-style presentation format called “20×20” was created. That’s 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide; a total of six minutes, forty seconds. Stand up, tell the world what you got, and then sit the hell down. This format demands that presenters be precise, concise and engage audiences with only their most compelling work and ideas. No prolonged speeches, no endless PowerPoint slides and no bullet points!
PechaKucha PHX is an event where creatives of all disciplines can share their latest projects, newest curiosities, insights, aspirations and flashes of brilliance — to show what they’ve done, are doing or are psyched-up about doing next.
For additional information, including speaker profiles, visit the PechaKucha PHX website at pknphx.com.
If You Go: PechaKucha Night Phoenix 2
When: Friday, November 12, 2010. Food and drink: 5:30 p.m. Show starts at 7 p.m.
Where: Bragg’s Pie Factory, 1301 Grand Ave.
Tickets: $10, includes food and drinks during the event (yes, that means beer and wine). Advance sales ONLY at pknphx.com/attend/.
Phoenix Needs Optimists and Catalysts and TEDx Has Them!
Posted on 10/25/10 by Yuri Artibise » No Comments
November is right around the corner, and that means it’s time for TEDxPhoenix 2010! TEDxPhoenix will host its second event on Saturday, November 6, 2010, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Eight KAET PBS Studios in Downtown Phoenix.
This year’s event is building off the theme for TED2010 — “What the World Needs Now” — and what they feel the world and Phoenix needs now are more optimists and catalysts.
That’s why this year, the organizers are bringing us a full day of thought-provoking talks by some of the Valley’s most inspirational and innovative thinkers and doers. These are people who have spoken at PopTech, survived civil war, made the list of the Valley’s most intriguing individuals, championed local movements, represented the Navajo Nation, made regular appearances on the Science Channel, have spoken at the Googleplex, and authored books on science, entrepreneurship and design.
Speakers include:
Dr. Lawrence Krauss, Jany Deng, Kimber Lanning, Jay Rogers, Bob Grossfeld, Prasad Boradkar, Pamela Slim, Jolyana Bitsuie, Margaret Regan, Syed Toufeeq Ahmed, Eric Torres, Nina Miller, Goran Konjevod and Helene Neville, as well as a performance by Dry River Yacht Club.
For a full list of TEDxPhoenix 2010 speakers, please visit the speaker page. In addition, selected TEDTalks videos will showcase some of the world’s most renowned speakers.
TEDxPhoenix is the Phoenix metro’s opportunity to help make our local and global communities a better place through big ideas worth sharing and doing.
— Tomas Carrillo, TEDxPhoenix Curator
In addition to witnessing these great talks, attendees will also be treated to the most TED-like event that Arizona has seen so far. Organizers work around the clock to make sure that attendees get to experience the electric atmosphere of TED from the TED-like badges all the way down to the free coffee, snacks, drinks and gift bags. In addition, attendees get to enjoy a free catered lunch in Civic Space Park.
All of this is not being done to simply pamper attendees, but to promote collaboration and the exchange of ideas. This is an event focused on ideas worth sharing, spreading and doing!
Tickets for the event run $50 and are first come, first served, so once they run out, they’re gone! In addition, all proceeds go toward paying for event costs, as TEDxPhoenix is a not-for-profit event run by unpaid volunteers. If $50 seems high, consider that it’s less than 1% of the cost of the TED Conference and less than half the cost of most local conferences.
TICKETS: http://tedxphoenix.ticketleap.com/tedxphoenix-2010/
We hope you will join us for TEDxPhoenix 2010 and take part in an event that is quickly becoming a global laboratory for the spreading of ideas, as well as becoming part of a global revolution in education.
About TEDx
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, not-for-profit, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At TEDx events, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group.
The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including TEDxPhoenix, are self-organized independent events operated under license from TED.
About TEDxPhoenix
x = independently organized event
TEDxPhoenix is a not-for-profit community organized and run event. A team of volunteers plans and stages the event, and support is sought through donations from local Valley businesses and organizations. The goal of TEDxPhoenix is to help spread ideas capable of changing the Valley as well as the world.
To learn more about TEDxPhoenix, see the TEDxPhoenix website where you can also sign up to receive email updates, or join the TEDxPhoenix community by following TEDxPhoenix on Twitter or the TEDxPhoenix Facebook page.
If you would like more information about TEDxPhoenix, please call Tomas Carrillo at 480.329.5526 or email Tomas at tomas@tedxphoenix.com.
Macy Gray/Third Eye Blind Headline CityScape Grand Opening
Posted on 10/22/10 by DPJ Staff » 3 Comments
The grand opening of CityScape is shaping up to be a weekend-long festival of food, fashion and music.
National recording artist Macy Gray and – just announced – Third Eye Blind headline the weekend’s festivities.
Check the details below and mark your calendars accordingly.
WHAT: CityScape, a new mixed-use development in the heart of downtown Phoenix featuring office, retail, a hotel, and a redesigned Patriots Square.
WHEN: Thursday November 4th through Sunday, November 7th.
WHERE: CityScape, Downtown Phoenix (between Jefferson St and Washington St, from 1st Ave east to 1st St)
THE SCHEDULE:
Thursday, Nov 4
5 – 7 p.m. – City of Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon’s annual State of Downtown Event, with a special performance by the Phoenix Symphony and “Taste of Downtown” reception.
Friday, Nov 5
8 – 10 a.m. – “The World’s Largest Coffee Break” presented by CityScape tenants.
10 a.m. – Patriots Square Dedication with City of Phoenix Vice Mayor Michael Nowakowski
11 a.m. – 1 p.m. – A Taste of CityScape featuring food and beverage samplings from CityScape tenants
4:30 – 6:30 p.m. – First Friday & Phoenix Suns Pregame Happy Hour featuring live music performed by The Walkens
9:30 – 11 p.m. – National recording artist Macy Gray LIVE in Concert, free to the public
Saturday, Nov. 6
10 a.m. – Yoga and Spin classes in the Park, presented by Gold’s Gym.
11 a.m. – 9 p.m. – CityScape Downtown Festival.
• Local live music all day and night live in the park and on the main stage,
• Cooking demos featuring CityScape tenants
• Fashion shows featuring CityScape tenants
• Performing arts groups
• Local sports teams demonstrations
• Comedy acts presented by Stand Up Live
9:30 p.m. – National recording artist Third Eye Blind LIVE in Concert, free to the public
Sunday, Nov 7
Noon – 5 p.m. – Neighborhood/Community Picnic and Cookout, presented by LGO Public House.
All-day family event featuring live local music throughout the day as well as an outdoor grilling station, special offers from CityScape tenants and balloon artists and face painters for kids. The first 250 people to arrive will receive a FREE CityScape lawn chair.
PARKING: Free parking is available at CityScape on Friday and Saturday until 4 p.m. and all day Sunday. (Standard rates apply on Friday and after 4 p.m. on Saturday.) The public is encouraged to ride the METRO Light Rail — Central/Washington station westbound or 1st Ave./Jefferson station eastbound.
Make a night of it
Shopping: Urban Outfitters, West of SoHo, Designer District and workbench are now open at CityScape.
Eats and Drinks: $4 beer and $6 cocktails are available along Central Avenue all night long, and Vitamin T is giving visitors a taste of what to expect when it opens on 1st Street next week. Grab a burger at Five Guys Burgers and Fries or sit down for a game and dinner at Lucky Strike, or try some of these places right around the corner from CityScape: ICON Lounge (50 W. Adams St. in the Wyndham Hotel), Hanny’s (40 N. 1st St.), Seamus McCaffrey’s (18 W. Monroe St.) or Ghost Lounge (202 N. Central Ave. in Hotel San Carlos).
