Awesome Foundation - Projects

Austin, TX – Attendance Records: Inspiring Austin's next generation of musicians

2013-10-22T00:00:00Z

Attendance Records is dedicated to bringing creativity back into schools by connecting teachers and students with local writers, artists and musicians. By providing students with the opportunity to design, write and produce their own album, students build confidence skills that result in discovering what makes them unique. With budget cuts in full effect, arts programs are usually first to go. We provide a free, safe environment each school year where public school students are encouraged to find their own voice through the arts. Two local bands per school year work with students in the classroom to help turn ideas into actual song lyrics. The bands then take our student-written lyrics and record an original album for free at Estuary Recording Facility. The program is a whole community project, where people of all ages are learning something unique about themselves. Our curriculum is catered to each class we work with. In the fall we focus on building community through a variety of creative enterprises, and dive into the songwriting aspect by exploring point of view through lyrics analysis, freewriting, and exposure to different musical genres. In the spring we focus on art by examining classic album covers and using them as inspiration for the students own album project. We also learn about the DIY aspects of creating an album from screenprinting to promotion. As we begin our third program at Anderson High School this year, we are excited to expand to two classes instead of just one. This year we are working with a group of AVID (Advancement vid Individual Determination) students, who are first generation college students. These students are not only hard workers and excited to learn, they are appreciative for the opportunity to participate in the Attendance Records program, as many would not have an arts education experience otherwise.

Montreal, QC (Inativo) – Get in the Van

2013-10-22T00:00:00Z

"Get in The Van day will be a one-day workshop bringing together all the resources touring musicians need to understand relating to their rights and responsibilities. Get in the Van will bring immigration lawyers, booking agents, talent buyers and merch. experts to educate musicians on the ""business"" side of the business. More interestingly, the Get in the Van concept will also include expertise in other areas related to surviving on the road. As such, we're going to have auto-mechanics (because a contract to play a gig in Columbus isn't much good if no-one other than your ex-drummer knows how to fix a broken gas line) and nutritionists (because even without fresh-veg in your rider, mom would still want you to eat your five colours a day) sharing their knowledge as well. Apart from the one-day hit of the workshop. CJAM will produce a Get in the Van curriculum kit which will be available on our website to all touring artists who need our knowledge but can’t make it to the workshop."

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – Best of the Fests

2013-10-21T00:00:00Z

Festivals are unique opportunities to see cultures of the word through a specific lens and focus and I want to share that with the world. I have experienced a lot of personal growth and created and maintained friendships with people from people all over the world because of festivals and the cultures they create. I realize that my perspective and that of my colleagues is a unique one. I'd love to both explore that further and share it with others. My idea is to raise enough funds and build a team to create a fresh and compelling travelogue show that looks at the culture surrounding the best-known and most eclectic festivals in the world. An ensemble cast would explore the artists, food, and folklore that make each event a completely new experience. THE PREMISE Cast members will each focus on their passion to reveal the big or small differences that make each festival unique. They’ll answer questions like: What is the unique culinary flavor of this event? What do people love or hate about how this event has affected their community? What unique set of challenges does the festival face? What is the history of the event? What legends or tales do people tell about this event? What does the future hold? THE ENSEMBLE The ensemble will be comprised of influencers and tastemakers with expertise in different fields relating to each festival. Depending on the specific content of the particular festival, the hosts will focus on: food, planning, music, film, technology and the culture inherent to the event.

Oahu, HI – Laundry Access for Homeless Families with Children

2013-10-18T00:00:00Z

Since 2006, Family Promise of Hawaii has helped over 1,000 parents and children transition out of homelessness into sustainable independence. Approximately 80% of our families transition into housing within 3-4 months. We partner with 63 interfaith congregations and over 1,500 volunteers to shelter and feed our families 365 days a year. We average over 10,000 shelter bed nights per year and provide over 30,000 meals. Family Promise of Hawaii provides daily shelter, meals and intense supportive services to families with children experiencing homelessness. We seek families who are motivated to achieve self-sufficiency and give priority to families willing to work. We operate two shelters, Honolulu and Kailua, that provide laundry facilities, showers, computer & internet access, daily meals, life skills training, employment assistance and weekly case management. This comprehensive approach to helping homeless families enables us to assist families quickly and ensures a high success rate for individuals, even after they leave our program. In 2010, we started a day program at our Honolulu center in order to serve more families. Up to 25 parents and children can utilize our day center as a home base while on our waitlist. These families have full access to the day center for mail, telephone, laundry, shower facilities, computers and weekly case management. Several of our day program families are able to secure housing before having to enter the overnight program. To date, this has allowed us to serve over 400 more homeless parents and children. Our mission is to mobilize existing community resources to aid families with children experiencing homelessness and help them transition to sustainable independence. Our host sites provide daily overnight shelter and meals to our guests. This allows us to operate at a much lower cost than traditional shelters. Our innovative model uses volunteers and community resources in a truly unique way.

Boulder, CO (Inativo) – Wake of the Flood

2013-10-18T00:00:00Z

Focusing on the acoustic bluegrass community of Lyons, Co and the affects of September's flood, CollectiveArtsInk is producing an audio documentary on the rehabilitation and resurgence of what is sure to be a great story. This project will consist of multiple segments aired on KGNU throughout the recovery process. The final segment will be a 30 min audio documentary. The Lyons music community is one of the strongest along the front range. The Bluegrass Jam has run for over ten years and the flood hasn't prevented them from turning out in their usually large numbers. Planet Bluegrass, devastated by the flood, is determined to reopen for their RockyGrass Festival in 2014. Interviews have begun and we are attending business community meetings and fund raising benefits. Media coverage of this flood will focus on the 40 million dollars needed to rebuild the infrastructure, but we are telling the story from the communities point of view. This is a story we need to tell. This is an artistic historical moment.

New York City, NY – Hudson River Project

2013-10-18T00:00:00Z

Hudson River Project is a feature doc film with an original score by Mogwai. Its being exec produced by the makers of The Imposter (Sundance select). Its a pretty simple idea: Build a boat out of Manhattan’s waste, take it to the source of the Hudson River - Lake Tear of the Clouds, high in the Adirondack Mountains - and row the boat back to Manhattan. The best pitch is this 2 minute taster trailer we made last year: www.hudsonriverproject.com We will start shooting on the 15th October and the entire shoot will take 2 months. We are using a small crew to stay light and true to one of the ideas behind the film (making the most of resources). Once shot our distribution plan involves Ben Tricklebank who built www.thewildernessdowntown.com for google and The Arcade Fire. We hope to premiere at Sundance in 2015 and we'll also be touring the film with Mogwai. There is so much to tell! There's more info here: http://hudsonriverproject.tumblr.com/ You could also come to our NYC launch on 2 October: http://hudsonriverprojectnyc.eventbrite.com

Detroit, MI (Inativo) – Rust Belt Regional Poetry Slam

2013-10-17T00:00:00Z

Rust Belt Midwest Regional Poetry Slam is a two day poetry and spoken word festival bringing a quality performance poetry tournament to a Midwest city to compete for the Rust Belt title, but more importantly, reunite with poetry family and spread the life and love of poetry and the literary arts. This festival brings in well known and up and coming poets into one city in a way that no other such festival does. We cultivate workshops, open mics, and family time events all in addition to the on going slam competition. In 2014, myself and fellow poet Deonte Osayande have the honor of bringing this festival to the city of Detroit, and we plan to take the festival up to a knew level by adding a youth slam, more workshop/artistic building opportunities, and giving local and national sponsors true opportunities to promote themselves with visuals like T-shirts and banners, as well as audios like Radio adds and consistent recognition throughout stage events. We look to turn 2014 Rust Belt into a building project that challenges our city and fellow poets to create an environment of growth and support.

Chicago, IL – Hook & Eye

2013-10-17T00:00:00Z

We want to create an interactive, Halloween-themed event that links the sensory experiences we value as dancers with the sensory experiences we all love about Halloween. Spanning two stories of Fulton Street Collective, a large and diverse artist cooperative in Ukrainian Village, the multi-media collaboration is structured as a haunted house of sorts, minus the vampire-witch-psychokiller thing. Small groups of brave guests step into the freight elevator at the back of the building (creepy but safe, we promise) and off the elevator into a world made surreal by various installations of music, video, performance art, live painting, dance, and theatre. As participants inch down hallways and peek around corners, they come across peculiar and downright chilling performances that craft a multi-sensory, spooky atmosphere. For instance, situated close enough to the walking path to be noticed but far enough to seem a bit unusual, is an upright bass player, filling the space with eerie and original sounds. Add to the mix a small studio overtaken by a brazen theatre company, dancers silently and subtly haunting passersby, a staccato, live painting installation, and the lingering, melancholic notes of a cello, to name a few, and you have an integrated happening that exposes art novices to the work of the local arts community in an engaging and welcoming fashion. The “haunted house” guides guests toward the programming in the building’s gallery space, also clad with artwork by local artists. Dance performances include new works by Laboratory Dancers’ artistic co-directors Emily Lukasewski and Alexandra Subak that highlight each choreographer’s distinct voice. The evening ends with a bang as Chicago band “She Speaks in Tongues” plays us out. The project’s goal aligns with our mission, constructing an environment in which people not often exposed to art can learn about and enjoy the remarkable Chicago arts scene. Halloween provides a platform for open minds and adventure seeking!

Kingston – The Dobby Project

2013-10-17T00:00:00Z

A few months ago on a Sunday afternoon I was folding laundry and listening to CBC radio. There was a program on talking about how foot problems are the number one health concern for homeless people. Most of the issues are caused by not having access to clean, dry socks. Socks are considered a consumable at shelters and they are constantly in need of them. Looking at the mountain of socks in front of me I said to myself - I can help! I called some local shelters and asked if they need socks on a regular basis - they all responded with a resounding YES! I would like to set up a few sock donation bins around the city. Shelters will take turns collecting the donated socks on a monthly or as needed (full bins) basis. The bins will also have some facts and figures about homelessness in Kingston and the urgent and ongoing need for socks to help maintain the health of homeless people in our city. I am hoping The Dobby Project will keep our shelters supplied with socks for many years to come. I have called it the Dobby Project after a character in the Harry Potter series who loves socks.

Boston, MA (Inativo) – Trenton Hustle

2013-10-16T00:00:00Z

Once an industrial power house Trenton is now a shell of its former self. Over 30 murders in a town of 85,000 this year. The streets lined with litter, homeless everywhere begging for change, gangs of bored teenagers roam the streets beating and robbing for fun. I meet a lot of people that want to work, but for many reasons (No ID, no transportation, sketchy work history, questionable pasts) they can't get a job. Also many people are incapable of working a consistent 8 hour a day 5 day a week job and only want to make enough money to get by for a day or two. I want to give them that opportunity. "Trenton Hustle" will combine community service with a money making oportunity. In exchange for 25 hours of litter patrol and light gardening I will pay for a peddlers permit and background check. With these credentials a person would be able to use my peddlers cart to sell fruit, nuts, water and vegetables. I would do a 50/50 split and use the profits to build more carts. The carts will have brooms, rakes and garbage bags to encourage more cleanup. The shifts will be a short 4 hours with a morning sign in. I have a few candidates that would be perfect to test the concept. I would also use some profit for prizes because I want to make it a competition.

Ottawa – Bureaucratease

2013-10-15T00:00:00Z

October's Awesome Ottawa award goes to Rhapsody Blue, Nicholas Charney, and Adam Tupper, to support the production of an office-themed burlesque and performance art show called "Bureaucratease." "Deserved or not," says Adam, "Ottawa has a boring reputation. Perpetuated by an insular political culture and a bureaucracy that is nearly synonymous with the national capital region, many are labouring under the mistaken notion that Ottawa is full of offices and offices are full of tedium. But this selfsame bureaucracy is not only brimming with creativity, but also pulsating with a desire to thrust off the shackles of the work-a-day world and join the bustling nightlife culture." "The show," he explains, "will be a celebration of the oddities of office culture, with performers exploring the themes of facelessness, hierarchy, and red tape on a stage set with cubicles, water coolers, and other familiar office accoutrements. The show will be a playful, purposeful, and beautiful juxtaposition of the buttoned-down office environment and the lively world of burlesque that brings the two worlds closer together by reaching out to an untraditional audience." Rhapsody Blue is a local burlesque performer and fire breather, Nicholas Charney is co-founder of Bureaucratees, and Adam Tupper runs Ottawa events-planning organization Wonder Geeks Activate! They plan on holding the show in April. [Photo: John Finnigan Lin]

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – Young Adult Burn Survivor Conference

2013-10-14T00:00:00Z

The conference is geared at steering young adult burn survivors towards a source of assistance, rehabilitation, and reintegration into society after enduring a burn injury. The empowering 3-day weekend, revolving around self-acceptance and self-discovery brings survivors from all across the nation to: Learn to develop a new understanding of their true abilities and capabilities. Participate in group discussions regarding effective coping skills and self-esteem, leading to self-acceptance. The overall goal of the conference is to encourage a smoother transitions for burn survivors, from the teenage years to the adult years of their life. This mission is accomplished through breakout sessions, doctors, burn community leaders from across the nation. This is the events second year. We are still working on local partnerships to help create a sustaining sources for this amazing life transforming event. Any support offered will be greatly appreciated.

Vancouver, BC (Inativo) – A Good Book Drive

2013-10-13T00:00:00Z

A Good Book Drive is an annual book drive to bring stories to a new generation of readers, and support kids in need of new books. Running through the month of November, A Good Book Drive inspires Vancouverites to purchase a new copy of their favorite kids’ book and deliver it to set locations throughout the city to be donated to this year’s book drive recipient. A Good Book Drive has teamed up with a great group of independent Vancouver retailers that will each house A Good Book Box where donors can drop off their favorite kids book. There, donors will be able to personalize their donation with special bookplate labels, sharing their own story of why that book is special. By permanently placing those stories within the cover of the books, children will read the personal narratives and learn about the impact of that book on someone else’s life. After the 30 days of promotion, we collect the books from across the city and deliver them to the recipient. We also celebrate the excitement of A Good Book Drive and create a space to connect over the sharing of stories at a wrap-up event, the last day of November.

Chicago, IL – Home is where the heart is...

2013-10-12T00:00:00Z

I am interested in making ceramic sculptural graffiti that is installed on abandoned/empty buildings around Chicago neighborhoods that are considered 'up and coming' or are in some state of flux. These pieces will be designed and installed with thought to the building's architectural design, business history, social/community involvement. The pieces will only be installed on the boarded up sections of the buildings so there will be no permanent damage to the building facade. My hopes are that not only will this stretch Chicago graffiti scene and traditional ideas of graffiti but also highlight these over looked and under cared for areas of our community.

Maldon (Inativo) – 2 THE XTREME YOUTH FESTIVAL 2013

2013-10-11T00:00:00Z

2 the xtreme (2TX) is the only event of its kind in Central Victoria. It aims to inspire, motivate and engage young people, many of whom are from less advantaged backgrounds, in positive healthy creative sports, dance, music and food. It also provides young people with safe, healthy alternatives to high risk taking behaviour through FREE workshops. 2TX will run over two days on November 30th and December 1st 2013. 2TX is a much needed inclusive event where young people of all ages and walks of life can demonstrate and learn skills in Skate, BMX, dance, music, visual art and cooking. Being involved with such an energetic event enhances teamwork, fitness and fun, encourages responsibility and boosts social interaction in a performance-based setting. Over the weekend of the event XtremeInc will be encouraging broader youth participation by incorporating FREE healthy cooking workshops for young people aged five to 25 with 2012 MasterChef contestant Beau Cook . Other workshops will include visual art, and dance. These workshops will be taught by professional artists including special guest dance group ‘Beat the Streets’, Australia's No.1 "Street show” which is made up of a team of multi-talented, prodigal, world-class performers selected from around the world; the best performers in their fields. Their show contains every essence of the word entertainment including; Death defying - break dancing, electric tap Dancing, Comedy and Bucket drumming (beatthestreets.com). This crew will come to 2TX to inspire, perform and run FREE workshops. The whole community benefit’s from the positive outcomes of providing opportunities that encourage young people to participate in healthy activities, to express themselves creatively and feel like valued and connected members of the community. Better community connectedness is achieved through establishing new, and strengthening existing partnerships between local artists, organisations, businesses, community members and young people.

Seattle, WA – PIer Into the Night - Live Dive Series

2013-10-11T00:00:00Z

Picture this. It’s dusk in Puget Sound. As you walk by the local dock, you see mysterious lights coming from below the surface of the water. Intrigued, you walk to the edge of the dock and join local residents as they see, touch, and learn about the very creatures that live in the waters below them. This is Harbor WildWatch’s “Pier into the Night” program. The Pier Into the Night program invites adults and kids to observe marine activity that occurs in the Puget Sound from a night-time perspective. Submersible lights and scopes are anchored off the end of the dock to illuminate underwater activity in Gig Harbor Bay. Similar to porch lights, the underwater lights attract marine species that are seldom seen during the day such as ambushing squid, bioluminescent ctenophores, and wriggling sea worms! Naturalists are on hand to identify the animals as well as provide information on their life cycles, habitat indicators and human impacts on their survival. Free and open to all ages, this program focuses on introducing visitors to, and generating excitement about, the marine creatures that inhabit Puget Sound. In 2014, we will expand this program by introducing a live video and audio feed between the SCUBA diver and the audience – the Live Dive Series. A video screen on the surface will connect to a specialized communication unit on the diver, allowing visitors to see exactly what the diver sees. Audience members will also have the opportunity to ask the diver questions directly. The Pier program began in 2009 with 2 programs and 250 visitors. In 2012, we hosted 13 programs with over 7,600 visitors. The addition of the Live Dive Series to the Pier Into the Night program will greatly enhance our environmental education efforts by attracting and engaging more visitors at our winter events. This extra-awesome experience will help further our mission of inspiring stewardship for the Puget Sound by dispelling common misconceptions about these fascinating marine creatures.

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – Roma Ecology

2013-10-10T00:00:00Z

This project would explore and foster the relationship between the Romani immigrant community in Cosenza Italy and the existing local ecology, social and natural. I will teach a photography class for 20 community members that will focus on documentation of their everyday experience within the community camp and in relation to the natural environment. I will display the work in public space creating opportunities for the participants to communicate with members of the larger community of Cosenza through their own photography. The Romani are considered unique as a culture because they have never identified themselves with a territory; they have no tradition of an ancient and distant homeland from which their ancestors migrated from, nor do they claim the right to national sovereignty in any of the lands where they reside. Romani identity historically is bound up with the ideal of freedom expressed and having no ties to a homeland. However, the contemporary Roma community in Cosenza, as in many places throughout Europe, has played a complicated role in the local ecology over time. The community looks and functions more like a settlement than a transitory nomadic space; and in that reality, I as an artist endeavor to celebrate the strengths of their nomadic past while supporting the development of a new voice for the community equally grounded in social and ecological concerns for the place in which they reside. The community I propose to work in is comprised of 700+ community members dispersed across three separate neighborhoods within a camp located on public property much to close to the main river for human inhabitants. The immediate environmental and social impact the community has had to this point is in large part not positive; but I aim to create a new relationship based on the empowerment inherent in creative expression.

Liverpool – Tag-art art groups

2013-10-09T00:00:00Z

I am setting up base in a community youth centre in the Everton area of Liverpool. I am going to be running art workshops for children and adults. Ranging from drawing,painting,collage and clay sculpting plus much more. The aim is to engage with the community through art. Encouraging children to socialise and develop there artistic skills and providing art education and giving teenagers an insight into alternative routes of employment,into creative industries.Aswell as providing art therapy to specifically older groups using clay workshops to help aid physical problems such as arthritis etc... As well as providing art for fun, art for education, art for therapy I will also be setting up paint party's for all occasions as another source of income to sustain the upkeep. And long term I want to be able to offer courses offering art accreditation to teenagers who may have been removed from main stream education and adults looking for alternative routes back to employment.

Sydney – #wildsydney

2013-10-08T00:00:00Z

I am now collaborating with a cluster of programmers and media strategist to create a free mapping service for the wide community of interested foragers. We are creating a user content generated map of the wild food and wild medicine living around us. The idea is simple: by integrating hashtags calls from social media sites we are able to 'harvest' images and geolocate them onto a map. The return for the users is that the wild plants will then be identified for them and informations on how to use, how to harvest, when to harvest will be presented as much as links and references. Because of what I do I get sent images all the times from people willing to know better what is growing around them. 'Can I eat this?' is a common sight on my wall. I now ask that they upload the image, tag and geolocate it so that it would automatically be placed on the #wildsydney map for all to benefit. We already secured the support from other free maps, like Scrumpers Delight, now offline, but will be resuscitated through our project>>http://www.imagoforest.com.au/rs_ev.html << and will also integrate data from the Australian Virtual Herbarium >>avh.ala.org.au<< and the Environmental Protection Agency (to map polluted areas) >>http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/<< The scope is much bigger than that, we want eventually to map clean sites, best harvesting seasons, no-go areas, wildfood-nerds-forums and more. Step one will be launched as part of an exhibition on Radical Cartography at Tin Shed Gallery on August 1. Can you imagine? a map that will tell you the location and seasonal availability for dandelions? nettle? mulberries? pine mushrooms? bamboo shoots? Wouldn't that be awesome? Yes of course by mapping it all we would create competition, but also a platform for sharing information, an amplification of our knowledge of available resources and an amplification of our care for those resources. There is no such a thing as waste, only under-utilised resource :)

Sydney – Meet the Maker

2013-10-08T00:00:00Z

In 2014 we’ll launch Meet the Maker, a creative collaboration between YFM, the Old Growler and guest food producers that deepens the connection between consumers and producers. Each quarter, Meet the Maker will put food producers in touch with a crowd of city folk who want to hear the stories behind their produce. Held in a lively bar atmosphere - Woolloomooloo’s the Old Growler - 120 guests will purchase an affordably priced ticket ($25, which includes food). Guests will mingle with fellow city dwelling sustainable food supporters and local producers from the city’s fringe over delicious, local food and drink. The producers will speak to the crowd about their sustainable farming practices, their lifestyle, motivations and experiences as well as the produce they grow whilst guests try dishes using the producers’ ingredients. The producers' goods will also be available to buy on the night in a mini-farmer’s market set-up, where guests can talk more with producers about the food. Bringing consumers and producers together is at the heart of the Youth Food Movement’s theory of change. When people who eat (that’s everyone!) understand where their food comes from, who made it and how the act of food production impacts environments, animals and the communities, they can better navigate our confusing food system and when consumers constantly ask to know more, producers and retailers whose practices are not sustainable will need to step up to the mark in order to stay competitive. Meet the Maker is the perfect way for guests to make the vital association between what they eat and who grew it that will change buying behaviour and empower them to ask more. Each event will initiate lasting connections between producers and conscious consumers and between guests and YFM to continue their journey in support of a fairer, more sustainable food future for Sydney and Australia – all while enjoying delicious food and intellectual conversation in an urban alehouse setting.

Whangarei (Inativo) – Noice Cave

2013-10-07T00:00:00Z

I would like to build a Noise Cave make from broken instruments, bells symbols and drums - anything that makes sound. I would like to install this at Art Beat Whangarei February 2013.

Yerevan – ''Before I die"' Wall

2013-10-07T00:00:00Z

September's Awesome Yerevan award goes to Mariam Safaryan and team of Luys Foundation Community members, to support the production of a street art wall called "Before I die." The project has been implemented in over 20 languages and in over 50 countries; the first one being in New Orleans. Candy Chang painted the side of an abandoned house with chalkboard paint and stencilled it with a grid of the sentence “Before I die I want to _______.” Anyone walking by could pick up a piece of chalk, reflect on their lives, and share their personal aspirations in public space. We hope that this project will unite the people of Yerevan into a community and they will start reflecting on what's truly important to them, what truly matters to them in their lives. It should also be noted that the text can vary. Examples are "Before I turn 100 I want to...", "Armenia would be a better place if...", "Yerevan would be a better place if..."In my Life I Hope to..."; The text can also be translate into Armenian instead so that it is more accessible to a wider mass.

New Orleans, LA (Inativo) – The New Orleans Center for Community Media

2013-10-07T00:00:00Z

I am requesting a grant to fund the first community-media workshop from the New Orleans Center for Community Media. The workshop will take place over the course of four Saturdays. Facilitated by two teaching media artists, and attended by ten community members, the workshop will cover the basics of storytelling and interviewing, and it will include an introduction to multimedia tools. Participants will work in groups to create a short reporting piece covering an issue in their neighborhood. The Current Context New Orleans is a city where stories hold power. But not every community has access to the tools that would allow them to communicate their stories in the steadily shifting media landscape. There are still many barriers to media engagement, particularly for low-income communities of color. The Vision: Storytelling for Transformation The New Orleans Center for Community Media is a start-up media training and resource center supporting community-based and grassroots media production aimed at elevating the voices of communities across the city. Our work is centered in bringing communication tools to underserved populations, providing these communities with the media production technology and resources to tell, document, and preserve their own stories and the stories of their communities through both traditional and emerging media platforms. Using a multipronged approach steeped in media literacy, media training, media justice, and the media arts, we work with and within communities to use media as a tool for advancing community voice and social justice. Our community workshops seek to use media and media training as a way to elevate the voices and experiences of those most often kept out of the centers of power when it comes to rebuilding the city. We envision a city where low-income communities of color have the skills and the access to the technologies that will allow them to document their lived experiences and to further social change.

San Francisco, CA – The Library of Joy (A Museum of Joy Project)

2013-10-07T00:00:00Z

The first in a series of experiments on the intersection of joyous experience and public space, the Library of Joy is inspired by the “Portraits of an Ingenious Gentleman” project by the artist Boethius, who placed over 400 unique paintings on pages taken from Don Quixote into books in San Francisco’s used bookstores, there to be discovered and taken home by casual readers. The experience of discovering one of these pages was such a profound joy that we thought we’d take it one step further, both in homage and in gratitude. To begin, the Library of Joy project will solicit text through several different social media channels, including blogs, Twitter, and Facebook, with the simple prompt “Please describe a moment you experienced joy.” Fifty of the responses will form the base texts for the next phase: the assemblage of a library of artist books. The books themselves will be ordinary hardbacks, found in bargain bins for $2 or less; their text block will be cut out and replaced with a unique collage inspired by and illustrative of one of the solicited texts. The dust jacket of each book will also be collaged, with “The Museum of Joy” on the spine, the original base text about joy on the inner flap, and a short blurb about the project with a QR code, a thank-you to the Awesome Foundation (and to Boethius), an encouragement to finders to reshare their discovery, and a text link to the project website on the back. The books will then be replaced in bargain bins with the $2 sticker still on the front, to be discovered and delighted over by unsuspecting book-browsers. Ideally, the Library of Joy will reach beyond bookstores, and volumes will wind up in any laundromat, café, or waiting area with a casual take-a-book-leave-a-book-style bookshelf. The Museum of Joy hopes to push the boundaries of the joy we can expect in public spaces by simultaneously evoking, celebrating, and disseminating joyous experience through the Library of Joy project.

Detroit, MI (Inativo) – Essence of Motown Literary Jam & Conference

2013-10-06T00:00:00Z

The Essence of Motown Literary Jam & Conference is a two day event bringing readers and writers together raise literacy rates in Metro Detroit and to uplift the literary community around Michigan. Held every 2nd weekend for the past nine years, as the Motown Literary Jam enters its tenth year in 2013, the volunteer only based event hopes to make a powerful impact on Motown and the world. Along with a goal to get over 10,000 book donations for the conference season to assist SitOnItDetroit, the event will hope to provide the following two day events free to readers and writers in Metro Detroit: Laughs For Literary Passion Fruit Poetry Writing, Publishing & Marketing Workshops All Male Literacy Panel Author Genre Panels Poetry Panels 2013 Booksigning Release Party

London (Inativo) – In the Sticks

2013-10-06T00:00:00Z

A Forest School is an outdoor classroom where children are encouraged to develop their own learning through play and curriculum-linked activities. Based on Danish methods of Early Years and Primary education, children are taken to an outdoor setting once a week for at least 6 weeks. We have connected with an adventure playground in Shoreditch, Hackney, who have agreed to allow us to run Forest School programmes on the site during school hours, when it is generally disused. There are seven primary schools in the local area who would be able to take part in Forest School activities run on the site, several have expressed interest in the project. We would like to run 12 week projects with 2 schools, with the aim of expanding our delivery in 2014. Forest School is supported by the National Trust as a counter to a 'sedentary indoor lifestyle' (Natural Childhood, National Trust, 2012), has been found to have a positive impact for children with 'significant behaviour problems' and 'mental disorders' (Sowing the Seeds, London Sustainable Development Commission, 2011) and aids the development of language and communication skills for all children, particularly those with EAL (English as an Additional Language). Many areas of the National Curriculum Foundation to KS4 are intrinsically covered, in the Forest School experience. The Forest School approach meets the developmental needs of the whole child, at the same time nurturing respect and care for the environment by focussing on providing an experience in the natural environment. Aim: - For urban children and young people to have meaningful outdoor experiences and make informed choices towards positive, low-impact lifestyles. Social Outcomes: - Positive impact on effects of deprivation - Environmental education and awareness - Improved physical and mental health and wellbeing for the children and young people who participate in our programmes and workshops - Reconnecting people with nature in their local community

Gloucester, MA – Glosta Lobsta

2013-10-04T00:00:00Z

Many Gloucester fishermen rely on catching lobster as part of their living. This year, soft shell lobsters were selling between $2.50 and $3.50 per pound. They usually sell between $3.50 and $4.50 per pound off the docks. Prices have been as high as $7 a pound. Lobstermen really need to be getting $4 a pound to pay their bills and make a living. HOWEVER, lobster landed off local boats is increased $1 to $2 per pound by retailers before being sold to restaurants, shippers and food processors. Restaurants will double the prices of the lobsters in their restaurants. The “Glosta Lobsta” project intends to promote soft shell lobsters landed in Gloucester and bring more money to local fishermen. This project is a pilot project that intends to connect consumers with local fishermen and promote soft-shell lobsters which are normally sweeter than hard shell lobsters. The big difference is that soft shell lobsters, due to their naturally weakened shell after molting, are not likely to survive shipping or transportation. This reduces their value. We want to have a “Glosta Lobsta Day” on October 19th. We would like to work with three restaurants with the agreement that they will prepare local soft shell lobster using a creative recipe that can be sold to customers. They agree to give us the exact recipe. In exchange local restaurants will help promote "Glosta Lobsta Day."

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – International Online Opera

2013-10-03T00:00:00Z

Twitter has a very active community of opera singers and fans across the world. A group of singers on Twitter (myself included) wants to leverage this to perform together via webcams and the internet (on a Google+ hangout). We will rehearse and perform a short opera (tentatively Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas," but potentially Bizet's "Le docteur miracle" if the casting/scheduling requirements of the former are too taxing) entirely online. The rehearsals would be private but recorded for future reference, and the final performance would be broadcast live and advertised in opera communities (on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr; major blogs/forums like Parterre; and lists like Opera-L), plus recorded and uploaded to YouTube for later viewing. If this initial project is well-received, this would be the start of (what we believe to be) the world's only entirely online opera company. [We recognize that there are some potential technology issues (e.g., internet delays or failures) here, which is part of why this is a proof-of-concept. If those issues prove insurmountable, we will explore alternative technology options, like partially or entirely recording individual video and audio in advance but combining and airing the parts all together.]

Miami, FL – The Impact of Wage Theft in the Greater Miami Area

2013-10-03T00:00:00Z

I want to apply the skills I have acquired through filmmaking and my interest in social justice to a project with potential to enact change and promote awareness on an issue that negatively impacts the Greater Miami-Dade community. Wage theft occurs when workers are paid below the minimum wage, not paid for overtime, forced to work off the clock, have their time cards altered, are misclassified as independent contractors, or are simply not paid a wage for work performed. Wage theft is a growing problem across South Florida as employers seek to cut costs. The problem is especially acute in Miami-Dade because of jobs in our tourism and service sector based economy which support mainly low-wage and hourly jobs. However, research conducted by the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP) has shown that professionals and higher salary occupations are also at risk of wage theft because of the weak enforcement of Florida’s labor laws and the lack of jurisdiction that these labor laws offer to many workers. Workers have little to no recourse, legal or otherwise. The negative effects of shortchanging workers’ wages ripple across our community. Families suffer when earnings are too low to meet basic needs. Local businesses and economies are denied vital stimulus that would flow from the additional spending of workers had they been paid all that they had earned. Working families often resort to public programs to meet basic needs when wages are stolen from them. Funding for this project will go towards the creation of a documentary/educational film to raise awareness of the issue. The film will be used to educate local politicians, workers, and college students in the community. An innovative social media campaign will be used to promote the project and enhance the film's exposure. The more exposure the film project receives, the greater the potential for making a profound and positive impact on our local community.

Sarnia (Inativo) – HARK

2013-10-03T00:00:00Z

"Hark" is a mass choir. Very mass!! We are not all professional singers but we all appreciate good music. We know that one or two of our voices will sound mediocre but the collective music that a mass choir (between 500 and 1000 people) will produce would sound absolutely AWESOME. So, we plan to assemble a multitude of citizens to participate in an informal gathering to sing festive Christmas carols. The songs will all be familiar ranging from "Jingle Bells" to "Hark the Herald". We won't practice. We won't be accomplished musicians, but the song fest will be open to any child, youth parent or grandparent who feels like joining in. The date is likely to be Sunday afternoon, Dec. 8. We already have the location in mind but we want to keep that a secret until the event is formally announced.

Rio de Janeiro (Inativo) – Movimento in Absentia

2013-10-02T00:00:00Z

Movimento in Absentia Public art installation/ mechanical performance In light of recent global protests, Movimento in Absentia presents deconstructed power struggles to the greater public in a form that is stripped of ideology and is focused on the essence of recent and historic struggles that define society. Not only political or apolitical movements, but the struggle of all human relationships. The piece sets 12-16 old cassette tape players against each other (6 v. 6, etc.) to carry out a coordinated argument based only on the phrases “Queremos isto!” and “Não vamos dar isto a vocês!” The audio will be coordinated in a way that the argument grows in intensity on each side (at first each tape recorder “speaking” alone until all the voices combine) and the demands of each side finally change to their opposites. The demand for recognition or power, the “this” or “that”, is finally reversed. This piece can be set up all over Rio, all over Brazil, the world. The Arcos da Lapa and Praca Tiradentes are just a few initial locations. The installation will be mobile and can be staged all over the city, presenting people with a new way to think about their own struggles and greater arguments that are now happening in Brazil and around the world.

Tel Aviv - קרן בקטנה (Inativo) – “Acting for change” – Sudanese Theater Group

2013-10-02T00:00:00Z

This theatre group of African Asylum Seekers in Israel is performing for audiences around the country. Through this play, audiences are introduced to the complexities of life for Ayslum Seekers in Israel and triggers discussions around a topic that sorely needs to be discussed in Israel. We love this project because it is dealing with a very serious issue in a sustainable and bite sized way.

Kitchener-Waterloo – Community Music School of Waterloo Region

2013-10-01T00:00:00Z

Our project is awesome because music is a ubiquitous part of human culture that everyone should be able to enjoy and have access to. Music is everywhere and if given the proper nourishment it can flourish into something that shades everyone around it from the hot Sun of everyday life. The Community Music School of Waterloo Region is a project designed to fight injustice in our community by giving quality music lessons to 40 referred students who would otherwise be unable to afford lessons. This project is ongoing and has had great success over the past year. It is awesome because of its ability to use otherwise wasted talent, build self-esteem, and create hope and opportunities for individuals in our community. The School is already partnered with the Beckett School/Lyrical Lines Education Network, the Laurier Centre for Music in the Community, KW Symphony, The Working Centre, Bob's Guitar Service, and the Ontario Registered Music Teachers' Association-Kitchener Branch. Students are referred through Pathways to Education, KidsLINK, The Working Centre, Lutherwood, Mill Courtland Community Centre, The Waterloo Catholic District School Board, and KW Counselling Services. These partners will allow the School to grow and better address the needs of talented youth in our community whose talents go unappreciated. Lets give them a helping hand up so that our entire region can benefit from those talents in the long term.

Miami, FL – Zine Machine

2013-10-01T00:00:00Z

Books Are Nice started off as a blog intending to share graphic designer Augusto Mendoza's expanding collection of art and design publications. Since then, he has published four monographs from Miami artists that are held in University of Miami Libraries’ Special Collections. More recently, Books Are Nice helped put together an event at Lester’s to give local book and zine publishers a platform to display their work. The next venture will encourage community engagement. We will purchase three vending machines, similar to those dispensing temporary tattoos and stickers. Ten local artists will be given the opportunity to work with a graphic designer and create a 16-page zine. Every artist will have 50 copies of their “mini-monograph” available for purchase. Each machine will be featured in different locations and will feature random quantities of that season’s artist’s zines. Consumers can collect all 10 zines by the end of their time at each location. Books Are Nice wants to make art accessible to those who appreciate it. Throughout the installation, we plan on featuring visual artists, designers, chefs, coders and anyone with interesting aesthetics and ideas. By curating different artists each season, the machine will allow local art patrons to grow their zine collection, while simultaneously giving artists exposure. The Zine Machine kickoff event will take place during Art Basel, where Books Are Nice will be having a Pop-Up Reading Room in Wynwood to display local publisher’s works. To gain a more widespread exposure after the kickoff, the machines will be placed in a record shop, bookstore and coffee shop in Little Haiti, Coral Gables and Wynwood. The project will be self-sustainable, as each zine will be purchased at a minimal cost that helps fund a future seasonal zine publication. Our hope is to generate enough interest in the publishing process and production to be able to open up a permanent bookstore where the zine machine would be a permanent fixture.

Pittsburgh, PA – PittMesh Wireless Network

2013-09-30T00:00:00Z

Meta Mesh is building a wireless mesh network in Pittsburgh. On this network there will be resources like those one would find on the Internet- except no ISP is needed to reach them. It is a free-as-in-beer, encrypted, quality-of-service-enforced wireless network that anyone with an off-the-shelf wireless router may join and benefit from. Here's an analogy for our project: The way the Internet works now is that you pay a big company to loan you mailbox that they come and install in your house and any time you want to send a letter, the envelope is sent to a single, massive, central routing station, is flipped through a bunch of chutes and travels all over the country to land at its intended destination- even if that destination is the house next to yours. In a mesh network, you independently own a mailbox that you can set up with instructions provided by Meta Mesh. When you send a letter, the envelope slides down the mail chute to the corner of your block where a kindly post-officer looks at the address, realizes it's going to your neighbor, puts it in the neighbor's chute and it arrives at his house without ever even crossing the street. This is a novel but not new method of networking. Instead of relying on huge, centralized repositories for routing information to every Internet-accessible network, a mesh network uses individual routers to store little pieces of routing information of a far larger network. Instead of big routing stations that, if damaged or lose power, would cause much of the network to stop working, there are many little overlapping coverage areas making failure for the entire network much more difficult. Mesh networking has the potential to change the way we communicate within a geographic area, to disrupt ISP monopolies' stranglehold on our ability to communicate, and to solve the networking privacy issues that have recently come to light. The solution is low-cost, low-maintenance wireless routers placed throughout neighborhoods.

Denver, CO (Inativo) – READ TO ME

2013-09-30T00:00:00Z

I founded READ TO ME four years ago with the hopes of helping low-income children grow up with books. Ten years ago I was a fourth grade teacher in Denver Public Schools and have a life changing experience in the classroom. I taught kids who's families struggled greatly at home. Their resources were limited. Many, if not all, had a hard time completely their reading homework assignments because they had no books in their home. The U.S. Department of Education reports that 61% of low-income families have no children's books in their home. Sad! READ TO ME is a non-profit organization helping the highest need families in Colorado have a chance to grow up with a book in their home and love reading and books. READ TO ME partners with hospitals to give every low-income newborn a book bundle on their birthday. The medical providers encourage the families to go home and share the book and cuddle their newborn. READ TO ME can reach families at the earliest point in a child’s development, at birth. As part of our mission objective, we encourage and support mothers of newborns to take advantage of the critical early months in their infant’s brain development. In fact, researchers now agree that 85 percent of brain development occurs during the first three years of life.

San Antonio, TX – Mobile Om

2013-09-30T00:00:00Z

Mobile Om is San Antonio's first and only mobile yoga studio. Mobile Om provides donation-based yoga classes that are free of pretension and welcoming to anyone and everyone who wants to practice. It is a yoga movement taking yoga out of the studio and into people's everyday lives. What makes Mobile Om awesome is that we provide no nonsense yoga to everyday people in locations that are casual, inspiring and hyper local. People who have never stepped foot inside a studio feel at home in a Mobile Om class, whether it's outside on the Hays Street Bridge overlooking the city's skyline or inside the 100 year old building that has been beautifully restored as the home of the Richter Co. Mobile Om rolled (it’s mats) out for the first time on the Hays Street Bridge on a Friday evening in June to share yoga and the beautiful view with our community. Twelve people showed up to that first class, and I was blown away. Through the Facebook page, word of mouth and an article in the Rivard Report, Mobile Om’s we have grown to host up to 45 people at and has introduced over 20 people completely new to yoga. We recently added a class in the lobby of the Richter Co. and created our first donation-based corporate yoga program at Rackspace Hosting. The vision for Mobile Om is to offer several classes every day at a wider variety of locations throughout San Antonio. Within each unique location, Mobile Om will create a consistent and authentic yoga space complete with the amenities of brick and mortar studios such as yoga mats, props, towels and water. I am currently renovating a 1972 VW Van that will serve as the transportation for the wandering studio and will keep all the goods needed to set up the temporary homes. All mats and props will be available for students to borrow free of charge. Mobile Om would like $1000 to stock our wandering yoga studio.

Berlin (Inativo) – HacKIDemia- Berlin

2013-09-28T00:00:00Z

A hole in the wall in Kreutzberg (based on famous projects of Sugata Mitra in India -http://www.ted.com/pages/prizewinner_sugata_mitra ) we want to install a learning station in one of the walls of an underprivileged public schools of Kreutzberg (in the Rosa Luxemburg Schule). The learning station is set up in an outdoor playground setting which children can access at any time. It ensures that girls, who would generally not be sent to close room housing a computer, can now easily access the Learning Station in an open setting. The playground setting offers a host of other advantages. Unconditional access to Learning Stations ensures that both children in-school and out-of-school can use them. Another advantage is that the unstructured nature of this setting also ensures that children themselves take ownership of the Learning Station by forming self-organized groups who learn on their own. Finally an unsupervised setting ensures that the entire process of learning is learner-centric and is driven by a child’s natural curiosity. On the learning station computer the children will have access to filtered internet connection, learning activities in science, craft, art, challenges and hands on projects they can do in their community (extract DNA from fruits, take a picture and show the result, etc ). The children will also be able to browse and see other similar projects done by other children around the world in the hands-on workshops organised by HacKIDemia.

Washington, DC – Fair Trade Music DC

2013-09-26T00:00:00Z

Fair Trade Music is a grassroots community organizing initiative with the goal of developing local, community best practices for equitable relationships in live musical performance. As a social movement it spans the US and Canada with local campaigns in locations as varied as Seattle, WA, Rochester, NY, Portland, OR, Austin, TX and New Orleans, LA. It exists as coalitions of locally concerned parties including, musicians, performance venues, labor organizations, music affinity groups and audiences. It's main activities involve: advocating for fairness and transparency in the local live music industry; educational outreach; and positive recognition of participating community members. Fair Trade Music is, in part, a long-term community discussion for working musicians on the topic of earning a living as a professional musician with an eye towards economic justice and sustainability, artists rights and professional respect. It provides a forum for members of the local music community to recognize successes, discuss opportunities and work through more nuanced issues involving equity, behaviors and attitudes in the community. We are currently in the data collection phase for collecting information about local venues and businesses in order to come up with a DC wide Fair Trade Music standard and minimum payment wage for musicians that perform in the area. Our goal is to create a standard that meets a basic artist living wage and launch a campaign to promote the venues and establishments that practice these standards. The information we would gather will be publicly available for both artists and fans who want to truly support their local creative economy.

Melbourne (Inativo) – Growstuff

2013-09-26T00:00:00Z

Growstuff is a website to track and share data on home food production. I founded the project in 2012 and we had our public launch in July 2013. The software is open source and developed by me and a team of volunteers from around the world. We currently have over 500 members from 6 continents (none from Antarctica yet!) tracking what they're growing in their veggie gardens, but we want to expand to 50,000 worldwide over the next couple of years. Growstuff's different from most other food/gardening websites. Some of the things that make us special: * We're open source, because we believe that making our software available for free and being transparent is key to running an ethical business/social enterprise. * We release our data for free, under a Creative Commons license, to benefit other social enterprises, researchers, community groups, and local government. * Our software is built collaboratively with our community, and we invite everyone to take part. * We encourage, train, and mentor software developers from non-traditional backgrounds and marginalised/minority groups. But the important thing here -- and the way we measure Growstuff's success -- is that we want to get more people growing their own food and learning that there are alternatives to our unsustainable global food system. It doesn't matter if it's a twenty acre hobby farm or a pot of basil on the windowsill. Growing stuff, any amount of stuff, is empowering and worthwhile, and we think more people should have a go at it!

Portland, OR – Billboards O'Joy!

2013-09-25T00:00:00Z

I would like to put up 10 billboards in Portland with short, simple positive messages like this: "something wonderful is about to happen", "YOU are totally awesome...yes, YOU", "smile...more", "think positive", "one kind word can change the world", "be-YOU-tiful" and more. Here are billboards I put up with the help of local sponsors: http://thejoyteam.org/billboards/spring-2013-billboards/ I'd like to be able to keep one positive billboard up at all times. With $1,000 I can have a positive billboard up for 10 months.

Philadelphia, PA – New books for kids in need

2013-09-25T00:00:00Z

We have a very simple model. First Book - Philadelphia is the only source of new books for many children and is regarded as a precious resource by parents and literacy program directors in Philadelphia. Our Advisory Board, composed of citizens from a variety of professional backgrounds, meets regularly and identifies with programs from all over the Delaware Valley - including after-school programs, school classrooms, and summer reading camps - that meet our criteria for free books. We would select one of these deserving recipient groups to be our "Awesome Kids Read!" program and receive 400 new books, thanks to The Awesome Foundation. How awesome is that! Our Advisory Board liaison would stay connected with this recipient group, making a site visit when the books are delivered and confirming that "Awesome Kids Read!", thanks to The Awesome Foundation. We would also collect an evaluation at the end of the distribution period. The books would be selected by a literacy instructor for his or her group of children from The FIrst Book Marketplace, which is run by FIrst Book National and allows us to provide books from nearly every major publisher in the country. The instructor will choose the books and incorporate lessons to go with the books. At the end of the lessons, the books will go home with the kids and become their personal property.

London, ON (Inativo) – The Vending Art Project

2013-09-24T00:00:00Z

The Vending Art Project would involve buying a vending machine (second hand) which would sell greeting cards made by local artists in the city of London. The project's purpose would be to support and encourage the arts in the city of London. The vending machine could feature up to 20 local artist's work. Cards would cost approximately $4.00-$5.00 to purchase from the vending machine. Potentially, each artist whose work is sold from the vending machine could write a short bio of themselves and their work and would be included in the sale of the card. This would allow each customer the opportunity to know who they are supporting in the London community by their purchase of their card. The first vending machine would potentially be placed at a retirement home where seniors could purchase cards for their friends and family while supporting local artist's work. In terms of promoting the opportunity to London artists, I would post a call for work on London's many artist networks including but not excluding the London Arts Council, London Fuse etc. Management of the vending machine would be handled by myself (ie. stock, repairs, community relations).

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – Beauty And The Endangered Species

2013-09-23T00:00:00Z

I run a non-profit that is trying to reverse the decline of an endangered bird - a top order predator and also culturally important - in rural parts of Africa it is the rainbird, the thunderbird and is revered in traditional cultures. Me and my team work to remove threats, create awareness and also run the reintroduction programme for the species. Without conservation intervention it has been modelled the birds will be gone in less than 50 years. We are doing a lot of research - marking techniques, genetics, reintroduction biology, vocalisations and much more- also working with a number of local and international collaborators. I will use the money for an education roadshow throughout the eastern Cape Province - a province that has very little information known about the species and most are in very rural remote areas. I want to visit every tribal leader, school, clinic and beer house to talk to people - so not just gathering information but also spreading information. And I want to give out false eyelashes as part of this - they are cool (even in rural areas) and these birds have the most luscious lashes!

Boulder, CO (Inativo) – Boulder Flood Relief

2013-09-23T00:00:00Z

Boulder Flood Relief is a local, boots on the ground, all-volunteer group organizing immediate relief for displaced and in need individuals. We are currently providing physical labor such as cleanup help for those affected by the flood.

Toronto – World's First Interactive Project Gallery by Kids

2013-09-21T00:00:00Z

[Maker Faire TO] Kids love showing off their projects, and people love seeing them! We plan on displaying kids projects in our front window, and want to do it in a crowd-sourced, interactive and awesome way! We'll display projects made in our shop, and also encourage kids from around the world to send us their projects. This will give them their first opportunity to display their projects to the world and see reactions. The MakerKids front store window will be set up with 9 squares in a 3x3 grid. The centre square will have an LCD touchscreen in it for controlling the display. It will use projected capacitive touch technology so that it will be interactive through the store window glass for people outside on the sidewalk. The 8 surrounding squares will contain projects. Each square will have LED lighting. The touchscreen will first allow visitors to select a project square to view. This will turn on the LED lighting for that square, and activate any electronics. If the project uses the SparkCore arduino-compatible board, the interface onscreen will allow them to control it. For example, a dinosaur robot with servo-controlled toothy grin would allow the visitor to make it bite. The SparkCore API is very simple, and the kid who built the project will be able to easily make their project controllable with the interface. A message will be displayed: "Like this project? Let the maker know! Send a tweet with the hashtag #MakerKidsWindowProject3 to @Maker_Kids and we'll forward it on to them! Don't forget to include a picture of your amazement! Another button next to each of the 8 projects will allow the visitor to view reactions to it. This will display the twitter feed for the matching hashtag. An accompanying web page on the MakerKids site will show a picture and the details of each of the 8 projects. If the project is SparkCore enabled, the visitor will be able to control it from the web page. Kids can view the reactions at the store and online

Oahu, HI – Recycling Containers for O`ahu Beach Parks

2013-09-20T00:00:00Z

B.E.A.C.H. is making wire recycling containers and these will be placed at beach parks on O`ahu. This is a "do it yourself" Hi5 recycling project where people can leave or take recyclables from the bins. The City and County of Honolulu recycling program has trained eight B.E.A.C.H. volunteers in how to make the wire bins and will provide the wire. B.E.A.C.H. has to provide all the tools and safety gear as well as a secure way to chain the bins at the beaches. B.E.A.C.H. will be holding recycling bin making workshops for volunteers starting in September 2013. This project will greatly improve the situation at beaches by providing much needed separate containers for recyclables. This will help prevent trash from ending up on the ground when people go through the trash container looking for recyclables and will provide everyone with a means to recycle when they are at beach parks. This project will encourage more people to recycle and will create a cleaner environment. Each wire recycling bin takes 1-2 hours to make. This project was featured on the "Going Green" segment of the KITV4 news on Monday 5th August, 2013 and on Hawai`i Public Radio on Monday 12th August, 2013. For links to these news stories, please visit: www.b-e-a-c-h.org Also the Star Advertiser is planning a feature story about B.E.A.C.H. and this project. B.E.A.C.H. volunteers will place the recycling containers at beach parks and will have educational booths at the beaches to educate the public about the new containers as well as checking them to ensure the project is going smoothly.

Newmarket – Raven Robotics

2013-09-19T00:00:00Z

Raven Robotics was launched 4 years ago by our current teacher and coach, Joseph Siconolfi. His hope was that by encouraging students to join a competitive atmosphere while learning more about STEM, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Currently, his hopes are a reality as 12 of the most committed and dedicated students at Mulock spend an average of 2 hours a night 5 nights a week EVERY school week of the year in his classroom after class building robots for competitions, holding design meetings, holding scouting meeting, traveling to meet other teams and become allies with them so we can team up on other teams in competitions and even attending competitions we don't compete in to scout out our enemies. Although this is a very serious competition to those on the team, we always remember that we are there for fun and that whether we win or lose, we've done our best. The team is currently struggling to afford material costs for the robots (often many thousands of dollars) and we are also trying to expand our team by adding a new robot so that more students at Mulock can have the opportunity to learn in this fun environment. Our hope is that through community outreach (going to local events to advertise our cause), we can raise enough funds to continue Raven Robotics but with a $1000 grant, those dreams would instantly because a reality. If we win a tournament in the upcoming season, Raven Robotics will have the opportunity to represent Newmarket, Ontario and even Canada at the VEX robotics World Championship held in Anaheim, California. We are currently the only team in all of the York region district school board competing in these robotics competitions.

Ottawa – The End of Your Tale

2013-09-19T00:00:00Z

September's Awesome Ottawa award goes to Andrew Conte to support the production of a very personal film, The End of Your Tale, about death and dying. "Since my Dad passed away two years ago after having faced a terminal diagnosis," explains Andrew, "I've wondered how a 'right to die' option might have shaped the last days of his life with us. The investigation of my personal story has led me to the related examination of our death-phobic culture, and community fora where stories of living, dying, and eldership are being told." "Andy and Red from The Shawshank Redemption proposed to 'get busy living or get busy dying.' When you think about it, these are not mutually exclusive ways of being busy," says Andrew. "Investigating the inerwovenness of living and dying, my film will not only tell my own family's story, but also explore the deeper meaning of the dying with dignity policy debate. And it will seek community participation through interviews on what dying means to you, and how it has affected your life experience so far." "As constitutional rights for physician-assisted dying are to be challenged in the Supreme Court of Canada sometime in 2014, and as legislation has already been tabled in the National Assembly of Quebec as of June 2013," Andrew notes, "the timing for this investigation of how our culture shapes our experience with death and dying is of particular importance." Andrew is a writer and musician, as well as a recent graduate of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. He keeps a blog at http://unbeauconte.wordpress.com.

Kingston – The Smile Team

2013-09-19T00:00:00Z

Imagine a group of boys wandering the streets in a pack. What is the first image that comes to your mind… is it that they might be up to no good? Au contraire – this group of boys wants to spread cheer and niceness. They want to make smiles, not frowns. The Awesome Superheroes of Kindness are born – aka the Smile Team! The boys are between 7 and 10 years old, they are from three different schools. Some speak English, some speak English and French; some are shy, some outgoing. The idea is to empower the boys to choose a voice for good, to see community workers as integral to our well-being, and people in need as equal members of our community, who all appreciate a reason to smile, who are connected to us in many ways thus forming our community. We want the boys to influence each other positively, to make good choices that make themselves and others proud and happy; to see that having different clothes or different living arrangements and different families does not mean someone isn't a member of our community with the same feelings as us. By creating an environment of caring and empathy, we hope to open their eyes to the bigger community they are a part of. Julie has made capes for them: a visible sign that everyone can recognize. No masks, though - this is not anonymous work. They have chosen their name - Smile Team! - they have fleshed out what they want to do as missions and they made Thank You cards and awesome badges to hand out. More crafts/creations to follow (we talked about making flowers at a future meeting). They will also collect some of their own clothes and toys for donation, perhaps organize a food drive in their respective neighbourhoods then come together and compare their results. In order to make this project easily reproducible, we will start a FB page to document the process and the missions. We would love inspire Smile Teams to form all around Kingston!

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – You&Me

2013-09-16T00:00:00Z

You & Me... Europe is an extension and expansion of You &Me... Tara's House - Created by Tara Rynders premiering on the 10th of April 2010. You & Me... Provides an intimate, evening-length interdisciplinary dance performance to an audience interested in alternative live art that incorporates local talent, one-on-one performances and site-specific stage. It creates an experience that cultivates interactions with the audience without losing the integrity of high-art performance, resulting in a full embodiment of art, where the roles of performer and audience coexist and merge within the same shared space. The core of the performance identifies, understands, and encapsulates the role of intimacy in a socio-political community that is conscious of the presence and, or absence of intimacy within and between the community's members. As a member of You & Me I have created a one-on-one performance titled "Happy Mourning". This 10 minute performance gives the audience a chance to discuss a person or thing which they have lost. Creating a safe-space, the audience feel comfortable sharing their story with me. Once the person or thing lost is talked about, we then proceed to create a small movement phrase - usually gestural - that embodies their loss through a personalized dance. We repeat this dance together until the audience member recalls the movement without my assistance. before leaving the space, the audience creates a paper sculpture of the person or thing they are mourning, and places it on a wall - where others have mourned as well. They create an artifact and leave with one. I have performed this piece in San Francisco and Reno and am looking forward to extending the experience to a European audience, as each culture mourns in its own unique way. My goal is to adapt Happy mourning to each culture, and to discover similarities and differences between them, if any exist.

Seattle, WA – Eyes From The Streets

2013-09-13T00:00:00Z

## Purpose The purpose of this project is to help serve as a bridge between homeless youth and the "general" public. By bringing these two communities together, I hope to create an environment where both sides can learn about and from each other, candid conversation can occur, and ideas for action can be generated. ## Summary 1. Portraits of youth 2. Photos taken by youth 3. Exhibition with a combination of photography, zines (written work), and talks ## Portraits of youth I would like to create portraits of willing youth aged 18-25. In doing so, I hope to put names and faces together, to un-anonymize a group of people who are often denied an individual identity. I will be working with UDYC who hires homeless youth to create zines. ## Photos taken by youth Each youth will be given a disposable camera to take with them through their six weeks of the Zine project. They are free to take pictures of anything that helps them share their story. If they want, we can provide prompts to help organize their thoughts and themes. At the end of the six weeks, I'll collect the cameras, develop them, print, and frame them for exhibition. The youth will get a copy of the prints as well as all of the original files for them to have and use anyway they wish. ## Exhibition When the photographs are prepared, I hope to find a location that will allow us to showcase our work for at least 30 days. For the opening, I would like to invite the participating youth to speak about their work and the inspirations and stories behind them. I have relationships at The HUB, BGI, and others that can serve as a backup locations to a standing gallery. Also, this might be a good venue to sell the zines and spread the work UDYC is doing with the Zine project.