Awesome Foundation - Projects

Seattle, WA – OF / ONN

2011-11-08T00:00:00Z

I currently run an exhibition space out of my apartment called Vignettes. It exists as a gallery biweekly for one night only exhibitions. I have worked on a number of self funded collaborative pop up exhibitions and this will be the first grant I've ever applied for. In January 2012 I am looking to curate a light festival in the city of Seattle with artist Susan Robb. It would take place in a large warehouse- I am currently in discussion on what the exact location will be. There are a few options that would be free venues to house a number of art installations for three days. January 29th is considered one of the hardest days in the year for people who get seasonal affective disorder. In response to this I would like to hold a weekend of light installations by artists from Vancouver, Seattle and Portland to welcome the winter days and the lack of light. I hope to co-curate three days/nights of events/installations open to the public and all ages. Artists involved have yet to be decided upon- If you would like to know the list of artists I am considering this can be included at a later date. Please take a look at the creators page on www.vignettes.us in order to see the list of artists I have worked with already. Each artist would be asked to create site specific installations in response to what it is like to live in the pacific northwest in the winter. To create a warm, embracing festival to celebrate of all kinds of light. If it is a success it would become an annual festival.

Sydney – Guerilla Lego project

2011-11-08T00:00:00Z

We are Nick and Anna: quirky, creative and long time friends with a passion for awesome (awesome is a noun now). We both work at a Medical Research Institute, but there is only so much advancing the cause of human health that one can do without a creative outlet. So we want to start a guerrilla lego project, and we need the Awesome Foundation to help pull it off. This project is inspired by guerilla knitting projects in sydney and guerilla lego projects around the world. The Aim is to use lego to make the world a slightly more surreal, somewhat more hilarious, and certainly more awesome place. To reach this goal we would build temporary lego works in the public space that are influenced by the environment. For example using lego to fill in gaps in walls, creating lego recreations or covers of objects, or building lego scenes inspired by our surroundings. Some of these pieces would be left in place for the public to view and puzzle over, others may be taken down after photographing - the safety of the public of course will always be foremost in our minds. We would also document our exploits with an online photo journal, which we would make available to the pubic and advertise through social media.

Houston (Inactive) – Ride 'em Cowboy

2011-10-31T00:00:00Z

We need financial support to allow one of our group home residents to continue receiving therapeutic horseback riding services. Kelvin is a 29-year-old client of Avondale House whose life has been severely affected by autism. Unable to live at home with his family, he has lived at one of our group homes for almost 20 years. He experiences seizure disorders, has an intellectual disability, is non-verbal, and is profoundly autistic. On top of all that, Kelvin suffers from cerebral palsy; so much so, that he walks essentially “bent in half,” looking at the floor. To overcome his severe muscle and joint contracture, his doctors have recommended therapeutic horseback riding. For the last year, Kelvin has been riding horses at the Sienna Stables in Missouri City, operated by SIRE, a therapeutic equestrian center. Joelle Devlin, his instructor, comments, “It took Kelvin very little time to learn how to crest mount the horse, and then just a few weeks to learn basic horse commands. He was a little shaky at first and required constant adjustment on the saddle.” “Now, as he rides each week, I have seen Kelvin straighten inch-by-inch in the saddle. He is smiling and excited when he arrives at the stable, and has almost perfect alignment on the horse -- from ear to shoulder to hip to back-of-the heel.” Kelvin has not been miraculously cured -- he still has spinal curvature, but his horseback riding activities have helped his mobility and balance. “He seems so content on his horse,” says Patti Kelly, Avondale House’s Program Director. “He has a little better posture and does not stumble as often. He cannot verbally tell us, but he really seems to enjoy the sessions. Plus, it is so important to keep him active, so that Kelvin does not ever become wheelchair bound, a circumstance that might cause him to be placed in a different group home setting. He is happy to live here, and we want to keep him here at Avondale House.”

Toronto – ChocoSol's Off-grid Chocolate Factory Mini-mobile

2011-10-30T00:00:00Z

Our Awesome Food project is to retrofit ChocoSol’s Subaru Sambar mini-truck with everything it needs to be an off-grid mobile chocolate factory and one-stop shop for education and demonstration of all things chocolate and renewable energy. We have pedal-powered machinery, solar panels, battery packs and a one-of-a-kind solar roaster, which, together with our retrofitted mini-truck will give us the ability to travel to any location and make chocolate on the spot with no emissions, educating passers-by about renewable energy, horizontal trade relationships and our community while connecting them with cacao in a way they’ve never experienced before. What makes our project awesome is that we are using pure photons to connect people to chocolate through a groundbreaking platform that is a step on the path towards a fully functional, self-contained, off-grid shipping container chocolate factory. We will set up around town and people will get to pedal a pedal powered grinder to turn the beans they just roasted with sunlight into chocolate and cool them in the evaporative cooler near at hand. In 30 minutes someone will be able to experience each step of the process that turns a cacao bean into a chocolate treat, all while learning about the producer communities in Mexico, the nutritive value of cacao as well as our blossoming community of actionists here in Toronto. We have a great team of technologists, builders and eager monkeys who have what it takes to turn this dream into a reality. ChocoSol is a learning community and a social enterprise. Chocolate has been the vehicle that fuels the commotion and contagion which accompanies our research into sustainable agro-ecological processes and we are taking it to the next level now with our 7th generation Solar Fire powered electric hybrid cacao and coffee bean roaster.

Calgary, AB (Inactive) – B.J.'s Gym Show - Honouring 40 Years of History

2011-10-27T00:00:00Z

We are a Calgary art collective who has acquired an awesome space in the historic Stampede Wrestling gym and are holding a showcase event to honour some of Calgary's finest artists and community of progressive vibrant culture who cares about and has shaped Calgary history. On November 25, 2011 some of the best of Calgary fine artists, musicians burlesque troupe and graffiti artists come together to celebrate 40 years of Calgary’s history at the legendary BJ's Gym in the new downtown Calgary east village . Our event will present a live band BARLEY HEP CATS, burlesque troupe KABUKI GUNS, DRUNKEN PAW graffiti collective(Janet, Lesley Mark) and the renowned OILMENS REVIEW fine art collective ( Frank Keller , Darcy Lisecki, Harold Pendergas , Sylvia Prochownik ) showing their new works. We will also honour the legacy of Stu Hart, the Hart Family and all the wrestlers who trained at BJ's Gym throughout the years.

Boston, MA – CRONICAS DE HEROES

2011-10-26T00:00:00Z

I am a researcher in urban issues with a master's degree in Architecture and Urbanism from MIT. I devote most of my research in border issues between Mexico and the United States, throughout my projects I challenge the notion of pair-cities as separate entities, instead I look at them through a unilateral lens where the conflict manifested in opposing relations between needs, values, interest, and concerns of the two different entities can become the tool for negotiation among multiple systems. Currently I am the lead of CRONICAS DE HEROES- an instance of the Center for Future Civic Media/Media Lab MIT. CRÓNICAS DE HÉROES is a campaign of positive thinking that aims to transform the perception of cities with high levels of social disorder and reignite civic pride and hope in those communities. It accomplishes these goals through campaigns using new and old media as well as grassroots activism. CRÓNICAS DE HÉROES encourages ordinary citizens to report acts of courage, kindness, respect, honesty and other positive contributions to society. Reports are shared and promoted through civic spaces and events, public art, and various media outlets. We have implemented this initiative in Juarez, MEXICO, http://juarez.heroreports.org/ as you can see on our website we have more than 1,000 positive stories which all are linked to a map showing courageous acts in different areas of the city.Additionally, in the webpage on the BLOG part you can see many of the activities that we have been doing in Juarez. Building on its recent success in that city, I have decided to replicate the model/project in several U.S.A.-México border regions. A week ago we launched our first bi-national platform in Tijuana/San Diego, http://tj-sd.cronicasdeheroes.mx/ our page in this instance is in English and Spanish. As a native of México who has lived for nine years in border cities in the United States, and who travels back and forth between these two countries regularly, I see the tremendous contradictions and complexities that exist within borderland regions. Through personal experience I have gained a deeper awareness of these issues such as how these particular regions and their populations attempt to adapt, not only to each other, but also within their own country.The present conflict in Mexican cities and the disparities between pair cities is a subject that cannot be ignored; CRONICAS DE HEROES works with these communities for constructive change for a better present.

Boston, MA – Animatronic Monster Suit

2011-10-26T00:00:00Z

Hi, I'm Matt, and I want to build a monster costume to support fundraising efforts for new playground equipment for the nursery school my 3 year old daughter and nephew attend. Every year, they have a Halloween Fair on the town common, and the nursery school has a bake sale to raise money. This year (and next), they need to raise quite a bit extra in order to replace the badly broken playground equipment. I'd like to support that effort by building a crowd-drawing kid-friendly monster. Basically, what I have in mind is a colorful fur-covered larger-than-life "friendly monster" costume with animatronic eyes mounted on/in an over-sized head that look wherever my head turns inside it. I'll just need to build a simple servo motor gimble system for the eyes, and control them with a head mounted accelerometer... possibly a Wii nunchuck. I have experience with latex prosthetic makeup, electronics, and costume building, and have in the past won several "best costume" awards and even had people stop me on the street on Halloween to have pictures taken with me. I'd like to have the big monster help draw a crowd to the fund raiser.

Chicago, IL – City of Big Shovels

2011-10-25T00:00:00Z

Those who know me know I'm a radical pedestrian and obsessed in particular with sidewalk snow removal (that's pedestrian as in feet, not everyday ;-). I sit on the Mayor's Pedestrian Advisory Council and the Board of Directors of the Active Transportation Alliance. With winters like we have in Chicago, snow removal on sidewalks is absolutely critical for year round walking especially for the elderly, people with disabilities, children, and those reliant on public transporation. Senior's call it Hip Replacement Season and those with diabilites are often homebound when the snow falls. There are laws on the books requiring landowners to shovel, but its rarely enforced. As a result, after a snow the City is usually a patchwork of clean sidewaks and and neglected ones. I've tirelessly spoken out on the issue with policy makers but there is feet dragging since they're worried that it'd be unpopular to crack down. So, while announcements of snow rules parking gets top billing every winter, there's hardly a pep about the basic requirmeent to shovel. What I dream of, what think would be awesome, is a sidewalk snow removal equivilant of the legendary "Don't Mess With Texas" campaign-- http://dontmesswithtexas.org/. I want to appeal to Chicagoan's sense of pride about our shoveling prowess. Yes it snows here. Thats why we live here. We love to shovel! We've very good at it. We' are The City of Big Shovels (apologies to Carl Sandburg). The idea is to launch a campaign called City of BIg Shovels that 1) reminds media about the law 2) encourages residents to shovel 3) Celebrates those who have big shovels by posting images of Chicago's burly shovelers 4) Shames our scofflaws by posting images of neglected sidewalks and businesses. I'd reward those who submit images by sending the a City of Big Shovels button for thier winter coat and a sticker for their big shovel.

Los Angeles, CA – Bicycle Helmet Cop

2011-10-23T00:00:00Z

My name is Greg. I've been riding bikes since as far back as I can remember. I had training wheels for about a day before I begged my father to take them off. A few shaky hours later, I was riding my bike all over the neighborhood. I rode through high school, to my classes in college and now to work every day. Biking is a passion. A way of life for me. So it worries me when I see all the bikers in LA riding without helmets. It's such a simple thing that can do so much good. Helmets save lives. It's as simple as that. Sure, helmets are not sexy. But neither is a concussion or worse. My project is called Bicycle Helmet Cop. It involves me dressing up in a uniform that looks official but not too much like LAPD too get me into trouble. I would stand on busy streets and stop bikers under the guise of giving them a ticket for riding without a helmet. Instead I would give them a free bicycle helmet and only ask in return that they encourage others they see to wear helmets. Maybe in a small way, that could make a difference.

Zürich (Inactive) – Take care of your hair

2011-10-22T00:00:00Z

Mein Name ist Anne Riewoldt, ich bin 27 Jahre jung und lebe in Zürich. Ich arbeite als Coiffeuse und lebe und liebe meine Beruf. Interessiert habe ich von Ihrem/EuremProjekt gelesen und habe beschlossen mich zu bewerben. Gern möchte ich ein Projekt starten , welches anderen Menschen Freude bereitet. Mein Projekt soll "Take care of your hair" heissen und alten Menschen , welche nicht mehr in der Lage sind , für längere Zeit das Haus zu verlassen,die Möglichkeit bieten sich die Haare machen zu lassen. Ob schneiden ,fönen oder nur eine Kopfwäsche. Manchmal sind es doch die kleinen Dinge im Leben, die einen glücklich machen. Um dieses Projekt zu finanzieren ,möchte ich an diesem Wettbewerb teilnehemen.

San Francisco, CA – Ourshelves Lending Library

2011-10-18T00:00:00Z

My name is Kristina Kearns, and I just opened a lending library in the back of Viracocha on 21st and Valencia St. Ourshelves offers a curated selection of international writings, new releases and classics, many of which are not readily available in the public library and which are, for some, unaffordable to buy outright. Curators include myself, a handful of longtime editors and booksellers here in the city, and local authors eager to share our favorite works with fellow bibliophiles. For $10 per month, Ourshelves members take out one book and exchange as often as he or she likes. They can also request titles I don't already have, as I purchase 20-40 new titles per month based on member suggestion and request. Sliding scale options are available - some members leave a book of their own in order to borrow, and other members pay $20 per month to take out up to three books at a time. I came to the idea of a lending library after spending eight months helping run an international bookshop in Greece. There I learned both the administrative aspects of maintaining a business/artistic space, and the intimacy of putting one of your favorite books into someone else's hands. I learned that the relationship between readers and printed books is stronger than our media contends, and that people's access to good literature greatly decreases in times of economic recession. Government's tend to cut off funding to public library's and buying books - even used ones - can be out of some people's budget while they try to find work. I returned to the States a year ago and worked five jobs at a time, for eight months, in order to raise the funds to start this project. Open just six weeks, we now have 53 members and received positive coverage in Bay Citizen, Bold Italic, litseen.com, as well as in upcoming articles in the Guardian, SFWeekly and theRumpus.net. Michael Chabon granted us access to his personal library to start our stock. The Friends of the San Francisco Public Library let us do a 1:1 trade for 250 books. The public library donated 5 copies of the new One City One Book pick, and McSweeney's - a publishing company I assisted for a year with their oral history human rights nonprofit - has kindly offered Ourshelves copies of their books. Ourshelves recognizes San Francisco as one of the most literary cities in the world, and we hope to foster a physical space for writers and readers to meet, create, and explore the changes in today's publishing world.

Chicago, IL – Open Source Scanning Tunneling Microscope

2011-10-15T00:00:00Z

My project: Let's say you're an average Joe evil genius trying to make a sentient nanoswarm in your underground lair. How do you see the little guys to prove you've succeeded ...or troubleshoot in the unlikely case of failure? Traditionally, you'd need a $30,000 microscope to accomplish that task. Let's say you don't have that kind of cash on hand (your take-over-the-world plots haven't been terribly lucrative since the start of the Great Recession), what's an evil genius to do? You could make an inexpensive scanning-tunneling microscope from scratch, but the projects out there for you to follow are out of date, analog-only, spread out across many theses and papers, and/or poorly documented. Frustrations abound. Enter the Chemhacker Open Source Scanning/Tunneling Microscope (STM) project: a project whose goals are to produce an easy to assemble digital scanning-tunneling microscope, with well documented software and hardware designs, for a complete cost of about $1000. Me: Mad scientist who knows how to complete large/weird/technical projects. A portfolio of large/weird/technical projects I've completed: simpleswitchlabs.com MS Chemical Engineering, U.C. Berkeley Founding member, 2009 board member, 2010 president of Pumping Station: One, Chicago's Hackerspace extraordinaire. How I'll pull it off: Using tools and expertise available at Pumping Station: One, I'll assemble the microscope prototype, troubleshoot my design, and prove that this is a realistic goal.

Ottawa – Top Secret Project

2011-10-13T00:00:00Z

We are pleased to announce that our October Awesome Grant goes to Terri Ann Daniels! Her project, which she has asked us to keep secret for the time being, will help educate and empower young women to make informed decisions regarding their bodies. She is currently drumming up volunteers and other support to get the site up and running. Best of luck Terri!

Sydney – Compos(ur)e

2011-10-11T00:00:00Z

My name is Peter Wildman and I have been inspired by an experience of being aware of my presence. After being introduced to mindfulness meditation techniques last September I quickly realised how in a fast paced, modern world, we are encouraged to perspire to aspire to be better people. This self reflective and project driven approach is rarely coupled with time to sit with the product of the moment - our presence in this body, mind, heart, soul and environment that is here and now. We can find ourselves reacting to our world because we need to survive. We need to know what every opportunity or threat is present so we can divert or capitalise as we traverse with a spacial velocity set upon the future and sometimes caught up in the past. My project is one that will place our obsession with time travel as close to the present moment that is possible. I am currently studying interactive art at COFA (College of Fine Art) in Paddington. My interest is centred around our mobile phones and how we can reframe the way we interact with them. There is a potential space that can be created when calls to our attention are listened to as calls to mindful awareness. We create space for composure, through being mindfully aware of our presence in each moment, rather than being cramped by reactionary behaviour. Compos(ur)e is a mobile phone application that enables a social network of people to create technological bells of mindfulness for one another. This interconnection is materialised as a network of installations and kinetic sculptural spaces that are composed through these mobile interactions. I have developed a prototype of the application, where you breathe into the phone's microphone and ring a bell for yourself. I am now in need to develop the social network element and also develop it so it is compatible for a wide range of 'smart' phone users. Also the first of the installations will be presented at this years COFA Honours show. The installation will be a proof of concept, a prototype showing the interaction that will possibly take place in the network. This is a link to a concept video that shows what the installation that represents the network usage will look like. http://vimeo.com/28605430 Thanks for the opportunity to put my project out there as a potentially awesome endeavour. Cheers, Peter Wildman

Seattle, WA – Stories of Seattle

2011-10-11T00:00:00Z

To be brief, I want to revive the oral story tradition and at the same time feed the homeless and hungry in Seattle. Interested? Okay. Basically, I want to get a sandwich board that says 'TELL ME A STORY AND I'LL GIVE YOU A SANDWICH' and sit out with a cooler full of BLTs and PB&Js and collect stories from the hungry, the homeless, and the needy. It is my personal belief that everyone has a story that should be shared and preserved for, if nothing else, posterity's sake. Then, I'd upload them to the site and to a podcast; and then, when I get enough stories, it is my intention to self-bind them and make a book to sell, all proceeds going directly to the making of sandwiches and homeless programs in Seattle. It is not my intention nor goal to profit off of this. I would not be making any money that I would be spending on me; it would all be going right back to the community. After all, they're not my stories. They're everyone's. I've been trying to drum up interest at the school I attend (Cornish College of the Arts), and lots of people would love to jump on into the movement by helping me collect the stories and make sandwiches. And, if it inspired others around the country to do the same, what harm could come of that? A bit about me: I'm a novice author/playwright and partially professional theatre designer, with a background in charity and helping others. Also, I love stories, all kinds of stories.

New York City, NY – Urban Free Farm - Producing free food in Brooklyn

2011-10-10T00:00:00Z

Bushwick City Farms is a network of open spaces run by neighborhood volunteers that provide free food, clothing and educational programs for the community. We believe in the importance of community self-sufficiency, food justice, responsible food production, and land rehabilitation. This is especially important in our neighborhood due to a lack of access to affordable, fresh, organic food; for this reason all the food we produce is free to the community. We plan to transform a vacant 10,000 sq ft lot into a urban community farm that will serve as both a much needed public green space and as a model of responsible food production. We will build raised vegetable beds to grow organic veggies, a chicken coop to house a free-range flock and a recreational area where kids can play. We will also host weekly free educational workshops at the farm on topics such as composting, farming, food education, ect. We have constructed two gardens previously in Bushwick, Brooklyn; we have lots of volunteers and sources for recycled free wood for farm construction. Now, we just need some funds for clean soil and building supplies.This project will provide crucial resources to an underprivileged urban community while also promoting environmentally sound farming practices and community empowerment. For more info check out our website - http://bushwickcityfarm.wordpress.com/ and our facebook - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002422390841&sk=info

Berlin (Inactive) – FigureRunning

2011-10-04T00:00:00Z

Everybody loves playing outside. FigureRunning is a new sport that encourages you to get creative, go outside and discover new places while running and getting fit. The competition is not about your running speed or distance, it’s all about drawing. Become a master in the art of FigureRunning. Do it when and wherever you want and be sure to share your art with your friends. The world is our canvas and you are the pencil! FigureRunning iPhone app We want to make FigureRunning big, very big, Olympics 2016 big. Sometimes the technology seems to be a hurdle when motivating people to start running art. The growth of our movement is hampered by the complexity. To make the sport accessible to a wider audience, we have recently launched a mobile application. The iPhone app is based on GPS (Global Positioning System) technology, enabling your mobile phone to track your position. While you are running a line is drawn on your screen. The app is designed using game principles and mechanics to make the actual running more fun. We like to say that we are developing the Photoshop for running. And when your art is finished easy sharing with your networks is facilitated. How I got this far After running figures for a year I found 2 very inspiring people (@leolovestwtr & @jankroon) who, just like me, were willing to invest time into building great stuff. We didn't have a budget and didn't have time really, but we pulled it off and released our first iPhone app August 27 2011. So far we have had a very exciting journey of designing, developing and promoting a new sport that motivates people to work out in a new way, by using affordable sensorbased technology. Receiving great pieces of running art from people around the world, being featured in a broad spectrum of media and getting motivating endorsements from initiatives like PSFK and Quantified Self Labs. http://figurerunning.com/blog/press/

Houston (Inactive) – Sleep Out Saturday

2011-09-30T00:00:00Z

Noah's Kitchen's Sleep Out event was the winner Of September's grant. The Sleep Out is one night where Noah's Kitchen asks Houstonians to give up the luxury of home for one night and sleep outside. The event kick's off the National Homelessness Awareness week, and their main goal is to raise awareness first-hand as well as to gather additional funding for their mission to help the homeless. They hoped to hold this year’s event at City Hall, but due to a “no camping” ordinance on city property or parks, they will be at the courtyard of Caroline Collective again this year. You can stay tuned and find out more about the event on their website www.noahskitchen.org

Toronto – Guerrilla fish taco stand

2011-09-29T00:00:00Z

I make great fish tacos - seriously great. Beer battered cod, hand made tortillas, crisp finely shredded cabbage and a habanero white sauce that will make you cry. Simply awesome. And street food in Toronto sucks. We are not children, we don't need to eat hot dogs or have STANDARDIZED food stands. Please. So, I'm going guerrilla. I propose to put a fish taco stand on a bike trailer and ride around to the parks and gathering places of the city, bringing awesome fish tacos to the people. Sure, it's risky. I could get caught. I'll probably get a fine. But fuck it. Food unites. It brings people together. And disobedience ignites. And besides I'm in love with the idea.

Montreal, QC (Inactive) – Alley Kids!

2011-09-22T00:00:00Z

We live in Mile End and have a potentially awesome alley (with practically no vehicle traffic) behind our building, shared by dozens of neighbours with children, who would like to transform the uninspiring, dirty space into a green, safe and awesome space for our kids to play, interact with nature, and for adult neighbours to enjoy, collaborate and positively relate to each other. This transformation will take the form of a neighbourhood clean-up, followed by child-inspired mural painting party and a seed and perennial planting party as well. Each of these parties will include music, potluck and opportunities for neighbours to share their talents, skills and stories. I will photograph/videotape the process and create a facebook group that helps everyone interact and share their photos, ideas and experiences with each other, and to help with future event planning as well . [Got this by email afterwards - Patrick] http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cour-verte-Nouvelle-Querbes/145690458811407

Calgary, AB (Inactive) – Reel World Youth Documentaries (Vids for Kids)

2011-09-22T00:00:00Z

The best education for kids is the kind that engages them with real world challenges and encourages them to have the audacity to do something about it. Vids for Kids is a semester long course that teaches kids how to use documentary filmmaking as a tool for investigating and learning about the stories in their neighbourhoods, their communities, their city, and beyond. Film topics can range from exploring how their immigrant parents overcame adversity to discovering local community leaders... anything to help kids cultivate an eye for what is awesome Calgary! At the end of the course, kids will be sharing their film (and hence their learning) with friends, family and the broader Calgary community through a locally organized film festival. To support this project, we would like to use the money from Awesome Foundation to build eight to ten video kits that can be used and reused each semester by different schools. Each kit would contain video, sound, and light equipment to be assigned to video teams within the class. The first pilot run of Vids for Kids will start this September with a grade eight class from the Alice Jamieson Girls' Academy (a public junior high). The course will be jointly taught by videographer Chris Hsiung and teacher Kathryn McKenzie. Chris will provide his technical knowledge and experience on telling stories with video (such as storyboarding, shot framing, interviewing techniques). Meanwhile, Kate will integrate formal curriculum by fostering critical thinking and empowering girls to use technology. After the test run, the Vids for Kids project will be taken to other schools in Calgary where partnerships can be formed with other imaginative teachers who see the potential of using video to cultivate learning. Follow the progress of this portion of the Worldviews Project here.

San Francisco, CA – Inner Sunset Street Fair 2011

2011-09-20T00:00:00Z

Recently, a big apple fell on the heads of a bunch of us neighbors in SF's Inner Sunset neighborhood and we experienced an epiphany: It's time to radically redefine people's experience of community. With all the Facebooks, Twitters, and smartphones in the world, we looked outside and saw that everybody is still sitting lonely in their houses. We got together, brainstormed intensely, and formulated a new vision. To kick it off, we've decided to have a big event, the Inner Sunset Street Fair, happening Sunday October 16th 2011. We're calling it a street fair, but it's more a giant block party mixed with Burning Man. Our agenda: Instead of being the usual “buy more stuff” schlockfest (eg. Haight Street Fair), we're building community – make people excited to live here, get them comfortable opening up to their neighbors, and reclaim the streets as gathering spaces. How are we going to do it? By lots of fun, eclectic features created by local people – a little like Burning Man but purely focused on community-building. Some of our favorite ideas include:- + Name Tag-Making Booth (using shrinky-dinks) + Choose Your Ceremony chapel - Choice of wedding (2 or more anythings can marry), funeral (celebrate your life while still alive), and award (receive/give whatever award you want) + Box Mountain – Dozens and dozens of boxes for kids to stack, arrange, make forts, wear, etc. + Baby Disco – Unite parents through groovy 4 year olds + Chris C's Tea Party Living Room – Reclaiming “tea party” for its original use There's a lot more happening besides the above. Rock bands with 10 year olds, every local community organization we know of, outdoor dining, neighborhood-specific historical presentations, squishy human brains from our local medical university, and so much more. We hope this event will catalyze a profound change in the Inner Sunset to a place where neighbors on every block know one another, where children can play in the streets, and where life is much richer than the Work and Consume life that's all too common today. People are already buzzing about this event - and we've not told them that we're a little short on funds to make it happen. Awesome Foundation... can you help us make this dream come true?!

Chicago, IL – Possibility Potlucks & "What if" Stores

2011-09-17T00:00:00Z

Every day I walk by empty storefronts and I imagine. I can't help it. Unused space, like a blank canvas, invites wonder. But unlike the single dimension of a canvas, space prompts community, interaction. But, that pesky "For Lease" sign and its anonymous phone number reminds you that, though you walk by something everyday…it isn't yours. You can’t enter till it’s “Open for Business.” You have to wait till it's cooked, finished, ready… Yet, as a community, we are curious about unused spaces, ready for them to open to us. We want empty storefronts to be filled with a new nook, a place to peruse, a space to share again. When I walk by these empty places, I moved to do two things: 1. Ask, "What if…" 2. Throw a dinner party. (I have this reaction to most stimuli.) I think these are best done together. And, with neighbors. –PROPOSAL– I propose a series of community potlucks and "What if…" art installations in empty storefronts to prompt shared dialogue about what these places might be next. These possibility potlucks & installations would spur neighborly interaction, and potentially, local business. (How many aspiring business owners are in our neighborhood that would take the leap if they knew people wanted it?!) Where? I live at the intersection of Ravenswood and Lincoln Square, in the bubbling up (but awkward) northern Damen corridor. It is best to start with the places you know and the people you'd like to know better. There are multiple storefronts on Damen waiting to be filled, but three stick out in particular between the Damen Brown Line Stop (4700N) and Lawrence (4800N). This idea has been brewing for a while, but after talking with several business owners nearby, I know we are ripe for something wonderful (and whimsical) in my ‘hood. Most recently, a conversation with the Orange Beautiful (letterpress/graphics) owners made me realize we have the collaborators, we just need a catalyst. The Awesome grant could be that catalyst. –ABOUT ME– I work best at intersections. I bring people together. I believe in the power of place. Quick facts. I... –Work at a sustainable design/urban planning firm–Perkins+Will–making better places for communities to learn –Studied social/urban policy at Northwestern –Take pictures of my feet wherever I travel –Work with the Healthy Schools Campaign, Jane Goodall Institute, 826Chicago, Starting Bloc, and a network of collaborators in the design and non-profit worlds –Tweet. Find me at: melaniekahl & perkinswill_edu

Ottawa – OTTAWA, a survey

2011-09-15T00:00:00Z

This month’s Awesome grant goes to Tony Fouhse, an Ottawa-based photographer who has shot a variety of projects including one of his most recent finished in 2010 which docmented the lives of a small society of cocaine addicts in a series of portraits. In his words: “The late fall and winter of 2010/11 I helped Stephanie, a heroin addict, to get into rehab and documented the process. She has been heroin free for 5 months now. I have a lot of experience getting out into the world, finding subject matter and bringing it to people’s attention. Making contact and gaining access is rarely a problem. The people I’m interested in photographing seem to recognize that my intentions are honourable.” His newest project is titled "OTTAWA, a survey." With this work he intends to continue his exploration of Ottawa, but, as the title suggests, this work will be much broader in scope and much more inclusive in nature. “My intention with this project is to bring to light various, often overlooked, aspects of my city. I intend to shoot portraits, architectural views and interiors.” Tony will be shooting this project using a 4×5 camera and film. This tool yields phenomenal negatives (which he scans and then prints). As well, the camera slows down the whole process and makes certain demands of the subjects which, in turn, elicits certain responses.

Boston, MA – Tobin School Mural

2011-09-15T00:00:00Z

There was a whole lot of Awesome in the submissions bag for the Boston chapter’s September 2011 Fellowship. One in particular stood out. Internationally known mural artist, Caleb Neelon, applied for spray paint and sandwich money to underwrite the transformation of a large wall for the Tobin School in Mission Hill. For those who love art and our fair city, Neelon’s TEDx Boston presentation (‘Courting the Creative Class’) is a must watch. Want to know more? Here’s a blurb from the application: I'll have some artists coming in from out of town and it'll be a great time. Right now I don't have any idea what we'll be painting, but that's the way I like it, and the school principal is fine with that. I know it'll be really colorful. The wall is boring crummy brick and needs some love. This will be the 2nd project Neelon has done for the elementary school. Weather permitting, painting will begin this weekend as a lead in to his upcoming talk at the MFA (Sunday, September 25th @ 2pm) and recently released book, The History of American Graffiti. Follow the link to Amazon. The reviews are pretty freakin’ awesome.

Sydney – Physique Aerobics

2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

Inspired by Jamie Lee Curtis’s immaculate display in 1985’s aerobics flick ‘Perfect’, Physique intends to capture what they knew back then – mirrors, sweat & spandex accompanied by an appropriately cheesy soundtrack. There will be awards for the best dressed, hot pink workout mats and tasty low-carb drinks to cool off afterwards. If you’re not too embarrassed at the idea of getting physical, then the organisers welcome you to sign up. It’s open to anyone, “but particularly those who like to let loose on the weekend and are keen to get active early in the week, are aware that summer is right round the corner but are turned off or daunted by gyms & zumba. The classes will be cheeky but make you sweat. No-one gets shoved out the door at the end of the class, you actually stick around & have a chat & a laugh.”

Toronto – Carbon Capture Jewelry

2011-08-30T00:00:00Z

My Ph.D. research revolves around designing carbon-capture materials to combat global warming (see my website for more details and links to publications). Serendipitously, these materials are very pretty to look at (small green crystals). I think there's an opportunity here to significantly raise awareness about both global warming and also technologies that can fight it (but need research money!) by making jewelry out of carbon-capture crystals. The jewelry would be 'functional' in that it would actively suck carbon dioxide out of there while being worn (until a saturation point is reached). I chose the Toronto chapter because that is my home town and there is a talented jewelry designer there, Niki Kavakonis, who has offered to partner with me.

Washington, DC – Indiana Jones and the Alley of Doom

2011-08-27T00:00:00Z

Imagine this: You're walking down a fairly inconspicuous street -- maybe 14th, maybe somewhere in Georgetown -- somewhere where you're probably not paying much attention to the environment around you. Up ahead you notice a fellow (or lady) wearing not just the iconic Indiana Jones hat, but full-on Indiana Jones dress. Faux-Indie is standing behind a little kiosk next to an "Alley of Doom" - or at least that's what the sign above the alley says. Before you can process this Mr. Jones, something amazing happens: a second (!) Indiana comes tearing out of the alley, vaulting away from a giant bolder which stops neatly at the place where the alley and sidewalk meet. WTF, you may ask. This is a snapshot of "Indiana Jones and the Alley of Doom" - a pop-up experience hopefully taking place in an alley near you (if you live in DC...at least for now, but I'm getting ahead of myself). The Alley of Doom is a game that anyone can play: Walk up to Kiosk Indie, hook him (or her) up with your email address, and you'll be given the chance to recreate (and star in!) the infamous scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indie steals the statue and eventually runs from a GIANT boulder. (We skip some scenes from the real film, but will stick as close to the basic plot as the Indy would like.) Players can choose to relive the entire steal/boulder scenario, or just jump straight to the heart-pumping boulder run. Either way, strategically positioned cameras will capture the action in HD so that, at the end of the day, I or someone of my team can cut up the footage into a personalized adventure, which will then be emailed to the players and published on the web. Who am I and why can I do this? (1) I am not afraid of snakes. (2) I'm a multimedia producer and new media "professional" (currently employed by the Sunlight Foundation, formerly employed by NPR) who has a history of participating in urban games, holds an obsession with the public commons, and believed for far longer than necessary that I was from Middle Earth. I run a website (http://theartaround.us) devoted to crowdsourcing knowledge of (and increasing attention to) public art that I run in partnership with the city of DC and just plain want to create more (crazy/informative/random/wonderful) free experiences to highlight (and expand!) the weirdness and creativity of the District's residents.

Washington, DC – Arts Mentoring: Spring 2012

2011-08-27T00:00:00Z

Amazingly enough, this project has already begun conception and its early planning stages. It is right and refreshing that the Awesome Grant would make itself available at this exact time. My name is Katrieia Snipes and I use art and psychology to make the world a better place--specifically in the lives of the young people in my community. The project I am piloting, "Arts Mentoring: Spring 2012" is an 8-week, daily after-school program designed to inspire young people to believe in themselves. Its design warrants expression and learning through observation, instruction, and real relationships. The first week is when the 30 projected young artists and I, along with my assistant, establish an accepting sense of community, as I have practiced creating in over ten years of direct supervision of children and teens in arts and crafts camps, mentoring and supporting teens affiliated with the local religious organization, and perfecting my approach to serving people in customer service positions. During this week also, the artists will produce a pre-program drawing to compare with work at the end of the Arts Mentoring Program. Every Monday of each week is check-in day. The "emotional temperature" of the room is assessed, and role-play is expressed and discussed. During the week lessons are executed; mental and artistic lessons, including how to value one's talent as an artist without wishing for others' skills. This allows artists to appreciate the treasure inside of them, which unlocks one of the "creativity blocks". Another important key the young artists will learn is to value their mistakes. In terms of skill, drawing and composition will take place the first few weeks, from drawing lines and shapes to fabric and plants. Then color theory and painting will be infused. Fridays will be the "Free Art" day, in which the young artists are free to be creative, and a "Mini-Art History Lesson" is given in an informal format. During the final week of the program, artists will produce a painting of their choice, to present to the school and compare to their original drawing. One final piece that will be included is an anonymous list of encouragements for each young artist: each artist will write one good thing about each peer that they will keep. The projected result of the program is confidence in art and in life.

Calgary, AB (Inactive) – Free Classic Movie (YYC Mobile Movie)

2011-08-25T00:00:00Z

Cities around the country and world have versions of Guerrila Drive In. I propose appropriating this novel idea and adapting it towards Calgaryian sensibilities. Instead of this being a drive in experience it will be a communal collective viewing of a great black and white movie Casablanca. To further improve upon the viewing experience food trucks will be approached to provide healthy and unique snack options (city has already provided hookups for the food trucks in the east village). The movie will be projected onto the side of the Simmons Mattress Factory building. Seating will be located on the new riverwalk. Bathrooms are already provided as is water. East Village Experience and Calgary Municipal Lands Corp will be asked to sponsor the event via electricity for projection and sound. Will explore getting this event licensed. Promotion of this classic movie viewing experience will be via word of mouth foremost. Twitter, local radio and old time movie posters will be used as well for promotion. Expect to seat under 500 persons. This benefits all Calgarians who attend and those that dont but wish we had more events like this. This event is awesome as it is free, a classic movie, good food/drink and brings people to the east village as well as together. Follow the progress of this project on Twitter (@yycmobilemovie).

Boston, MA – Urban Deterioration Obliteration (U-DO)

2011-08-24T00:00:00Z

I'm Paul Howe. I'm a sculptor. I'm from New York. I've been around the sun twenty four times. See my website for all of the awesome things I've made. paulhowe.info I'm a graduate student now at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I study sculpture here. I can't make sculpture anymore. I can no longer make a case for it. I can't justify working alone in my studio, making pretty objects, discussing socioeconomic problems and criticizing everything all the time, while I'm safe in my little bubble of colleagues and professors and books. I feel like a gomer. I need to get out into the world, and instead of criticizing it and bitching about the problems I see, It's high time I just did something about them using the skills I have. I'm going to walk around my town, Greensboro, NC, every day. I'll have with me a notebook, a camera, and a tape measure, and I'm going to document all of the broken, deteriorating, or badly designed public infrastructure I come across (there is a lot of it...). I'll then, with my vast resources of skills, tools, equipment, materials, and awesomeness that I've hoarded over the years, design, create, and then implement solutions for these things. I'm going to fix my city, make it a little nicer, one small project at a time, for at least the next year, every day. I'm talking about making things shine, making things a little easier, giving things we've built the dignity they deserve, and I'm talking about doing it for free, using recycled or reclaimed materials whenever possible, and, having fun doing it. Good old American thrift, with sparkling quality and character. I'm sick of merely noticing and complaining about how poorly maintained and broken everything is. I'm taking matters into my own hands - directly. I wish to act as an effective, concerned, creative, citizen. I have a fully equipped metal fabrication shop and wood shop at my disposal. I have my own private studio at my disposal for record keeping and planning and storage. I have a small fortune's worth of my own tools and equipment for actual work in the field, I have a flatbed pickup truck that I fully own and maintain, and I have huge piles of steel, wood, bricks, cement, hardware, and paint, among other things. I'm also handsome and charming.

Ottawa – Fashion on Display

2011-08-15T00:00:00Z

Our August grant goes to Malorie Bertrand and Maureen Dickson of Fashion on Display, a version of the Amazing Race if Stella McCartney and Karl Lagerfeld were competing with eccentric artists and shop-a-holics. It’s a two week event that will merge sustainable fashion, art, design and community engagement to bring attention to the ecological and social issues in the fashion industry. The store window displays of some of Ottawa’s best thrift, consignment, vintage and eco-boutiques will be dressed up to visually inform consumers of the fashion industry’s impacts and the benefits of supporting sustainable clothing and accessories. They will be enlisting ten shops and pairing them up with local artists to create eye-catching window displays that represent a challenge or solution related to sustainable fashion. Each display team will have a month to create and execute a concept. The more visually attractive and informative the displays, the better. Artists will be encouraged to source reclaimed materials to create the installations. Shoppers will be equipped with a map of participating store locations and will visit each store to view the displays. The window displays will act as a catalyst for an informative dialogue between consumers and the fashion community, and promotion for the store and art installations. At the end of the tour, participants’ names are put into a draw for incredible prizes, sponsored by local sustainable businesses, during a swanky wrap-up bash. Over the course of the two weeks, stores will offer local and organic treats, music, discounts and unique activities to shoppers. They will be partnering with the Modern Urban Guide to create a custom map of the participating stores. Shoppers can pick up their guide at any participating location a week prior to the beginning of the tour. They will have two weeks to visit each store, admire the display, speak to store owners and artists, and learn about the presented issue. On the last day, they’ll throw a wrap-up party, showcasing photographs of the displays, feature sustainable fashion pieces and host workshops on how to remake clothing. This event promises to be a huge success because it is unique and fuses Ottawa’s businesses, artists and consumers. If you know of any artists or shops who would be interested in being a part of Fashion on Display let us know!

Sydney – World's smallest patch synthesizer

2011-08-09T00:00:00Z

Hi, my name is Aras and I'm an Artist-Engineer! My main area of engineering is electronics and micro computer systems, and I love make sculptures and small hand sized objects. I love teaching people about how to build electronic instruments and I have produced several workshops for the Electrofringe festival in Newcastle. I'm also actively involved in Dorkbot Sydney where I have presented various projects since it has been running. I'm currently designing and building the world's smallest (and cheapest!) patch synthesizer. This is one of those audio synths where you can plug in lots of cables between different parts and there are loads of knobs that make crazy sounds! Here is an example of what they look like: http://www.synthmuseum.com/ppg/ppg30001.jpg The idea is to make a patch synthesizer that is capable, small, cheap and easily available for people to experiment with and make some great sounds. As with all my designs, I release the circuit diagrams and documents explaining how they work and how to build them. Here is my progress so far: http://i.imgur.com/t5Cda.png This is a snapshot of the printed circuit board. You can see the knobs, the patch bay and the 1 octave piano keyboard. This will be about the same area as two business cards! Some links about me: Electrofringe in Newcastle: http://bock.com.au/electrofringe/?p=111 http://www.flickr.com/photos/electrofringe/4156884894/ Dorkbot/Electrofringe: http://dorkbotsyd.boztek.net/?p=96 http://dorkbotsyd.boztek.net/?p=106 http://dorkbotsyd.boztek.net/?p=67 Engineering robots for Australian artists: http://marynowsky.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/the-hosts/

Calgary, AB (Inactive) – Illuminating Calgary's Landscapes

2011-07-28T00:00:00Z

Calgary’s urban parks attract plenty of people to both wild and manicured spaces during the day. However, when evening arrives, some of these locations may be overlooked due to their dense and dark nature. Imagine changing these spaces by creating welcoming and magical landscapes in these environments at night. Our goal is to invite Calgarians to illuminate these forgotten locations using several hundred LED lights to create a collaborative and temporary light installation. Imagine going for an evening stroll, and noticing some activity in an area that is usually dark and unvisited in the night hours. You notice this area is filled with lights: some flashing, some in mason jars, and others appearing to hang in midair. As you approach, you see an inviting sign: “Good Evening! Grab an LED, a battery and help us build fireflies”. You’re invited to join in on the action. We will facilitate this experience by providing visitors with a simple starting point: space to create and materials (LED lights, button cell batteries, mason jars, wire, string, etc). In this redefined space, people can create, watch the installation’s progress, or simply relax and hang out. We will welcome folks into this space for a few hours, after which we will start to take down this light installation and leave no trace behind of our evening adventure. Some videos from the project: Illuminating Calgary's Landscapes Kick-off: Installation 1 - Firefly Adventure Club: Installation 2 - PLAY!:

Zürich (Inactive) – Beach Box Heimberg

2011-07-22T00:00:00Z

Hallo miteinander! Ich bin Lehrerin an der Oberstufenschule in 3627 Heimberg. Mit meiner Gestaltungsklasse arbeite ich momentan an einem Fotoprojekt, welches Heimberg aus Sicht der Jugendlichen zeigt. Mit Hilfe von Miniaturfiguren stellen die Schüler erfundene und reale Szenen aus ihrem Schulalltag und der Freizeit an den Originalschauplätzen nach und halten das ganze mit ihren Digicams (Makrofotografie) fest. Momentan sind wir voller Eifer dabei und viele Fotos sind bereits entstanden. Die Sammlung der besten Bilder wollen wir in einer Ausstellung zeigen (Poster), am liebsten auch als Buch, oder Prospekt veröffentlichen. Der Sinn hinter der Aktion ist es, Heimberg mal aus der Sicht der Jugendlichen zu dokumentieren, zu zeigen, was sie interessiert, was sie bewegt (von morbid bis humorvoll), wo ihre Lieblingsplätze sind und den "Erwachsenen" zu zeigen dass die Teens viel mehr produzieren können, als nur Abfall auf dem Spielplatz ;)! (Ganz nebenbei werden natürlich auch die gestalterischen Fähigkeiten der Kids gefördert, ihre Kreativität angeregt, ihre Augen geschult, ihr Teamwork gefördert, der Umgang mit Gestaltungsprogrammen geübt usw...).

Chicago, IL – Neighborhood Little Free Library

2011-07-21T00:00:00Z

Self: A creature of others' support and inspiration. Lots of impressive titles :) but my favorite is National Garden Crusader (I'm a terrible gardener but avid promoter of community gardening and connecting people through common interests) Founding board member of Envest Microfinance Coop, Youth Communication, Dane Co. Buy Local, TimeBank and a few other groups. Chair of Sarvodaya USA www.sarvodayausa.org More important, this project: Little Free Library--a friendly way to promote a sense of community, support reading for children, literacy for adults and libraries around the world. We started out calling them Habitats for the Humanities and Houses of Stories, but Little Libraries is the name that stuck. In short, the idea is for people to share good books through free exchanges that they help create for their front yards, bike and walking paths, bus stops,gardens,parks, coffee shops and community center. Each Little Library is just that, a small (maybe 2'x 2'x2') structure full of books. Some are built by an Amish carpenter, many are built by Do It Yourselfers and others like vocational students, woodworkers and carpenters who just want to be part of the "pay it forward" approach. Some LFLs look like log cabins or one-room schoolhouses on a post. Others look like models of classic Greek revival libraries. We're hoping to see structures that look like either the Taj Mahal or Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. Maybe they will be like dog houses or art pieces that contain books--about 20-30 books each. They operate with a "take a book, leave a book" system. Nobody can steal the books because they are free, provided by kids and adults from their own collections, often with notes telling why they donated the books. Authors and illustrators are offering free copies, too. Book collections seem to turn over two or three times a month. People love the idea of contributing books as much as borrowing them. Each Library can have its own theme. Imagine one all about dogs, for example--novels (White Fang, or my fave, Harry the Dirty Dog), poetry, "how-to" books; you name it. Or a Library all about peace and justice, or women's history, or knitting, or village life around the world, or... Every registered LFL will be on a Google map with GPS coordinates and will have a photo and story on a Facebook page. Our goal is to "endow" at least 2,510 of these (more than Andrew Carnegie! Awesome!) and we're on our way with the first 23 already.

Boston, MA – On the Go - National Outhouse Museum

2011-07-19T00:00:00Z

I recently acquired one and a half historic, Cape Cod outhouses, saving then from demolition - one only has two walls. I’m expecting two more this year. This collection will be the core of the new museum, On the Go - The National Outhouse Museum. I propose to refurbish them, put them on wheels for easy transport, and create the Traveling Outhouse Galleries. They would be adaptable for exhibitions, performances and installations, and programmed site-sensitively for: parades, bazaars, shopping centers, and historic and contemporary galleries and museums. Septic tanks, sewers, tunnels and the underground have always fascinated me: creating a Septic Theater in the Ground in my backyard septic tank; recording a CD in the Boston’s Big Dig before it opened; and proposing an Historic Septic District in Provincetown. These sandwiched between projects in Argentina (using surgical masks to counter the hysteria about SARS, etc), Columbia (GLOBAL YAWNING for a small planet - a new day is yawning, video project), Rhode Island (mummifying a 1965 Chevy Impala in an abandoned mousoleum in North Burial Ground), and North Truro, MA (The Beige Motel - a sand-encrusted, iconic, 1955 roadside attraction [since demolished]). On the Go - National Outhouse Museum, like many of my projects, will be collaborative - working with artists, artisans, volunteers, community and cultural organizations and municipal authorities. Composting is a time-honored process that returns nutrients to the soil, conserving precious water, whereas municipal sewer systems require huge capital outlays, lots of water and costly treatment plants. Composting our own waste reminds us of our connection to the earth and the need to treat it with respect. NOTE: The URL line did not work, here’s my website: www.jaycritchley.com

Berlin (Inactive) – Guerilla Birdhouse Lab

2011-07-14T00:00:00Z

"The Guerilla Birdhouse Lab" will show people how to make bird houses from trash and then place them in public spaces - trees, lamp-posts, street signs and buildings. The project would manifest in workshops - street actions and documented online with a how to replicate in your own keats. This process will educate people about waste, and engage them directly in improving directly their urban environment. The birdhouses themselves will create a provocation, bring birdsong to the streets and make the keat's just that little bit nicer for everyone in it.

Washington, DC – One Night Stand

2011-07-03T00:00:00Z

One Night Stand seeks out vacant lots in the greater Washington DC area and turns them into contemporary art venues for one night. The project team revitalizes the vacant lot, cleans, removes debris and prepares the space for an exhibition that lasts 2-3 hours. Solo, group and site specific installation projects are being planned to take place over the Summer. Most exhibitions will be local emerging artist, but we may throw in a surprise or two. Our aim is to provide spot exhibitions and involve the neighborhoods we enter. Neighbors are invited to be a part of the transformation and attend the "Opening/Closing" event. In the end, we leave a cleaner and safer lot. The first event is scheduled for June 11th.

Melbourne (Inactive) – Do It In a Dress

2011-07-03T00:00:00Z

Hello! I'm Chantelle Baxter and I'm the 26 years old and I'm the co-founder of One Girl - a non profit organisation the works with women and girls in Sierra Leone! In the last 5 months our organisation has provided 100 education scholarships to girls living in extreme poverty - and we want to give 50 more scholarships to girls in 2012! From Oct 2 - Oct 9 - we're going to be running "Do It In A Dress" week. Our goal is to get 100 influential bloggers to sign up and help us put 150 girls through school next year. We want to raise $25,000 in just 7 days. We're asking rockstar bloggers to set a personal challenge for themselves.. like, run 5km, go to a yoga class, go bungy jumping.. BUT, the catch is that they have to it in a girls school uniform, and we want photos / video to prove it. But they aren't going to just wander around in a school dress for no good reason. They'll create their fundraising page with CauseVox, set their fundraising limit at minimum $250 (the cost of 1 girls education for a year) - and their family, friends and readers will pay to see them do their challenge in a school dress. We're choosing school dresses because once they complete their challenge, they would have put a girl in Africa back into school for an entire year. We want them to wear a school dress so she can wear one too. We already have three rockstar bloggers on board from the US and New Zealand.. so only 97 to go! There will be a fantastic campaign website coming soon - and bloggers will be able to register there. We'll have prizes for the most innovative school dresser.. This project is awesome because IT'S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE. I recently attend the World Domination Summit in Portland, Oregon, and I met SO many bloggers who want to make a difference in the world - they are going to JUMP on this idea. Everyone I've asked so far has already said yes. Funnily enough, all the bloggers that have said yes are male - it will be HILARIOUS to see men running around in school dresses to raise money for girls in Africa. We think this campaign is going to get a lot of media attention, and best of all we'll be raising a tonne of money to put girls in Sierra Leone, West Africa, back into school.

Ottawa – LovetheLabel: Advocates for safe cosmetics!

2011-07-03T00:00:00Z

July’s Awesome grant goes to Love the Label, a student-led campaign based at Nipissing University in North Bay, ON, promoting a greater awareness of the ingredients found in cosmetics and other personal care products. In September 2010, the team launched the Love the Label campaign on the Nipissing U campus. Funded from their own pockets, they set up a booth at the school with a wicked-awesome display to help educate their classmates and community about the harmful toxins found in every day cosmetics and personal care products. The responses were thrilling and lead the team to start doing presentations in classes at school and at Youth Centres out in the community. In January 2011, they launched lovethelabel.ca with a simple message: read your ingredients’ labels and love them! Only then can you be sure that what you are using is safe. “Unfortunately Canada and the USA have very loose chemical laws, which allow the cosmetics industry to ‘test’ their own products and then sell them. You can imagine how non-awesome that truly is. There is not enough money to test each product individually, so every year our markets are flooded with new products that for the most part are widely unregulated. Love the Label cannot stand for this. We demand safer products, we demand stronger laws, and throughout it all we help to motivate the average consumer to read, research, and review what they are spending their money on!” –Marina DeMarco, Love the Label Their project is fundamentally grassroots, with their own time and money spent on developing a sustainable Love the Label program in Universities and colleges throughout Canada. With the Awesome Ottawa grant they will start rolling out their collected information in packages that can be used at any university to educate and inspire. You can follow their progess on their blog and on Twitter @Lovethelabel. Awesome job so far ladies!

Sydney – PAN magazine

2011-07-03T00:00:00Z

PAN Magazine is a cultural biannual with a literary bent which includes the work of emerging and established writers. The whole production is pulled together on a shoestring budget, a driving passion for the arts and a whole lotta late nights. Emma Dallas tells the story of PAN Magazine to date, “There are twenty of us working very hard to make this little arts magazine a success. We love magazines but rarely see the kind of content we would like to read. We don’t want to compete with established magazines that focus on ‘how to look good and conform’. We want to offer a magazine with some depth as well as interest, some arts as well as fiction, poetry and essays presented beautifully. We’re on a mission to reintroduce thinking about our culture and specifically our arts in a broad and accessible way. As well as giving new writers and artists a platform to be heard in a way that does not commodify or belittle them. There is so much going on here in Australia, in all our cities. We aim to show people just how good it can be when you engage with what’s being created around you.” With a little help from the contents of a brown paper bag, the dedicated PAN crew were able to publish issue #2, which is now available for purchase at select shops across Australia and online.

London (Inactive) – The Lost Sound

2011-07-01T00:00:00Z

I am a freelance filmmaker working mostly as an editor for trailers, and a variety of NGO documentary and campaign films. Aside from this I’m building my career as a documentary filmmaker and am currently at various stages with eight projects. Some of these projects have already been filmed while others, like The Lost Sound, are in development. Over the last year my eyes have been opened to the power of real world storytelling, and how these stories can affect change in a positive way. I was visiting a friend in Bangkok when I stumbled upon a remarkable musician in the weekend market, ex-army officer Captain Prasert. Through our discussion it became apparent that he was one of the last champions of the style of music he played. Many styles of Thai music are largely ignored by Thai people; especially traditional music or music that originates from outside the capital, Bangkok, where the middle class dictates what is and isn't Thai culture. The Lost Sound, which also translates as ‘Out of Tune’, is a feature documentary which will follow the custodians who lend their lives to the conservation and reinvention of such music. The film will follow the music and lives of several musicians from different disciplines, while also revealing the difference in the lives of Thailand’s populace as the country’s political situation worsens. Initial research and contact suggests the following participants (who can be seen in this order on the teaser trailer): http://www.vimeo.com/21482388 Captain Prasert Keawpukdee, 73, taught himself to both construct and play the Thai traditional instrument known as a 'ranart'. Having originally been forced to use leaves as instruments he later also mastered the mouth organ and later the violin. Thongsai Tuptanon, 62, was born and raised in a poor farming family in Ubon Rachathani. Thongsai became a mixture of a farmer and a musician, playing and touring with his father as often as he could when not working the fields, before developing his own unique sound playing the ‘pin’. Somtow Papinian Sucharitkul, 59 worked as a composer in Thailand in the 1970s. He gave up music for two decades when his experimental compositions (such as using Traditional Thai instruments alongside classical Western instruments) were met with hostility. While receiving international acclaim, Somtow’s music remains largely ignored in Thailand where he is considered too high-brow.

Toronto – Attack of the 50-foot Rob Ford

2011-06-29T00:00:00Z

I strive to discover unknown territories of individual and collective being. To this end, I incite liminal experiences – the psychological and metaphysical subjective state of being between disparate existential planes – offering opportunities for one to embrace the strange and singular of our existence; to explore alchemical possibilities of the imagination; to live more intensely and freely in the here-and-now. I do a lot of different projects. From public interventions to roadtrips to multimedia parties to urban expeditions to installations. I am a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design's Sculpture/Installation program, and am really competent designing/building stuff. My contributions to public/urban art in Toronto have been featured in Canadian Art Magazine, the Toronto Star and other media outlets. This project is a 50-ft-tall photo-transfer paste-up in response to mayor Rob Ford’s war on graffiti/street art culture in Toronto. It would be a giant (digitally rendered) image of Ford in a white painter’s suit eating graffiti hotdogs smothered in gravy he pours-on using a gravy boat shaped like a train (a “gravy train”). I'd get help from my talented street art friends (http://www.jessealbert.ca/index.html and http://www.at-aw.com/http://www.at-aw.com/ to name two) to produce and install the piece at a symbolic downtown location where it would be widely seen and photographed dynamically, like Graffiti Alley south of Queen Street. I will also work with my long-standing collaborative partner and documentary filmmaker (http://decipherimages.com) to document the process. The project will be the focal point of a short documentary video about the war on graffiti in Toronto. The subject matter of this project is very close to me, both as a street art practitioner and a creative human being. I see Rob Ford’s ignorant, my-way-or-the-highway attitude toward graffiti as an affront to free creative expression and an insult to people who strive for and want to live in a vibrant city of art and joy. While I don’t appreciate/condone senseless, destructive tagging, etc, I believe that street art is an important cultural/social/political form of expression that must be kept alive. It is sorely misunderstood and people like Rob Ford need to be challenged at every turn. Obviously, this project is time-sensitive. Now’s the time. So getting a grand from the Awesome Foundation would be... grand.

Calgary, AB (Inactive) – Street Arials

2011-06-23T00:00:00Z

We are Calgary's ONLY recreational circus school. Our goal is to promote creative fitness and inclusion through the circus arts, while building community. For this we need a portable aerial rig. We teach children and adults agility, co-ordination, and strength of body and spirit. We encourage creativity in a non-competitive environment. With this portable rig we can bring our aerial arts (i.e. trapeze, aerial silks and aerial hoop) directly to the community. We aspire to encourage Calgarians from all backgrounds to display their unique ability by performing the aerial arts in public spaces or charity events. For example, other non-profit organizations may use our portable aerial rig and circus volunteers for their own creative fundraising. In addition, we hope to offer climbing workshops during the summer to the public. Afterwards, we will tape a statement where participants express his or her feelings about climbing. What does one feel when one is in the air? Does one want to climb fast or slow? How high does one want to reach? Is there a certain character that appears from their climbing?

San Francisco, CA – Inquiring Minds: Science Camp for Adults

2011-06-21T00:00:00Z

Remember when you spent hours tinkering with film canisters, cardboard, baking soda and vinegar to make the perfect rocket? Or surreptitiously played with dry ice to create bubbling cauldrons or mini-bombs? Why should kids have all the fun! Why can’t adults participate in this kind of inquiry? Exploring real-world phenomena in a hands-on way isn’t important just for the grade school set, the skills fostered by this kind of inquiry are critical for success in our innovation-driven society and are fundamental to true scientific literacy. Most importantly, playing with science reminds us that it is awesome! A couple observations: (1) Adults are intrigued by science. The immense popularity of events like Exploratorium After Dark and the Academy of Science’s NightLife series supports this observation; (2) Fostering scientific literacy gets a lot of press, but the vast majority of hands-on programs are aimed at children. The main route for adults to cultivate scientific literacy is passive: reading books and magazines or attending lectures. Studies show this educational route is far less effective than hands-on exploration; (3) Few adults have had any real exposure to authentic inquiry: observing a phenomenon, asking questions, testing ideas and formulating theories. My goal is to bring inquiry-based, science-themed activities to adults, melding fun with learning. Imagine spending an evening with friends, noshing on good food, consuming adult-beverages, and exploring cryogenics with dry ice and liquid nitrogen or designing an experiment to determine if glass shape really affects the taste of wine. Sound fun? As a middle school science teacher, I spend nearly every day trying to foster early adolescents’ natural sense of wonder, while pushing them to think critically and scientifically about every day phenomena. Too often adolescents lose their interest in science because cookie-cutter labs, massive textbooks, and myriad cultural messages tell them that science is “too hard” or not applicable enough. I strive to fight against this trend in my classroom, but there’s a whole generation of young adults out there who, I believe, are eager to re-capture their childhood fascination with the world. Leveraging my experience as an educator and science nerd, I hope to provide adults with a scientific playground that will re-ignite their innate curiosity and, in a small way, contribute to cultivating a more informed, scientifically literate citizenry.

San Francisco, CA – Sidewalk Natural History

2011-06-21T00:00:00Z

The last few years I've been researching local (SF) natural history, especially about water politics, storms, lakes and streams that once existed in SF. I've been sharing my exciting research in various ways. The funding is to make the most awesome idea happen: short presentations on public sidewalks. I see this as a series 10-minute shows lasting about 90 minutes in a public location where locals are the primary sidewalk users. It would be monthly for half a year, and longer if I can swing it. I would show pictures and maps and explain how the spot where they are standing came to be the way it is now, from being a pond, dune, etc. Some of these events would be after dark with slides projected onto a wall, and some just with printed posters in daylight. I've already scheduled a couple tests of the idea, using pictures I've already been using in my tours, and shouting instead of having a proper sound system. (Ouch on my voice! Bad for gathering a crowd.) I love sharing my research. I've been a teacher of kids and adults, and a regular speaker at the Natural History Series at Randall Museum for 20 years. I've published on the subject of water in SF (City Lights Foundation press). Since my interests keep leading me new places, I've never settled down into one career (with a salary, for instance) that allowed me to pay for expanding into this idea, sharing my cool, wet sleuthing with anyone who wanders by. My other projects include organizing major public murals (see http://monacaron.com for many of them, including the Bike Mural on Duboce Ave. behind Safeway). I founded and ran EpiCenter, a desktop publishing community training center in two locations in the early 1990s when such things barely existed yet (Market Street/Castro and Haight Street/Cole). I co-founded the Media Alliance JobFile system in 1988. I co-founded the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, and various other major bicycling-as-transportation projects.

New York City, NY – Babycastles

2011-06-15T00:00:00Z

What We Do: Babycastles, New York's first independent games arcade, is named after bite-size portugese cakes in Japan. As a new function of a legendary all-ages venue for Brooklyn music and other local diy-culture, Babycastles is a wall of six lovingly decorated arcade cabinets that offers a physical place to play games made by amateur and independent game developers. The arcade is open four or five nights a week, during every show at the Silent Barn. The venue throws an opening party every few weeks for a new collection of arcade games, with the game developers present, music, drinks, and plenty of opportunity to get together and love games. How we do it: The idea is to provide space where not only games can be played socially but to create a identity for the NYC indie community. As far as the game selection goes, we have the line-up curated by someone different each month and seek out newer games that haven't been released to the public yet (i.e. Nihogg). Also, the reasons why we want multiple arcades are (as opposed to 5 games-in-one MAME machine): - It's just more fun to hear the sound of the arcade resonating out of 5 machines instead of 1. - Logistically speaking if you have almost 80 people at a party, one cabinet is certainly not enough to serve all of them. - We have themes for each party, it's pretty hard to find 6 awesome titles around a certain theme, yet it gets a lot harder if it's anymore than that. We've also made it a point to have at least one developer from the games we're featuring come out and give a lecture and take questions. As a developer myself, it's really exciting to see people play your game and get their feedback. Even though the last event was free and open to all, we're creating a model where we can actually PAY the developers for hosting their games here, if and when we start charging. Of course it doesn't have to cost money and developers choose if they want to have a door fee or not. Since its inception every Babycastles event has been free and open to all ages. There is also a lot more to the space then just games in re-purposed windows xp machines. We're going to have game design workshops, a zine, and host of other cool things down the road. Press: http://rhizome.org/editorial/3661 http://www.vbs.tv/blog/babycastles-cyborg-videogame-nerdtopia Quote from Brooklynvegan.com - "DIY video game arcade built from the carcasses of Win95 PCs. All grassroots-made games, not corporate junk."

Ottawa – Burundi Film Center

2011-06-15T00:00:00Z

The grant for June goes to Christopher Redmond, the co-founder of a not-for-profit school in East Africa called the Burundi Film Center (BFC). The project was started in 2007 with a small group of volunteer filmmakers who brought our own equipment and trained youth, aged 18-25, the basics of film history, theory and production. They trained 36 students and the first 5 short films played in over 50 international film festivals around the world. In 2009, the BFC produced a 22-minute documentary called Home Free about Burundian refugees who have been living in Tanzania for 36 years and are only now returning home. That film is now used as a training tool at UN agencies around the world, as well as embassies and schools. They have recently held more workshops and produced more films, including their first documentary workshop in 2010 and their first animation workshop is scheduled for September 2011. They’ve been able to accomplish all this without any operational funding at all. The only money they receive is through individual donations from friends and family. Our teachers either pay their own plane tickets, or find individual grants to travel if they are lucky. Despite their financial difficulties, they’ve achieved some great successes – including having a number of their students work on the 2011 Academy-Award nominated short film Na Wewe. Christopher was personally selected as one of Canada’s Top 50 Champions of Change on CBC and even held a TEDx Talk in Ottawa a few months ago. Christopher will use the Awesome Grant to empower some of their near 100 graduated students to produce more awesome films and will match our contribution to create 4 separate grants of $500 for the students to apply for. That is certainly awesome, sir!

London (Inactive) – Vintage Horsebox conversion to mobile circus stage

2011-06-14T00:00:00Z

LETS TALK ABOUT ROSIE! I have invested my inheritance in a beautiful vintage Horse lorry (Rosie), and am converting it into a mobile project vehicle/carnival lorry/sleeping quarters (for the volunteers when on the road)/and tip of the hat to the travelling circus's and gypsy tradition's. The best part of the whole thing, is the stage on the back. Currently we have a ramp that with some work and planning will become a fully functioning stage and performance space. With red curtains, fold out decorations,think Willy Wonker meets Dr Pernassus meets the medicine show. The outside of the van is going to be painted by two friends of the seagulls who are professional film set designers and large scale painters. They will do it for free I just need to cover the materials, the insie has been designed by a highly qualified architectural designer. She had done it for free,i just need to pay for the materials. The carpentry will be carried out by myself and my friend who is a professional woodworker,I just need to pay for the materials. The difference this will make to our projects in Romania is imeasurable. The kids and communities we visit are so outcast,and fogotten that self esteem is almost more dangerous than poverty! When we arrive each year the impact is undeniable. Such brilliant happiness (both ours and theirs). If we can carry out the work successfully on our old truck Rosie, they are going to have something so magical, and special, that the impression (especially on the imaginations of the kids, who are tragically under-stimulated), will last a lifetime.

Berlin (Inactive) – blitzTag + Light Rider Boom Bike

2011-06-01T00:00:00Z

This proposal is for materials & equipment expenses required for building a boom bike that will provide collective members and citizens with a reliable, cheap & effective method of contributing to visual culture in Berlin’s public spaces. GRL is an international federation of cells - from the USA to Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Austria, & now Germany. Our mission is “to outfit graffiti & street artists with open source technologies for urban communication.” Our broad aim is to develop new technologies within the scope of collective process, civic participation & media empowerment. Specifically, this means providing ways for the public to access these technologies, & put them to use in public space. A huge step towards this will be the creation of a mobile broadcast unit: the boom bike. During winter 2011, we plan to build a cargo bike that will allow us to transport gear & effectively ‘bomb’ public spaces with giant light-based graffiti. The bike will have space for a beamer, laptop, speaker & battery system, and will allow us to take projects like bombIR into city space, creating large-scale guerilla projections. With it, we will be able to hit several spots in one evening, without having to rely on external power or other location-logistics. The boom bike will be a sustainable, mobile, and participatory addition to not only GRL-Germany’s activities, but also the activities of several groups, as we plan to make the bike available activists, artists and other contributors to the diversity of visual and civic culture.

Los Angeles, CA – Swings

2011-06-01T00:00:00Z

Swings, installed publicly in urban and natural settings. The amazing feedback we got from people via interviews or emails was incredibly positive. Kids loved the but the more important impact was on the adults who used them. They were instantly transported back to a better time and lost themselves in the moment. Pure and utter unadulterated joy. The happiness that sprung up in them was palpable and filtered down to others as they carried on with their day. It's contagious. So we've already done this on a small scale. Seven swings strung across the city at the cost of about 150 bucks. The cost is mostly in the rope and we learned ideal heights that would save us on rope costs the next time around. 1000 dollars would finance 100 swings across the bay area spreading pure and simple joy from a forgotten source. Here is the video from our first experiment, which is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=373kAws3Mug&feature=player_embedded http://www.woostercollective.com/2010/06/ohsanfran_happiness_project_10_swings.html http://mattgartland.com/greatness/oh-san-francisco-swings/