22 USA artists discuss their strategies for coping with problem solving, daring to be an original thinker, becoming early adapters to the changing nature of earning money in America, developing the courage to become forward thinking inventors and profound innovators.
Part of SEED/ROOT Micro Museum's educational programming. Ms Laziza is available to speak on artist empowerment and cultural enabling topics.
Know Who You Are
Inspiration is Not Mandatory
Just Start Where You Are
Everyone is a Little Different
Using Your Talents
Become a Lifetime Learner
Embracing Taking A Risk
Quitting is Not a Good Option
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
by Kathleen Laziza
ARTIST BY DEFINITION and MAKE IT YOUR OWN
Premise: Artists are America’s most under-rated job creators. They create products through their own invention and tenacity with a high degree of speculation that their products will have a market to sustain their creativity. They are largely successful because artists dictate the terms of their accomplishments –vs- the amount of personal commitment it takes to be an original thinker. They are unique in their abilities to use their vision to be their guide. We would never advocate that people become artists. That is a very personal choice. Instead we are asking Americans to learn to think like an artist so that they might to help themselves create their own jobs. As the senior curator of ARTIST BY DEFINITION at Micro Museum, I have long admired our four selected talk leaders for their personal fortitude and ability to re-invent themselves when circumstances warranted.
Artist As Interdisciplinary Polymath Jamie Leo turned his time into a bit of a game show as he explored the chemicals of the brain. Whimsy is not unusual for this artist, who he is a skilled storyteller and mischief-maker who pokes at the common or not so common humanity beneath the surface of individual persons.
Artists As Pioneer Mike MacIvor brought together a group of peers who were all “old-school” New Yorkers. Each of them has seen a thing or two through Brooklyn’s rapid economic progress as they grapple with growing artistically in the formidable NYC continuum.
Artist As Activist Pamela Sneed set up a personal interview with a colleague. During her time she discussed her life story and her professional decision-making process as it relates to current published or performative works.
Artist As Life Force Kay Nishikawa developed her time by posing questions that allowed her peers to reveal part of their internal dialog since every artist has to answer to a higher standard because they must please themselves first and foremost.
These talks were recorded October/November 2016 and edited into an 8 part series called MAKE IT YOUR OWN by October/November 2017. These eight 8 – 9 minute episodes highlight how artists address the issues that confront them, experiences that shape them, and how they manage to have staying power in 21st century America where there are no jobs except ones that you invent yourself. Artists create new products in new spaces with new ideas everyday. Each episode reminds viewer of 3 summarizing steps to make their own entrepreneurial talents work for them. Here are the 24 steps to remember.
KNOW WHO YOU ARE
Look deep inside your self, decide what you do best and do that as much as you can.
Success comes from your sense of humor and your sense of curiosity.
If you learn something new, change your actions.
INSPIRATION IS NOT MANDATORY
Schedule routine practice because everyday is another day to get good at what you like to do.
Picture your self in 5 years time and work everyday for that picture.
Thinking helps but doing is better. Stop talking about it and start doing it.
JUST START WHERE YOU ARE
If you take enough baby steps towards your goal you will eventually achieve your goal
Brainstorm about how to go from A to B to C to D. Write them down, revisit them frequently and put them into play.
Feel free to model yourself after other people you view as successful
EVERYONE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT
Frequently ask your self why but also why not?
As you think about how to market your skills also develop a thick skin
People will question everything you do. It is up to you to prove them wrong.
USING YOUR TALENTS
Make the time to develop social and professional networks that keep on expanding.
Don’t allow anyone to discourage you from your goal. They know nothing and you should move on.
To become a good time manager, sometimes you have to say no.
BECOME A LIFETIME LEARNER
Masterful people often put themselves into uncomfortable positions so they can learn.
Success is always measured over time. Don’t sell yourself short if you think it is taking longer than you wish.
As you redirect yourself you will also be redirecting others around you.
EMBRACE TAKING A RISK
Make sure that you celebrate your resilience for working on tasks that are unique to your circumstances.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. It is mythology that we do anything truly alone.
Trusting your instincts takes personal insight and the ability to modify your behavior rather quickly.
QUITTING IS NOT A GOOD OPTION
Try looking at your problems though the lens of another person perhaps your problems are fixable.
Remember you are a human being and not a robot, you have something beautiful and significant to contribute.
Being grateful is not a platitude it is a life force that keeps on giving.
The following people contributed to these artist talks and video series.
Micro Museum thanks them for their honesty and their ability to share their ideas and talents with us.
Please learn more about their work by investigating their biographies below and their external media links.
MAKE IT YOUR OWN
Speakers and Leaders Biographies
Pamela Sneed
Pamela Sneed is a New York based poet, writer and actress. She has been featured in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Time Out, Bomb, VIBE, and on the cover of New York Magazine. Her work is included in The 100 Best African American Poems edited by Nikki Giovanni. Recent publications include work in Best Monologues from Best American Short Plays, Future Perfect, and LIU Teaching Narratives with upcoming work in Ping Pong and Cutbank magazines.
Pamela has headlined the New Work Now Festival at Joe’s Pub/Public Theater nd has performed original works for sold out houses at Lincoln Center, P.S. 122, Ex-Teresa in Mexico City, The ICA London, The CCA in Glasgow Scotland, The Green Room in Manchester, England, and BAM cafe. In 2014, Pamela appeared at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, at Long Island University and as a guest performer at the Beechman Theater. In 2013, she performed at Central Park Summer Stage, The Whitney Museum of Art, Columbia University’s, “Geographies of Mass Incarceration.” In 2011, she performed in South Africa in collaboration with the women’s organization FEW.
At Sarah Lawrence she teaches Writing for Solo Performance and Solo Performance in Production.
Learn more at Pamela Sneed’s official website http://www.pamelasneedspeaks.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Sneed
Jamie Leo
Storyteller, with words & pics.
My practice spans multiple creative and marketing disciplines – design skills including branding, promo, UX design, typography, digital illustration; and writing for multiple channels and #platforms.
This extensive range is why I'm brought on for strategic, ideative, and tactical collaborations by leading corporations, academic institutions, non-profit organizations, and innovative startups.
http://jamieleo.com/jQuery-Parallax-master/index.html
Michael MacIvor
Michael MacIvor is a musician born and raised in Brooklyn NY. He is the bassist of the genre-bending band Candiria. Candiria blend various styles of music, including metal, hardcore, hip hop, jazz, progressive rock and ambient. They have often dubbed their sound "urban fusion". Candiria currently have an album out entitled "While They Were Sleeping" on Metalblade Records.
http://www.metalblade.com/candiria/
Kay Nishikawa
Kay Nishikawa- is an artist who makes the body a work of art in space by drawing, painting, curving the void like visual artists do, but by using her whole body moving through the space consciously. The bases of her method of creation called " Texturalization, " enforces the exploration of five sense awareness in space. She also constructs her images by using video and film interacting and weaving the body into the movement as a thread does for fabric. Improvisational abstract music, as well as energy from the viewers finalize the work's total creation of art in space. Thus it achieves an unique experience which can be shared through its communication.This work has been categorized as Intermediate Art, Performance Art, or Structuralized Improvisation but the artist can simply call it "Phenomena."
https://www.hatchfund.org/user/dumbok2arts
Kay Nishikawa, founder and Artistic Director of K2 Dance and Arts Co., is an internationally recognized multimedia performing artist. Born in Kobe, Japan, she first studied choreography at the Nesta Brooking School of Ballet in England before moving to New York City and developing artistically under the guidance of teachers such as Melissa Hayden, Alfredo Corvino and Merce Cunningham. Her philosophy and vision developed through the mentorship of and ensuring partnership with Simone Forti, with whom she shared an admiration for Saburo Murakami, founding member of Gutai (the first Japanese avant-garde movement) and Nishikawa’s kindergarten teacher. Nishikawa has performed in local New York City churches, warehouses, a missionary house, galleries and museums, as well as internationally in Canada, Germany, Mexico, France, England and Japan. Her work has been described as creating “movement like a sculptor, visualized images like a poet, colors the scenes like a painter, and flows like an abstract chord." Nishikawa holds a Master’s Degree in Dance Education from New York University.
https://www.k2arts.org/aboutkay/
https://www.facebook.com/kay.nishikawa
Paula Lalala
Aside from a few childhood drawings of trees, horses, and bibles, Paula Lalala began making art in 1983 and has been working passionately ever since. The Paula Lalala MVSEVM evolved out of a body of deeply personal autobiographical work, which Paula could not bring herself to part with. The MVSEVM is one of many art projects by Paula Lalala.
Her work has been exhibited at numerous venues, and is in private, public, and corporate collections. Her only child, a son, is now grown. She and her partner, Jack, an author and musician, live in Brooklyn, New York.
https://paulalalala.com/paulalalala-com/
Tamalyn Miller
Tamalyn Miller is a visual artist, musician and poet who blends the archaic and ritualistic with the modern and mundane. She has an MFA from Mills College and an MA in Russian Literature from Columbia University. Her poetry is included in The Funk and Wag from A – Z and she is the author of five collections of poetry, which have also been fabricated as handcrafted bookworks. Her artwork has been shown at Project Row Houses, Wave Hill, Storefront for Art and Architecture, Deitch Projects and other venues. As a musician (hand-made horsehair fiddle, French horn, vocals) and songwriter, she performs solo and is a founding member of the psychedelic folk trio Goddess and the altered-state ambient duo SPIRIT RADIO. She has performed at Wave Hill, SculptureCenter, The Living Room, Joyce Theater SoHo, Monkey Town and elsewhere in New York City. The original music of Goddess is available on a 2007 release produced by David Grubbs and the 2015 vinyl album Paradise. SPIRIT RADIO released its first album, A Light is Running Along the Ropes in 2018. Tamalyn lives and works in New York City.
http://www.tamalynmiller.com/music/
Natasha Babenko
Natasha Babenko is a producer and cinematographer, known for The Birth of an Artist (2014), Orgami (2017) and Verbatim (2011). Natasha is a filmmaker based in NYC. After obtaining a Master’s in Linguistics and International PR and a decade of traveling and working, she was determined to dedicate the rest of her life to film and all film-related arts. Her first short works competed and won in multiple festivals around the world. The potential for technology and art to create a unique POV and experience for the viewer catalyzed her latest collaboration: an interactive VR documentary based on life of her dear friend and brilliant actress Tatyana Kot. Natasha is currently in pre-production for her thesis film at NYU Tisch School of the Arts where for the past three years she has been pursuing an MFA in Film Directing. She loves sad films and dreams that feel more real than reality.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4584953/
https://www.facebook.com/natalie.babenko
Michael Hagins
I am an award-winning playwright, director and fight director. I also act part-time. I am a passionate and intense person. I am very loyal and protecting of my friends and family. I want to earn the trust, respect and love of my peers. I try too hard at everything. I care too much about everything. I love history and knowledge. My plays tend to include stage combat, and I always aim for the audience to be entertained.
https://newplayexchange.org/users/2039/michael-hagins
https://www.facebook.com/BrooklynBuc
Matty Amendola
Talented, versatile and uniquely-determined, Matty has been playing drums professionally since the age of 13, has recorded on a countless number of albums, released several of his own and has quickly become a recognized producer and songwriter. In 2008, he started music incubator, 825 Records, Inc., delivering material from a wide-ranging roster of artists (Katie Lee, Fleet Walker, The Lovegoods, Jay Shepard). He has landed world-wide broadcast licensing placements, developed dozens of independent artists from the ground-up and recorded and shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the industry including Adam Levine and Ty Taylor of Vintage Trouble.
A Brooklyn native, Matty has been making big moves and is being recognized for his work in the New York City and national music scenes. Don’t let his young looks fool you – this experienced musician started on drums at age five, and within a few short years he was sneaking into bars and clubs to sit in with as many musicians as possible. As a teenager, Matty started working as a musician for hire, making his mark performing on major television shows, national tours and studio work with some legendary heavy hitters.
Encouraged by his father, Billy Amendola, who had three Billboard Top 10 dance hits with his band Mantus, Matty developed his talents beyond the drum kit, learning guitar and writing his own music. By age 13, Matty was playing with a variety of bands, opening up for larger acts in nearly every small venue in New York City. Throughout high school, Matty worked as a drummer for hire for studio work and live shows. He also started building an extensive collection of recording equipment, helping other young talent by producing their music and giving them a professional, marketable product.
In late 2006, right out of high school, Matty embarked on a 22-city tour as both drummer and MD for "Jump," a dance competition shown on Nickelodeon, and toured with Nick Diaz and Weird Old America. Through this extensive touring, Matty quickly became a well-known drummer within the industry for his hard-hitting rock/funk style and appeared in advertisements in every drum magazine in the United States.
He got his first taste of fame playing bass in TV personality Damien Fahey's band, The Classic Futures. In addition to co-writing and co-producing their debut release, Another Way, Matty performed with The Classic Futures on MTV's TRL as well as on tour throughout the Northeast. His experience with them helped him discover his skill for studio work.
In early 2008, Matty chose to stop touring and focus on producing in order to create marketable music for young artists. "I quickly went from red carpets to dingy studio carpets in recording studios," says Matty. And so, the music incubator 825 Records was born. Matty worked closely with every artist on the 825 roster, using his songwriting and producing expertise to craft raw materials info polished, finished musical gems. He built a small team to drive the marketing and publicity campaigns of each artist and gained wide regard in the industry as a label that stays true to its independent roots. "Artist development is best put into the hands of the artists themselves," said David Weiss in Sonicscoop.com.
Matty has also periodcially released solo material since 2007; with each track transitioning easily between heavy rock, catchy pop and slow ballads, forcing the listener to wonder what style he’ll pull out next. Grammy Award Winning audio engineer and now co-worker, Butch Jones (Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, Madonna) says, “Working with Matty is hard to put into a few short words. But it’s a real charge for me!”
Amendola rebuilt 825 Records' studio and facility in the summer of 2014, with the help of studio builders Chris Harmaty & Brian Dorfman. Since then, it’s very rare to catch Matty on stage, but if and when you do, it’s always something special. From corporate events for IBM & Nike, to private parties with Steven Tyler, Vince Neil, and Adam Levine, be sure to follow Matty on his social networks to keep up on all of the action!
https://www.mattyamendola.com/
Vincent Castiglia
EXISTENTIAL VISIONARY ARTIST
Castiglia’s paintings are monochromatic tableaux examining life, death, and the human condition. While many surrealists cite fantasy or dreams as their inspiration, Castiglia’s canvases are connected to a life story which is highly allegorical.
The archetypal figures in Castiglia’s work embody the finitude of human existence. The viewer is presented with the symbiosis of birth and death. The images themselves, as he sees them, form as crystallizations of his experiences, freed from the psyche; the viewer is not only allowed to see into the figure, but also through it, into a deeper psychological world.
Vincent Castiglia is the 1st American artist to receive a solo exhibition invitation from Oscar Award-winning artist H.R. Giger to exhibit in the H. R. Giger Museum Gallery. “Remedy for the Living”, the 1st solo exhibition of paintings by Vincent Castiglia opened on November 1st 2008 and ran for 6 months, closing in April of 2009.
2010 marked the Film and Music debut for Castiglia’s art. MTV New Media’s Horror-Slasher Film, “Savage County”, features as it’s official movie poster a painting by Vincent Castiglia, depicting the three murderers in the film. The film, directed by David Harris, also features producers David Gale (Varsity Blues) and Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow). Leading the cast is Mimi Michaels (Boogeyman 3). Savage County is described as a tribute to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Earlier in the year, Castiglia painted album art for Triptykon’s 2010 debut release, “Eparistera Daimones”. The group is founded by former Hellhammer / Celtic Frost singer and guitarist Tom Gabriel Fischer. The album’s art is an amalgamation of works by HR Giger (cover art), Vincent Castiglia (interior art), and Triptykon on “Eparistera Daimones”, which conceptually is understood to form a creative triptych in itself.
His work hangs in many distinguished international collections; one of his most celebrated works of 2006, “Gravity” was recently acquired by Rock legend Gregg Allman.
Castiglia’s paintings have been exhibited at museums and galleries in the US, and internationally,including Meta Gallery (Toronto, Canada), CoproGallery, (Santa Monica, California), Last Rites Gallery (New York) The Museum of Sex (New York), The Museum Of Porn In Art, (Switzerland), The HR Giger Museum Gallery, (Switzerland), , The Mall Gallery (London, England) Canvas Los Angeles (Los Angeles California), Meta Gallery (Toronto, Canada) Fuse Gallery (New York), Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center (Ft. Myers, Florida), Art @ Large Gallery (New York) Gallery Lombardi (Austin Texas), L’imagerie Gallery (Hollywood, California), Museo De La Cuidad De Mexico, (Mexico), Sacred Gallery (New York) C-Pop Gallery (Detroit, Michigan), Shooting Gallery (San Francisco, CA), Seed Gallery (Newark, New Jersey), The 7th Annual Dirty Show (Detroit, Michigan), The Congregation Gallery (Hollywood, California), and many more.
His work has been featured on FOX News, CNBC, BBC, New York 1 News, Spike TV, The Discovery Channel, and The Science Channel. Castiglia was also recently a guest on the Jay Thomas Show on Sirius XM Radio. His work has been explored by countless art and culture publications, in the US and internationally, including the New York Post, New York Daily News, The Huffington Post, Art Business News, International Business Times, as well as Lexikon Der Phantastischen Künstler “The international encyclopedia of fantastic, surrealistic, symbolist, & visionary artists”.
MEDIUM:
The entire collection of paintings by Vincent Castiglia is created exclusively in human blood(which anhydrates as “iron oxide”).
Blood is technically considered to be a tissue. It is made up of approximately 55% plasma, a yellowish clear fluid, which is 90% water by volume. Castiglia’s figures, their musculature and skin, are painted with what could be thought of as “liquid flesh”. Its tendency to quicken the subjects is likely inapproachable by any other medium—as it is actual tissue with which it is being rendered. In this way the subject’s realism is not merely an optical illusion due to it’s level of detail, but rather is an actual transference of flesh and blood to each work.
In the privacy of his studio, Castiglia practices a kind of modern-day phlebotomy, siphoning the life force which contains his own psychic energy, while giving it an outlet and form. In doing so, he dissolves the barrier between artist and art in a most literal and immediate sense.
Chris Jordan
Mr Jordan explores the medium of light, movement, and time through the use of technology. His installations have appeared at the Moma, The New Museum, The Whitney, The Museum of Natural History, The Chelsea Museum, Times Square, numerous galleries and clubs; and the incidental spaces inbetween.
The common elements that define Chris’ work include explorations into memory, photography, film, interactivity, and projections. By examining the political and social implications technology has on us through a diversity of media, his work challenges the viewer to redefine perceptions of audience and performer.
In addition Chris has taught interactive design at Baruch College and NYU; and organized T-Minus, the time-art show (5 years), G33kXmas (10 years), rooftop movies, and visualist salons in New York City.
Chris co-curated the Figment Sculpture Park on Governors Island in 2012 and 2013; a 4 month interactive sculpture park, visited by over 100,000 people each year.
Mahayana Landowne
Mahayana Landowne is a vibrant Theater Director who lives and works in New York City.
By applying a discerning eye and deep sense of empathy she uses theater to inspire imaginative flights of possibility.
Yana works spatially and visually. She is fascinated by visual poetry. She sculpts the action and the actors. She is honored to work in downtown theater, regionally, and internationally.
She is interested in developing collaborative projects.
As a Theater Director I have discovered a passion for interaction. While I love to create a well crafted elegant dynamic production, I also long to empower all involved in the process. Today I begin the experiment: How do you shift passive spectator into a more engaged member of the conversation in a non-invasive or abrasive way. How do we invite, expand, open and still shape artistic experience?
This website is being started to map that journey and to include you in the process. Thank you for finding me. I hope you enjoy the process and carry the discoveries into your own practice what ever that may be 🙂
(http://216.150.2.26/~yana/) this is a link to lead you to more of my work.
http://www.mahayanalandowne.com/
Catharine Dill
Catharine Dill (artist advisor 2013-14) has produced and directed five projects with Exploding Moment, DATE:TIME, WHAT I LIKE ABOUT ‘BREASTS,’ CAN I HELP YOU?, YE’RE HERE, CUZIN! and HOT DUST. She has co-produced and/or co-directed five projects with the arts ensemble Red Dive, which she co-founded. Her awards include the Bessie Award for Installation and New Media, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s MCAF Award, the AREA Award (awarded by Chashama and the National Endowment for the Arts), residencies at Yaddo, The MacDowell Colony and Brooklyn Arts Exchange, and grants from Art Matters, the Greenwall Foundation, the Heathcote Foundation, the Curtis W. McGraw Foundation, and a Foundry Theatre Emerging Artists’ Award.
http://artistservices.bax.org/residencies/catharine-dill/
Heather Woodfield
Heather Alexa Woodfield is a creative strategist and transdiciplinary artist. She is committed to fostering both artistic and administrative collaborations across the creative and cultural sectors. Her current artistic pursuits include wearable art, film, dramatic writing, performance, and interactive art. Heather is a cultural theorist who has written about parties and nightlife as art and social engaged art practices. She is a Founding Artist of Calling All Parties and has been creating projects with the collective since 2010.
Heather is also a cultural advocate and served as the Executive Director of One Percent for Culture from 2011 to 2017 where she spearheaded efforts to unify the cultural community and built a diverse coalition, which includes cultural organizations of all sizes and disciplines, businesses, and prominent NYC cultural advocates from a variety of sectors.
Heather holds a BFA in Film and Television from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, an MPA from Columbia University's School of International and Public Administration, and an MA in Transdsciplinary Arts, Culture and Practice from New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study. She is working toward a Millinery Certificate at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Will Brooks
Will Brooks is the vocalist and producer of the band Dälek.
Dälek (pronounced 'Die-a-leck') is an American experimental hip hop group from Newark, New Jersey. The group is composed of MC dälek (vocals and producer), Mike Manteca (electronics and producer), and DJ rEk.
History
The group originated in the New Jersey DIY scene of the mid-1990s, based around a studio lineup of Dälek (Will Brooks), Oktopus (Alap Momin) and Joshua Booth.
The group recorded and played live with several DJs, including DJ rEk on from 1998 to 2002, from 2002 and 2005 with still (Hsi-Chang Lin), and from 2006 to 2009 with Motiv. With this core, the group released four full-length LPs on Ipecac Recordings, and a string of EPs, singles and remixes on various independent labels.
Booth left the group to complete his doctorate in 2009, and Oktopus had relocated to Berlin by 2010.[1] Dälek released a single LP, Untitled, with Brooks and Momin as the sole members, in 2011. From 2011 to 2015 the group was on permanent hiatus.
In 2015, Brooks reunited with DJ rEk and Dälek collaborator Mike Manteca (Destructo Swarmbots). In 2016 the group released a full-length LP Asphalt for Eden on Profound Lore Records.[2]
In December 2016, Ipecac Recordings announced that they had re-signed Dälek.[3] The new album, Endangered Philosophies, was released in August 2017. Spyros Stasis of Popmatters ranked the album 8/10 and described it as an 'enticing and alluring' mix of 'hip-hop, krautrock, noise and shoegaze'.[4] Paul Simpson of AllMusic found it 'equally abrasive and hypnotic' and 'bracing yet beautiful' and awarded it 4/5.[5]
Dälek have often shared the stage with artists covering a wide range of genres, such as Godflesh, Isis, Prince Paul, The Melvins, Tool,[1] De La Soul, RJD2, The Young Gods, Meat Beat Manifesto, Jesu, The Pharcyde, Grandmaster Flash, KRS-One, Dub Trio, Charles Hayward, Zu, Blackie, Gaslamp Killer, Earth, Dillinger Escape Plan, The Bug, Mastodon and Lovage. Oktopus and MC dälek collaborated with experimental metal/hardcore punk band Starkweather on their 2010 album This Sheltering Night.[6]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A4lek
https://deadverse.com/artists/dalek/
Paul Nagle
Paul has over 30 years in both nonprofit administration and LGBT Activism. His specialty is critical path identification to develop new organizations from concept through the first three staff members.
Before joining Stonewall CDC, Paul was the Founding Director of Cultural Strategies Initiative Inc. (CSI). Funded with a major grant from the Rockefeller Cultural Innovation Fund, and a supporting grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the mission of this 4-year project was to strengthen art’s central role in civic life, in order to enhance cultural, community and environmental sustainability.
Before that, as Director of Cultural Policy for NYC Councilmember Alan Gerson (2002-2010), Paul crafted strategies to help preserve and revitalize the arts in Lower Manhattan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. He convened a consortium of 30 downtown arts leaders, which met monthly for two years and developed Campuses & Corridors, a community-based strategic plan that guided the Councilmember’s policies and investments in Lower Manhattan’s cultural redevelopment.
Originally a playwright, Paul became Founding Executive Director of All Out Arts and Founding Executive Producer for its first five festivals, as well as the Managing Director and Interim Executive Director of the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center. He holds a B.A. in Arts Administration and an M.A. in International Cultural Policy from New York University. He is a graduate of Coro NY Leadership XV.
https://www.stonewallcdc.org/paul-nagle
Melinda Levokove
Melinda Levokove is currently a full time Mom. She has composed for dance, theater, and performance events since the late 1970’s. She is a published poet and presents her own multi-media artwork including a large-scale mobile visual poem, several assemblages and a collaborative video piece.
http://andrewjannettianddancers.org/Company/Company/composers.html
Music by Melinda Levokove
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb3mtnp66kw
Wendy Brawer
Wendy E Brawer's work mixes collaboration, sustainability, community and celebration. Best known as Founding Director of Green Map System, Wendy is an eco-designer and social innovator with a background in art. She is focused on sustainable community development through local leadership. From her original 1992 New York Green Map, the movement has spread to 60 countries, supported and linked by the participatory tools, icons, multimedia and events Wendy has co-created, as seen at http://GreenMap.org (including this interactive mapping platform!).
Her local New York Green Maps highlight her areas of expertise, including energy and climate, composting and local food, cycling and shared mobility. Green Map’s honors include the Papanek Social Design Award, the US National Sustainability Award, Living Labs Global and Treehugger Best of Green.
As seen at http://ecoCultural.info, as a consultant and accelerator active for 20 years, Wendy has been appointed Designer in Residence at Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, an Utne Visionary, Honorary Citizen of Nagakute Japan (host city of EXPO 2005) and Woman of Earth/Terre de Femme.
1 212 674 1631
web@greenmap.org
John Emerson
John Emerson is an activist, graphic designer, writer, and programmer based in New York City. He is also the founder of Backspace. Backspace is a design consultancy dedicated to research, development, and promotion of design in the public interest.
We design web sites, printed materials, information visualization and motion graphics for leading media companies as well as local and international non-profit organizations including Amnesty International USA, Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the United Nations.
Since May 2002, John has maintained a weblog of clippings, notes and essays on design and activism at http://backspace.com/notes. He is the author of An Introduction to Activism on the Internet, January 2005, and Visualizing Information for Advocacy: An Introduction to Information Design, January 2008. John's writing about graphic design has been published in Communication Arts, Emigre and Print, featured in Metropolis, HOW, and The Wall Street Journal, and translated into Italian by the AIAP.
He has taught design at The Beacon School and Parsons School of Design, lectured and conducted workshops in Beirut, Belize, Florence, Montego Bay, New York City, Tokyo, and Warsaw.
His posters have been exhibited in Florence, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York City, Sao Paulo, and Utrecht, and are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the New York Public Library, and the Center for the Study of Political Graphics in Los Angeles.
He co-founded the social media consultancy Apperceptive in 2006 and sold it to Six Apart Ltd in 2008.
Work is a selected portfolio of projects for for-profit corporations, NGO’s, and unincorporated activist groups. Check the etc section for some non-work related fun.
Thanks for stopping by. You can reach us by email atjohn@backspace.com or on Twitter at @backspace.back
https://backspace.com/is/in/the/house/address.html
Kathleen Laziza is a practicing cultural tourism advocate and interdisciplinary artist who specialize in economic development through the arts, as well as, a creator of performance art pieces, visual art works and educational video content, She is actively mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs in the USA today by being a master collaborator with an unlikey success identifying partnerships that can change the world. Her experiences have taken her from extensive worldwide travels before she was 25 years old to being a vocal pioneer of public access TV in Brooklyn, to becoming a neighborhood artistic anchor during the formation of Downtown Brooklyn’s Metro Tech campus though her association with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce to becoming a public speaker for art and technology for NYC Performing Arts Library and Lincoln Center to opening a not for profit art gallery, Micro Museum, with a street access facility from 2002-2014 to creating hundreds of educational opportunities for families of all ages and abilities. In 2014 she retired her arts programing to 2nd floor of her NYC commercial property on Smith Street where she is writing books about relationships/parenting and developing educational materials, like MAKE IT YOUR OWN. Ms. Laziza is a mother for two children born in 1983 and 1989. Her diverse experience has allowed her to intersect with many forms of communal life in NYC and engagement with specific problem-solving skills especially as it relates to competing community needs. Over time she has identified sustainability through creative expression, activism and public speaking. To learn more about Micro Museum, visit their YouTube channel and consider subscribing. Ms. Laziza is always open to communication and would like to hear from anyone directly. Free free to contact her at executive@micromuseum.com.
Video series editors: James Moccia and Stephanie Baldwin. Camera: William and Kathleen Laziza
About Micro Museum:
This 30+ year old not for profit art institution has been on the edge of new innovations since it first opened its door on Smith Street in downtown Brooklyn. Executive Director Kathleen Laziza created several educational initiatives that occurred organically through the museum’s SEED/ROOT concepts. They ranged from one-on-one instruction for high school students as they learned job readiness skills (1988-2003) to disciplinary skill classes in art, music, dance, theater and video (1986- 2014). The educational aspects of the museum included early childhood education in public parks, houses of worship and public/private schools in NYC. (1989- 2014) Through the dedication of video maker William Laziza the museum offered a public access television program called Spontaneous Combustion (1984 – 2004) that featured hundreds of Tri-state area artists and highlighted the events that happened at Micro Museum. The legendary art center advocated for Brooklyn's now well known cultural tourism by hosting art, music, dance, theater and video presentations (1986-2017). Some of the most well known events are: Circus Surreal, Fertile Ground, Spring Fever and Pure Hybridness. Currently the artists of Micro Museum are writing tutorials for families and teens, making independent art and hosting narrow broadcast screening events, like MAKE IT YOUR OWN. In 2015 the museum moved all of it’s operations from the 1st floor to the 2nd floor of their location at 123 Smith Street, making it impossible to be as user-friendly as it was when a cultural tourist could walk into the museum from the street. Being successful in the 21st Century requires constant modifications. If you would like to contribute to Micro Museum, feel free to reach out to us. The staff of Micro Museum would love to hear from you and are open to suggestions. Please visit the website for more details about very special events open to the public throughout the year. Also Ms. Laziza and Micro Museum’s musing are available on facebook, instragram, twitter, tumblr and on blog found onsite “Thought Bubbles”.
www.micromuseum.com
All rights reserved Promote Art Works, Inc 2017