BridgeThink News - Issue 9
| June 2010
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WELCOME to Issue Nine!
Greetings!
This month we have a creative economy story out of southeastern Massachusetts, a phenomenal interview about "Painting with Guitar" from Adrian Belew of King Crimson and David Bowie fame, an active org that's merging entertainment and education and there's some exciting news to report in our "follow up" section too. Lastly, we'd like to introduce you to another valued team member. So please read on and enjoy!
- The BridgeThink Team
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| NEW TO BRIDGETHINK?
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  BridgeThink.org
is a new media resource connecting filmmakers, artists and business
across creative communities. With a focus on interdisciplinary projects that bridge traditional boundaries, we host global dialogues,
provide forums to post resources and publish a monthly newsletter. At the root of our thinking is the
crazy idea that when more people connect, the more they
accomplish. So, if you have something shaking in your hometown, let us
know! All it takes is
two people to connect for an idea to
ignite.
We invite you to become a Bridge-thinker.
Conceive, Connect, Create...
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MEET THE TEAM! Michael Ruiz New Media, Film & Marketing Advisor
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  Michael offers BridgeThink a dynamic range of expertise across many fields. From creative to technical to communication, our brainstorming sessions always yield exciting results. One important concept that Michael reminds us about is "film" isn't just film anymore, it's "New Media" which presents opportunities for creative expression on multiple platforms. Michael began his career at Seiniger Advertising where he worked in motion graphics and sound design on some of the industry's more innovative ad campaigns such as Batman & Sphere. As founder of The Post Studio - a progressive LA based production and post-production studio, Michael now continues designing forward-thinking, experience driven content. For a full bio click HERE on his picture to the right. |
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| INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST & PAINTER, ADRIAN BELEW
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  Adrian Belew is now touring with an entirely new show - a one-man act complete with his paintings on stage, a new visual and sonic instrument called the Tenori-on and a fresh set of songs aimed at revealing a more personal side of his creative process. We caught up with him as he preps "Painting With Guitar" for two upcoming New England dates and asked about his creative process, as well as bridging the diverse worlds of King Crimson to epic sonic journeys in his solo work and now an intimate multimedia show where he will also hold a dialogue with the audience. Here's a brief excerpt from this versatile creator:
"In my paintings, I'll do a lot of different layers and I'll put a layer on and then I take some of it off. It's a way of building dimensions... I've never thought about (music) in the same way as in painting, but it's true, they are two separate ways of using layering... You're dealing with the same type of things - dimension, tone, and arrangements."
Check out the entire interview that our friends at Limelight Magazine did as an exclusive feature for BridgeThink HERE.
Upcoming shows:
Tupelo Music Hall
Londonderry, NH
Thursday June 24th 8pm
Tickets: http://tickets.tupelohall.com/
Narrows Center for the Arts
Fall River, MA
Saturday June 26th 8pm
Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/107669Complete list of tour dates. |
| GATEWAY CITIES CREATIVE ECONOMY ROUNDTABLE - NEW BEDFORD
|   A series of creative economy roundtables in the "gateway" cities of
Massachusetts is demonstrating how an arts, culture and business
collaboration can transform a community by building on the creative and
social capital unique to a region. The first roundtable took place in
New Bedford, MA in February and demonstrated how older, post industrial
cities are becoming 21st century innovators of economic renewal.
Presented by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, MassINC, New Bedford Economic Development Council and hosted by AHA! which organizes New Bedford's free monthly arts and culture night, the
event showcased the historic downtown of New Bedford, a coastal city in
the southeastern region of the state. Building on its history as a
diverse seaport with a modern network of over 100 working artist
studios, a plethora of arts institutions and a fleet of business owners
who believe that shaping a sense of "place" builds a strong economic
foundation, New Bedford has transformed its downtown, placing itself
ahead of the curve in weathering the current economic recession.
Speaking to an audience from across the state, Lee Heald, Director
of AHA! and Craig Dutra, President of the Community Foundation of
Southeastern MA, both cited a recent study from the University of
Massachusetts Dartmouth's Center for Policy Analysis, describing that in
2009 alone AHA! received $35,000 in state funding and returned over
$734,000 for the city, leveraging an impact of $21 dollars for
every state dollar spent on the arts and culture in New Bedford.
Katherine Knowles, Executive Director of the Zeiterion Performing Arts
Center, which attracts world class entertainment to its 1200 seat
theater, also participated in the event's panel... Read Complete Article Here.
Article's URL: bridgethink.org/blog/2010/06/14/gateway-cities
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| TERC: Merging Education with Entertainment
|  "Settlers of Blue Mars have found some interesting things in the area on the outskirts of Arcadia... known as the Boneyards. What happened out there? Come to the Boneyards to find out..."
This month we bring you TERC, an established education org from Cambridge, MA, who's bridging education with entertainment to teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. TERC products and services reach more than 3.5 million students yearly in the United States. Since 1965 this non-profit has been encouraging learners from diverse communities to engage in creative, rigorous, and reflective inquiry through innovative methods, most recently with interactive online... GAMES!
The newly formed Educational Gaming Environments group (EdGE) at TERC just released their first game, Martian Boneyards in May. "We wanted to make a game that people would choose to play," says Jodi Asbell-Clarke, the director of EdGE. "We want to demonstrate that they are learning science along the way." Comprised of educational researchers and developers, EdGE @ TERC has partnered with Virtual Space Entertainment (VSE), to develop the game's prototype (ages 14+) about biological evolution on Blue Mars, a high definition online platform. On this platform, EdGE @ TERC and VSE created a space called Arcadia, which will be filled with science mystery games that will soon be open to all.
Martian Boneyards, where players are free to work alone or in groups, has been attracting players from different parts of the world. "The game has little text, it's happening through skimming information and social dynamics," says Asbell-Clarke regarding the game's international appeal. "[Players] are immersed in the environment. They learn by doing... It's experience that is replacing text." And what have players been experiencing? They're scanning bones that were discovered on Blue Mars and will theorize about what happened in the past in the utopian land called Arcadia.
Partnership is a strong component for EdGE @ TERC. "We couldn't do it without the other [partners]," says Asbell-Clarke, who also mentioned plans to partner with mobile phone companies to create more trans-media games that educate through experience and entertainment.
Find out more about TERC and Martian Boneyards at: www.edgearcadia.com
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| FOLLOW UP NEWS
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 Pittsburgh, PA
 The team behind The Waffle Shop, the neighborhood restaurant in Pittsburgh, PA that serves up a spontaneous live streaming webcast with its patrons, is gaining rave reviews as they expand with Conflict Kitchen, a takeout window serving food from countries that are in conflict with the US. Every few months the country will change. It's first iteration is a collaboration with Pittsburgh's Iranian-American community serving traditional Iranian kubideh sandwiches packaged in a wrapper printed with information on everything from Iranian food and poetry to the current political turmoil, all from the perspective of Iranians in Iran and Pittsburgh. Check out their reviews in the New York Times here. Congrats Waffle Shop and Conflict Kitchen! Check them out online www.kubidehkitchen.com/ |
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New Bedford, MA
 Artworks! "To Tell A Story" - The month of June through July 10th, Artworks! Partners for the Arts in New Bedford, MA is holding Thursday night filmmaker presentations in conjunction with it's 2D & 3D digital art exhibit, "To Tell A Story." Filmmakers from the South Coast of MA will display concept art, production photos, storyboards and other behind-the-scenes work as they discuss their creative process. The film series is curated by producer, Tommy Whalen and Artworks' Ryan Santos. For a full schedule of events call Artworks! at 508-984-1588. |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
 MultiRio, our "Active Org" from March of this year has won the Grande Prêmio Cinema Brasil for their animated short Saci. This award is considered the "Oscar of Brazil"! Saci is part of the "I Swear I Saw It!" series in which MultiRio works hand-in-hand with school children in Rio de Janeiro to develop characters, plot and style of the animated series. You can check out our March article about MultiRio HERE. Congratulations MultiRio! Follow them on Twitter @MultiRio - Don't speak Portuguese? Twitter for iPhone has a phenomenal translation feature! |
Los Angeles, CA
 Echo Park Film Center in Los Angeles is on the move this summer with its Filmmobile series! The Filmmobile was converted from an old school bus into an eco-friendly traveling cinema, complete with hard wood floors... The Filmmobile is just the coolest character in all of LA! In addition to their established microcinema in Echo Park, the Filmmobile will be projecting classic films at actual cinematic locations around the city including the 1933 classic King Kong & 1972's Billie Holiday biopic Lady Sings the Blues. Locations are typically announced the day before via Twitter @EPFCfilmmobile Follow them to find out where the Filmmobile will be next! |
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| HAVE YOU CONNECTED WITH SOMEONE BECAUSE OF
BRIDGETHINK?
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  We want to know! Tell us about your project and how you connected. The more you share, the better we get at connecting creative communities globally. We may even feature you in one of our newsletters!
Send us your news.
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BridgeThink.org is a film and arts initiative dedicated to connecting filmmakers, artists and business across communities worldwide.
BridgeThink.org pursues this mission by building programs and hosting events that highlight interdisciplinary projects. By selectively partnering with like-minded organizations, we build programs which foster dialogue and interaction. BridgeThink.org also maintains a website designed to further this interaction through public forums and posting opportunities.
Although some of our members are filmmakers and artists themselves, our core team is comprised of professionals from various industries. Therefore, we are not a collaborative designed to promote our members' work. While some team members projects may be mentioned in our mailings and web material, they are selected alongside the efforts of all our partners with the express goal of promoting the organization's mission of fostering connection and dialogue. For a complete profile of BridgeThink.org team members and their roles please visit: www.bridgethink.org/blog/team
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