Busboys and Poets: A DC Institution

Hey there,

So...Busboys and Poets (B&P). While the title of my post says it all...I'm a bit stumped as I sit here, at the 5th & K location, trying to further elaborate.

And I stated the whole "DC Institution" thing as someone who was born and raised IN Washington, DC.  So while I wouldn't necessarily call myself an authority, I'd like to think that a lifetime perspective (of almost 33 years, as of the time of this post) adds a bit of context that is unique in what is perceived by many as a transitory city.

But I digress. I guess a good place to start might be B&P's 'tribal statement' (from their About page):

Busboys and Poets is a community where racial and cultural connections are consciously uplifted...a place to take a deliberate pause and feed your mind, body and soul...a space for art, culture and politics to intentionally collide...we believe that by creating such a space we can inspire social change and begin to transform our community and the world.

A bit of a disclaimer...having been recently exposed to and involved in the Burning Man community and its Ten Principles (which I'm producing a Capital Fringe show about this summer, more details to come later), this tribal statement resonates with me on a number of levels.

Another good place to start might be their Art page.

Personally, one of my favorite memories here, which I would say is a great example of the intersection which B&P provides on multiple levels, was an event co-presented by then Social Media Club DC (now Digital District) and TheatreWashington: #DCArtsUp. You can read about it in a great wrap-up written by one of the organizers, Jason McCool.

So Culture? Check. Community? Check. Cuisine? DEFINITELY Check! My personal favorite dish is the Rustic Pizza.

And as I'm writing this blog, I am waiting for An Evening of Inspirational Music at 7:30pm, with SongRise, an all women social justice a cappella group.

Because if that doesn't say DC, I don't know what does. And if you're on Twitter, yes that is their profile/header picture, and you should absolutely follow them and/or subscribe to their events email list.

Sign up here for info on our upcoming performances: http://t.co/tXSV0fy4lv
— SongRise DC (@SongRiseDC) February 14, 2014

And speaking of community, life imitating a blog imitating life, I just ran into a fellow DC thespian, Connor Hogan, who is in the middle of rehearsals as director a production of "As You Like It" with Half Mad Theatre, playing at the Shop at Fort Fringe in March.

So it's almost 7pm, and several friends are about to arrive. On that note (no pun intended with tonight's event), I believe I'll wrap up this blog post. One thing I'm not saying is that this intersection or model is necessarily unique to Busboys and Poets as an institution, either in the area, around the country, or the world. But I would say that it is one of the best ways that this model has manifested itself in DC and become a nexus of sorts for the area's multitude of communities.

That being said, any thoughts about Busboys and Poets, for better or for worse, let me know in the comments. Especially your thoughts regarding B&P as a 'DC' institution.

JR aka Nexus

Still learning more about Arts Education

Hey there,

So at work, a colleague shared the orientation page for the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards final Public Review. (And for those who'd like to participate and submit your review responses, you have until March 1st).

And although I've been directly and indirectly working in Arts Education ever since I finished grad school at American University (for Arts Management), I still have so much to learn about the field, especially regarding the state of arts education in our schools and communities.

Fortunately, there are a number of great organizations and resources, like the Kennedy Center's Arts Edge, the Arts Education Partnership, the National Art Education Association, and Americans for the Arts' Arts Education Network, among others that do great work locally, regionally, and nationally.

So with all that being said, I just wanted to share some relatively recent news and thoughts regarding arts education, for anyone else who might also be pursuing a better understanding of its importance, its power, and ultimately its necessity.

The first is an article from almost a couple of years ago, up at the Huffington Post, "How Theater for Young People Could Save the World", written by Lauren Gunderson. The second is actually a selection of articles shared in an email from LearnNow.org, "Why is arts education important". And the third is a blog up at Americans for the Arts' ARTSblog, "What is Art Education for? An Assessment Checklist".

And so, all that being said, I only have the following to put out there, for both the newcomers and veterans in Arts Education. What are your most pressing questions? What are the most difficult challenges? What have been the best resources for assisting you in your work? Who are some of the people you consider thought leaders?

Please answer any or all of these questions in the comments, and feel free to leave any questions of your own,

JR

P.S. Also feel free to live links to any recent news that have been particularly informative for you.

Saturday Morning Cartoon: The TV Show

Hey there,

Just thought I'd share a cartoon, specifically an animated short.

I used to love watching cartoons as a kid. Saturday morning cartoons were a quintessential part of my weekend. In addition to reading, and other activities.

Anyway, just thought I'd start sharing some of my favorite cartoons that I come across or are shared with me. Specifically shorts because unless I'm committed to a show, that's all I have time for.

So thinking about doing this weekly, and here's the first one I wanted to share.

It was directed by Sugimoto Kousuke with music by Manabe Takayuki.

Let me know what you think,

JR

Best wedding proposal ever & a question for the Arts

Hey there,

So several friends shared this video on Facebook, one which previously made its rounds, but has resurfaced, as such things often do online.

To which I shared with the following:

So thanks to Andrew, Salman, & Joe for sharing this video, which I also shared previously but couldn't help but watch again. Trying not to tear up from sheer and unbridled warm squishy feelings, mostly due to being able to hear her reaction to each addition to the experience. 

Also, the arts manager in me can't help but kick in and wonder if established arts organizations (in general) are missing a chance to be a part of crafting experiences like this, engaging & participatory, to bring the arts to people where they are, instead of just having audiences come to them? 

I am aware that I might also just be out of it, and this is being done more than I know, as well as that a proposal is a very singular example for a singular audience.

Don't get me wrong, I believe the theatre and the stage are a sacred place and will always have an essential and crucial part in my life and in society. But there's just something beautiful and magical about this...

At some point I wonder if it's an American thing, because in other countries I feel like you to have the dearth of citizens who proclaim themselves not artistic when interacting with someone who's pursued any semblance of an artistic life, whether professional, community, or whatever.

I refer to moments like when people find out I'm a dancer, and (as if to validate my own ability) they immediately testify to the lack of any ability to move rhythmically in a coordinated fashion.

But I digress. I love these instances of participatory and public art, like flash mobs. In fact you can check out my post from last month about Holiday Flash Mobs, with what I thought was a diverse selection.

Anyway, what do you think? Is there an opportunity for artists and arts organizations as a sector to help make those special moments in people's lives, those celebrations, that much more special? Or even to make the every day and mundane ones extraordinary?

And has it already been happening and (as I mentioned above) I just don't know? If that's the case, please help keep me updated and share any recent public displays of art.

Either way, I'm excited and inspired!! Definitely looking to see the opportunities in my own life to do things like this,

- JR

NMWA's New York Ave Sculpture Project: A Closer Look

Hey,

So, I'm not much a visual arts person. Not by choice, just be experience and preference. But playing Ingress has really made me want to take a much closer look than I have before.  It is an augmented reality game that takes things in the physical world, public art, buildings, etc., and makes them objects to interact with in the virtual world, in the form of portals.

And if you find something that doesn't appear as a portal in the game, you can take a geo-tagged picture of it, and submit it for consideration. So far, work I've submitted has consistently been approved, three of which I mention in a previous blog post.

Today, I wanted to blog about four new findings, all part of the National Museum for Women in the Arts' New York Ave Sculture Project's current exhibit. The work on display is that of Chakaia Booker, and the exhibit opened March 8, 2012 and will end March 9, 2014. So as of the time of this post, you still have a little over a year to catch it.

Ms. Booker is only the second artist to be displayed in this exhibition series. From NMWA's website:

Based in New York, Booker (American, born 1953) works almost exclusively with recycled tires that are cut, shaped and folded, then woven into dynamic, highly textured sculptures. Her large-scale expressive works fuse ecological concerns with explorations of racial and economic difference, globalization, and gender.

Honestly, my mind was blown when I read this. As much as I'd walked and driven by them, I never bothered to wonder what material they were made of, much less what each piece was called. And now that I do, I'm beginning to get just that much more from them and what they mean to me.

What inspired me, though, was playing Ingress and seeing that the only a single portal exists for the sculpture project and it is of a piece from the previous, inaugural exhibit.

So I took pictures and submitted them for consideration. Here are the four pieces she has up:

Pass the Buck, 2008

Gridlock, 2008

Take Out, 2008

Shape Shifter, 2012

Yes, that last piece she made specifically for this exhibit. There's a nice, succinct blog about it and her exhibit here, in the Washington Post from last March.

Now one thing I love about public art, and a lot of the monuments and memorials around DC, is how different they look at night. So, I walked by these pieces before rehearsal at a church down the street, and by the time I left...well, here's what they look like at night, photos taken by myself, again:

Anyway, hope you get a chance to check these pieces out in real life, for yourself.

And for my fellow Ingress players, if you're with me and the Enlightened, you can trust that I will be very passionate about maintaining these for our faction. If you're with the Resistance...you've been warned.

Stay tuned for more posts about public art I've come to appreciate more, all because I'm "playing a game" on my mobile device. But assuming this is another example of how the shapers have influenced us...what do these pieces mean?

And yes, the arts manager in me is all sorts of fascinated by this and wondering how to collect data and feedback from other players regarding their interaction with and appreciation of public art, if and how it's changed.

Thoughts? Do you play? Similar experiences (re)discovering public art/new portals? Would you like to weigh in? Please do so in the comments,

JR

Ingress: Rediscovering my world through public art

Hey there,

By now you may or may not have heard of Ingress or the Niantic Project. If you haven't, here's a trailer I recommend checking out.

So what is Ingress? Wikipedia's entry is pretty thorough. Long story short, it's an augmented reality game. It's almost like if foursquare where more like capture the flag.

And you can check out my post, 10 things to know about the Niantic Project. What I wanted to focus this post on was the sense of discovery, and even ownership, of place that this game is cultivating, through its game play.

The main element players interact with are portals, which in the real word are represented by anything from public art to historical buildings, even post offices and libraries, among other things. But what's great is that if you see something that looks like a portal in the real world, but doesn't show up on the app, you can take a picture of it, making sure sure it's geo-tagged, and submit it to Ingress ops for consideration to be a portal. And if you're playing, you can go here for more detailed instructions on new portal submission.

Ingress has most definitely encouraged me to further explore an area  I've grown up in my whole life, the metropolitan area of Washington, DC, and I wanted to share just a few of the "portals" which, in submitting, I took the time to look at and learn about, which I never had, despite having past them multiple times.

One is this piece outside of the parking garage I use at work:

Despite parking there for over a couple of years, this was the first time I stopped to look at it and read the plaque.

"Alba Rosa", by Joseph A. McDonnell, 1988

You can find out more about the piece at this post at Creative Moco's blog.

And no, I'm not going to tell you which parking garage, in case there is anyone from the opposing faction, the Resistance, who sees this post. I decided to side with the Enlightened, when offered the choice. And yes, this would be a curious side-effect of the game engendering a feeling of ownership of these discovered "portals".

Another portal I found again, for the first time, is one I've passed countless of times up & down Georgia Ave. Some of you might recognize it, but many of you (like me) might never have stopped to even just check out what it was called.

New Leaf, Bronze Sculpture

Lisa Scheer, 2007

Untiled poem by E. Ethelbert Miller, 2006

DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities

DC Creates Public Art Program

In cooperation with

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Art in Transit Program

DCCAH 2007, 184

In case you're wondering, the Untitled poem referred to on the plaque is written on the sculpture, so even if you've seen the sculpture before, if you've never read the poem, you might want to take a closer look next time.

And third piece I wanted to share is this one:

Around the Void V, 1669
Brushed Stainless Steel
Eduardo Chillida
San Sebastian, Spain 1924-2002 

"Sculptor Eduardo Chillida believed that, "All men are equal, and at the horizon we are brothers. The horizon is the common homeland." On behalf of the World Bank Group, I am honored to share this work of art with the citizens of Washington, D.C. and the world as we continue to work together toward the horizon of a better tomorrow." 

James D. Wolfensohn
Dedicated February 10, 2003

Over the past week or so, I was quite pleased to see all of these portal submissions had been approved, and showed up in the game. To my dismay, the last one, had been claimed by the Resistance, specifically an operative of theirs who goes by "spliao":

And I sensed a determination to capture the portal previously not felt, because I was the one that found it, I took the picture which they used, and I had to protect it.

Yeah, I know, it's just a game. But when so many people bemoan how technology and particularly our mobile devices are disconnecting us from the real world, Ingress is a great example of how it can actually encourage our interaction with it.

And yes, the arts manager in me did bias my observation of game play, as well as my own actual portal discovery, in terms of looking for and at public art.

Anybody else playing, who's come across public art and submitted it for portal consideration? See something new, or take a closer look than you had before? Please share in the comments,

- JR