4.26.2006

RIP Jane Jacobs

Jane Jacobs, Urban Activist, Is Dead at 89 - New York Times

i ran across this post on Jane Jacobs today while getting lost in a quagmire of kick ass feminist blogs in the course of looking into "feministing"'s call for new contributors below:

Feministing.com is seeking bloggers to join its
online team. We are looking for writers (not necessarily published and those familiar with blogging) to fill the following contributor positions: interviewer, reviews contributor and general contributor. contact: contribute@feministing.com

4.24.2006

manifest: may 12

also mark your calendars for manifest

m7red: inundacion!

"buenos aires based architectural collective m7red has come up with a proactive tool for designers and planners called "inundacion! a board game that lets player try their own hand at solving the problems created by catastrophic disasters such as Katrina, tsunamis, floods and earthquakes. its not just a playful game but a project that is meant to foster conversations between experts and non experts. characters include: politician, policeman, engineer, anarchist, gaucho, immigrant etc. the game works using anywhere from 8 to 80 players divided in teams. each selects at random a previously established character, style and secret goal. team members must transform theseelements into a story which they present through icons on a map of for example, flooded buenos aires. styles range from the ecologically minded to the entrepreneurial, and secret goal can include any tak from starting a refugee angency to attracting tourist in the flood-stricken area."

courtesy of november 2005 art forum.

their profile on archinect reads:

Instead of designing buildings, we build forums that bring together both experts and non-experts to discuss the most pressing political and urban topics: from total economic collapse to healthcare in a post-welfare state.

In the past five years, we have used eclectic cultural forms – games, karaoke, conversation – to challenge the city-state monopoly on urban planning and urbanity. Since architecture is a social product, m7red creates situations for "site-itizens" to question the planning process.

house, home, identity

An evening of performance, visual art, and spoken word Lincoln Park Community Shelter guests and students from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Contemporary Practices: Art in the Hood class present their collaborative project, House, Home, Identity.

Monday, May 1
6:30 to 8 p.m.
Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church
600 West Fullerton Parkway
Chicago, Illinois 60614

The goal of House, Home, Identity? This project focused on the use of multiple art forms to examine oneself and one’s place in the world, and to participate collectively as makers of public image rather than as passive recipients of other people’s perceptions or misperceptions.

4.10.2006

Chicago Artists Resource

just last week i saw a building up for sale a few blocks away with storefront, a studio behind and 2 apts above...i called to see how much it was given our in our never ending quest to find our dream live/work/exhibition space it was 489K. whoa. i'm sure thats a great price but...um. yeah, we realized thats a little ways off. then the next day thanks to our friend ton, we discovered CAR's Creative Chicago Space and Housing Expo over the weekend at the Chicago Cultural Center. The Expo featured over 70 exhibitors and 12 workshops all targeting “Chicago Creatives” – individuals and organizations in visual art, music, dance, theater, film, fashion, and media. The workshops provided an introduction to topics like: owning a home; starting a non-profit organization; financing a creative business; opening a theater; constructing a recording studio; storefronts for live/work and performance space, handling and installing art, and more. it looks like a great city resource...one to bookmark and check often.

4.07.2006

knitta please!

now you KNOW i had to "blog this". one of my dh's cyberpedagogy students at saic put him onto this group that does knitted grafitti. i checked it out this morning and knew i had to post! for all my fellow progressively crafty peeps who also have a proclivity for the built environment please enjoy! "Knitta" describes themselves as,"a tag crew of knitters, bombing the inner city with vibrant, stitched works of art, wrapped around everything from beer bottles on easy nights to public monuments and utility poles" i'm not sure if there is really social commentary here or...like a lot of graffiti moreso guerilla style outlet for expression but i like =). looks fun!