Game Changers: Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts

We're inspired by the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts in the Virgin Islands.  The organization engages with its artists-in-residence, in ways that buoy both the local community and individual art practice.

Photo via the CMC Arts website.

After a Night with Patti Smith

Yesterday, Patti Smith’s “M Train” was released.  On Saturday night, I had the awesome pleasure of observing her conversation with David Remnick as part of the New Yorker Festival.  Days later, the thoughts and themes she articulated remain at the forefront of my mind.

Ms. Smith invoked a downtown (Manhattan) that wasn’t a glossy caricature of the artist life, but instead fecund soil for creativity.   She did so in a tone of voice that was suffused with fatigue rather than nostalgia.  Perhaps she was tired of reminding people that there were times when emerging art and outsider artists were vital sources of energy in the city, when the substance of art - not its sheen - was prioritized. 

She warned the audience against the pull of disposable culture, and reminded us that it’s good work and good deeds that endure.  In a world focused on immediacy, how often do we allow ourselves the time to do truly good work?  Do we allot ourselves enough time to contemplate before we render something complete (or comment, or send)?  How focused are we, honestly, on good deeds?  When did we decide that simply looking good was enough?

Technology isn’t the enemy, but it’s not the answer either.  We humans, individuals, communities, are the most powerful forces of advancement, and the arts are the vessel through which this power is best communicated. 

It is the root that holds the magic that makes the flower bloom and bloom again, while petals inevitably shrivel.

I believe that widespread collaborations between the art and technology sectors will lead us to a future we are proud to inhabit.

Sacha Wynne, WӔRK Founder

Book cover image via Amazon

STEAM Links Tuesday: New York Hall of Science's "Connected Worlds" Exhibit

"Connected Worlds immerses visitors in a fantastical animated world where your actions — gestures, movements, and decisions — impact how well the world is kept in balance."

Image via the New York Hall of Science website.

Discovering the 3Cs in Denbighshire

In July, I traveled with my family to North Wales.  During our journey, we observed several government-sponsored initiatives that invigorate the local economies by connecting culture, commerce and community.  I wrote about the experience for Flung Magazine, and you can read the piece here.

Sacha Wynne, WӔRK Founder

Art, Technology and the Internet of Things. Part 4 of 4.

In Conclusion

Contemporary popular culture – especially music, film and fashion – is dominated by nostalgia: sequels, “reboots”, “reinterpretations”, and “rehashes” are the norm. Could this be the manifestation of fear of the future, because we inherently know that a future dominated by technology, without mediation by the arts and culture, isn’t somewhere that we necessarily want to go?  Are we subconsciously rebelling against the inevitability of the unmediated Internet of Things?

It is important to consider the actual value of the things that we so freely allow to influence our lives. Consider this:  what would a world without social media look like?  Now contemplate a world without arts and culture.  You see, there are limits placed on joy in a life defined by efficiency, while there are no limits to joy in one defined by expression.  Digital technology undoubtedly provides tools that help us to manage our hectic modern lives, but it is the arts and culture that provide sanctuary from its difficulties. 

 

View Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Photo by bjones27/iStock / Getty Images

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