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    Gestures tie together opposing abstractions at Pentimenti

    Published September 25, 2014 by

    At Pentimenti Gallery through September, it is possible to stand on the border between two very contrasting bodies of abstract work. The sculptural and textual explorations of Simeen Farhat in “Logical Thinking; Illogical Thoughts” explode with translucent shapes and bristle with characters and words in a jumble of information, whereas...
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    CUNY focuses on diversifying ranks of journalism interns

    Published September 25, 2014 by

    Sarah Bartlett is dean of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in New York, which Knight Foundation supports to advance excellence in journalism and encourage newsroom diversity. When Founding Dean Stephen B. Shepard launched the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in 2006, he was determined that one of our defining characteristics would be a commitment to pay a $3,000 stipend to any student whose summer internship (a required part of our program) was unpaid. In an industry where unpaid internships are all too common, he wanted there to be a level playing field for our economically diverse student body. Related Link "New diversity initiative offers paid New York internships to minority journalism students" - Press release (09/25/14) Knight Foundation agreed to fund the internship program, a commitment that continued for three years. Since then, the school has raised money from private donors to ensure the program’s continuation. We believe no other graduate program has made that commitment to economic equity. Today we are broadening the reach of our internship. Thanks to additional support from Knight, we are going to bring 20 rising seniors from historically black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions and other organizations to New York for two months for an all-expenses paid summer internship. We’ll work with employers to identify great spots at both mainstream and startup media outlets and supplement that learning experience with instruction from our faculty. The top five students will then be offered full tuition to the CUNY Journalism School, if they choose to apply and are admitted. They’ll have two years to exercise that option, in case they would prefer to gain more work experience before attending graduate school.
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    To build better libraries, start with the needs of people

    Published September 25, 2014 by

    Knight News Challenge: Libraries offers applicants a chance to share in $2.5 million by focusing on the question “How might we leverage libraries as a platform to build more knowledgeable communities?” Below, Emi Kolawole, the editor-in-residence at the Standford d.school, writes about putting the needs of people first in libraries. Photo by Emi Kolawole. When was the last time you set foot in a library? Were you looking for a book, a quiet place to study, or were you hunting down a free Wi-Fi connection? Perhaps you don’t even remember. The last library I walked into was the library here at the Stanford d.school. Like just about everything at the d.school, this isn’t your standard library. There are rainbow-colored blocks, board games and paper cranes. Workspaces exist at multiple levels. There are tall desks, couches and lounge chairs. There are whiteboards and, yes, even some books.
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    Is Journalism Education Changing Fast Enough? Updated Digital Book Sees ‘Green Shoots’

    Published September 24, 2014 by

    This week at the Online News Association convention in Chicago, we’ll do a “lighting round” on our update of Searchlights and Sunglasses, the free digital learning resource Knight Foundation offered up last year to journalism education. "Searchlights and Sunglasses" by Eric Newton Related Link  "Meet Knight Foundation at the ONA journalism conference"  by Marie Gilot on Knight Blog (09/24) Did we just say the first edition launched last year? That seems like a lifetime ago -- maybe because, in iPhone years, it is. If anything, the accelerating pace of change reinforces the Searchlights and Sunglasses message: We in journalism and journalism education still aren’t changing fast enough. That said, we see hopeful signs of change – “green shoots,” we are calling them. They take the form of new classes, projects, tracks and degrees. Indicators of hope include the number of members in Online News Association’s Facebook educator’s group, which has almost doubled to more than 700. Even better, some 125 journalism schools – roughly a quarter of all schools and programs in the U.S. -- applied for the Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education. In the update we’ve added a many new links and lessons, everything from Weird Al’s Word Crimes video to a better explanation of the “teaching hospital” form of journalism education.  I won’t list them here because, frankly, I’d rather you to join the 20,000 people who have already taken a look at the resource.
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    ‘Knight Cities’ podcast: How the pop-up movement is changing communities

    Published September 24, 2014 by

    It seems that every city has its own version of pop-up parks, parklets, better blocks and other temporary design interventions intended to add life and fun to city streets.  Cathy Ho curated a celebration of these clever urban actions in a major exhibition, “Spontaneous Interventions: Design Actions for the Common Good.” It first appeared as the official U.S. presentation at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2012, and it continues to tour the U.S., first in Chicago and most recently in New York.
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    The art of technology—and vice versa.

    Published September 24, 2014 by

    By Fernando González, Miami-based arts & culture writer When art and technology meet, the collision is bound to create sparks of inspiration. That’s what happened during the Art Hackathon, which took place Sept. 20-21 in Miami. The hackathon was a collaboration of The LAB Miami and The YoungArts Foundation with...
  • Article

    The art of technology—and vice versa

    Published September 24, 2014 by

    When art and technology meet, the collision is bound to create sparks of inspiration. That’s what happened during the Art Hackathon, which took place Sept. 20-21 in Miami. The hackathon was a collaboration of The LAB Miami and The YoungArts Foundation with the support of the Knight Arts Challenge, which The LAB won in 2012. About eight teams worked over two days at YoungArt’s Biscayne Boulevard headquarters focusing on creating apps to make it easier to discover, interact with, or enjoy art. There were practical apps with an educational bent, such as the winning project MIArt by the team comprised of Brian Garbarz, Augusto Peña and Claudio Romano; but there was also playful approaches such as Art Dare You—a game app inspired by both “Truth or Dare” and “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”—by the team of Isabela Dos Santos, Katherine Martin and Robert Hellestrae, which was the first runner-up.
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    Miami-Dade joins Code for America Fellowship Program

    Published September 23, 2014 by

    Luke Norris is director of government relations for Code for America, which Knight Foundation supports to build informed and engaged communities. Below, he writes about Miami-Dade County joining the Code for America Fellowship Program with Knight support. Photo: The 2014 class of Code for America Fellows, via Flickr.   We’re excited to welcome Miami-Dade County as a partner for the 2015 Code for America Fellowship Program thanks to the support of Knight Foundation. Related Link  "Miami to welcome first Code for America Fellows in Florida" - Press release (09/23/14) The Code for America Fellowship program pairs local governments with teams of mid-career, civic-minded technologists for one year. The governments and fellows explore answers to local challenges by engaging with the community, building applications and testing the results. Over the past four years, the fellowship program has produced more than 55 Web apps with 30 municipal governments and 103 fellows.
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    Powerful ideas push the boundaries of what libraries can be

    Published September 23, 2014 by

    Knight News Challenge: Libraries offers applicants a chance to share in $2.5 million by focusing on the question “How might we leverage libraries as a platform to build more knowledgeable communities?” Below, Stephanie Pereira, of Kickstarter, writes about the evolving world of libraries—and how many innovators are turning to Kickstarter to fund their ideas. Photo: City Library by Theen Moy on Flickr. The Knight News Challenge on Libraries, and my work at Kickstarter, remind me that libraries remain essential elements of our communities. As a not-so-athletic kid growing up in suburban New Jersey my local library was in a way the center of my existence, and that is a still true for many people today. How can we make the most of this? It’s an issue that resonates with me because of my childhood memories.  When I was in elementary school, my visits to the library were pretty much a mom-driven affair. My mom would take my brother and me along to pick up books she had requested through the interlibrary loan system, to return and borrow new paintings to hang above her bed (yes, my local library had an art lending program), to browse the audio racks for new books-on-tape to listen to in our car, or music to enjoy at home. She would also take us to community programs that ranged from info sessions on Lyme disease to seminars on local hiking options to, of course, family reading nights. As a single parent my mom relied on our library not only as a safe and free space to let my brother and I roam for a while, but to meet like-minded parents and get involved in our local community. As I grew older I developed my mom’s bookish habits and would look forward to our weekly trips to the library. Once there, I would spend as long as I could—sometimes entire summer days—browsing the stacks and discovering new books, doing research for school (this was pre-Internet, you guys!), and reading pretty much anything our thoughtful librarians had put out for us to discover.  I am a little embarrassed—and a little proud—to say that as a teen I was grounded kind of often. During those times, the library was the only place my mom allowed me to go. There were no stipulations, however, about who I could invite to hangout out with me. Sometimes my brother or a friend or two would meet me there. In a way we would treat the library the way teens today treat the Internet: Together we would explore and look for things that captured our teen fancy… We would read and quietly laugh at things. We would explore the huge atlases and play with the photocopy machine. We would use the stacks for treasure hunts and hiding out. I know this all sounds terribly nerdy, but I can assure you I was only a little nerdy and it was awesome!
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    Miami City Ballet welcomes new dancers

    Published September 23, 2014 by

    By Adia Greenhauff, Miami City Ballet Miami City Ballet is 50 dancers strong for the 2014-2015 season, gracing the stage with eight new dancers on the company roster, including four 2014 graduates from MCB School. The School graduates joining the corps de ballet this year are Ellen Grocki from Damascus,...
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    The Rotunda to host series of weekend-long auditory experiments

    Published September 23, 2014 by

    Inside of The Rotunda, West Philadelphia's cultural landmark for boundary-pushing music and performance, there exists a magnificently constructed, acoustic and architectural gem that receives less of the action than the main performance area. Underneath the 80-foot diameter dome from which the space takes its name, The Rotunda and Bowerbird present...