• Article

    Silicon Valley Talent Partnership links talent with opportunities to improve civic life

    Published August 7, 2014 by

    Lea King is executive director of the San Jose, Calif.,-based Silicon Valley Talent Partnership, which manages collaborations between private-sector volunteers and public agencies to improve resident services. San Jose is one of 26 Knight communities.   Silicon Valley is a unique place where people from all over the world come to study, work and build their families and homes. Though I have lived and worked in Taiwan, Spain, Hong Kong, China and Bangalore, India, Silicon Valley remains one of the most diverse and friendly places that my kids and I call home. There is such an amazing concentration of talent here found in the people, who pride themselves on collaboration and competition, and it’s where I work to enable a “stronger community working together,” the mission of the Silicon Valley Talent Partnership.    The Silicon Valley Talent Partnership is a civic innovation public-private-partnership organization that enables pro bono talent from the private and nonprofit worlds to help city governments improve and enhance service delivery. It is a unique partnership that enables people to contribute their talent to make a tangible impact in their neighborhoods, parks, libraries and communities.
  • Article

    Last weekend of “Allure of Flowers”

    Published August 7, 2014 by

    Paul Stankard "Carolina Bouquet Botanical" 2001, glass. Gift of the Charlotte Garden Club. 2001.67. Collection of The Mint Museum August 9th and 10th is the last weekend to enjoy the floral delights at The Mint Museum’s “Allure of Flowers: Botanical Motifs in Craft, Design, and Fashion”...
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    Q & A with comedian Sheri Flanders

    Published August 7, 2014 by

    Sheri Flanders studied improv at The Second City Training Center and iO (formerly Improv Olympic) in Chicago, as well at Just The Funny’s conservatory in Coral Gables. She is a director, actor, multidisciplinary artist and cast member of Just The Funny. On Saturday, August 23rd at 9 p.m., join Flanders...
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    Student Showcase of Arts Excellence held at The Stage is the apex of artistic expression for inner-city youth

    Published August 6, 2014 by

    By Rudy Sablon, The Motivational Edge Rudy Sablon is the Director of Programs for The Motivational Edge, a nonprofit that uses the arts to inspire youth towards academic achievement, increased self-confidence and building essential life skills. Below, he writes about a student performance showcasing many of the lyrical expression and...
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    “Ghost Opera” a GroundWorks DanceTheater masterpiece

    Published August 6, 2014 by

    Reviews of GroundWorks DanceTheater (a Knight Arts grantee) over the years (my own included) have talked about how the company has created important contemporary dance pieces. Important doesn’t always mean serious, either, for artistic director David Shimotakahara and associate Amy Miller have made some fun and lively dances. This time,...
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    Breaking down barriers in Akron through shared art experiences

    Published August 6, 2014 by

    Photo: A passerby reads stories of people’s first love outside Summit Artspace during the Downtown Akron Artwalk. Credit: Hunter Franks.  Hunter Franks, an artist and founder of the Neighborhood Postcard Project and League of Creative Interventionists, is in Akron, Ohio, for three weeks using creativity to build community with Knight Foundation support.   There is nothing to do in Akron. It’s boring. It sucks.   When I told people I was going to Akron these were some of things they said. When I arrived in Akron these were some of the things people said. And it is easy to see the negatives upon first glance. Akron is spread out. It’s a city of suburbs where everything is a 15-minute drive away. Parking lots and strip malls dominate the landscape. Pedestrians are scarce. To understand Akron, you must understand it’s past. Akron was a hub of multiple manufacturing industries, with rubber leading the way. If you had an automobile in the 1900s, chances were that your tires came from Akron. The population of Akron grew some 200 percent during the 1910s. Akron was the place to be. But the late 20th century saw the rubber industry decline with many manufacturers laying off employees, relocating to other cities or shutting down operations entirely. The city was devastated and a once-thriving metropolis has seen its population decrease steadily for the last 30 years. So the first thing you see is the quiet parking lots and the empty streets. But look a little harder and you will find the vibrancy here. You will find the people that love Akron. You will find the people that are not settling for the Akron of years past. You will find the people transforming Akron into the city that they want it to be. One of the first things I noticed upon arriving in downtown Akron was the decorative planters filled with beautiful flowers. The planters, surrounded by deserts of monotonous concrete, screamed out with color: “I care!” They are a metaphor for Akron — a small piece of energy amid the normalcy of parking garages and highways. Once you look a little harder, once you get out of your car and walk around you will be amazed.
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    World music at Reading Terminal Market

    Published August 6, 2014 by

    By Ann Mintz, Reading Terminal Market Reading Terminal Market is a Philadelphia institution with an international flavor. Market merchants offer food from all over the world—Mexican, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and many more. In June, world music complemented the many ethnic cuisines available every day. Traditionally, performances at the Reading Terminal...
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    Inside Cara Rose DeFabio’s DARKNETbeta

    Published August 6, 2014 by

    By Serlin Quah, ZERO1 In our brave new digital world, nothing goes unseen, but what happens in the dark? DARKNETbeta challenges the audience to walk the line between public and private self, examining security and anonymity in the digital age. Using audience cell phones and techniques currently employed by retailers...
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    MOCAD closes the books on summer, looks to the fall

    Published August 5, 2014 by

    Sunday, July 27th marked the closing of the MOCAD’s (a Knight Arts grantee) summer program, an eclectic assembly of exhibits with a light-hearted summer feel. The video gallery hosted, Projecting (see video above), a trio of works by video artist Dara Friedman: Musical (2007-2008), Dancer (2011), and PLAY (2013), all...