I’m sending out this week’s newsletter early (or on time?), in part because you shouldn’t miss the SVA IXD thesis presentations tomorrow, but also just because I’m gettin’ back on track and prioritizing this and some other personal projects. this newsletter is rly heavy on the events and opportunities, so get out there and make/meet/share!
have y’all farted around with Adam King’s Talk to Transformer yet? so I’m a jerk and did my best to stump it with a couple of verses of To a Mouse, but if you’re not just trolling the boundaries of the English language, it’s a fun way to play with OpenAi’s new machine learning model. I do truly feel seen tho- “as an artist who likes to dress up an act as a clown…” 😂
resource roundup!
setting up an error-free Node app with Webpack, Babel, and Express can be a real nightmare. here’s a pretty straightforward tutorial that will get you set up with a nice lil boilerplate for your next React app.
it’s easy to forget that actual literal paper books are a great resource when it comes to becoming a better artist and technologist. and this list is pretty solid! I swear I actually literally own paper copies of at least one of them! it’s important to do more than just parrot back 10 min Youtube tutorials when you’re really making a career out of a tech practice, and making some quality reading time is a must.
JavaScript promises! this lil read is a nice metaphor for what promises actually are, with some helpful snippets included. check it out!
here’s a collection of beautiful lil CSS effects that you can copy and paste into whatever you’re working on. worth bookmarking!
opportunities!
Eyebeam’s 2020 Residency is now open for submissions!
When ideals of capitalist progress become the driver of societal value, a position of refusal can be a political and necessary act. Eyebeam’s 2020 Residency Open Call asks applicants to consider refusal as it relates to technology and its impact on society. How do acts of refusal manifest in one’s life and work poetically or directly?
apply by June 21 to be considered for this 6 month research and experimentation-focused program for creative practitioners. for this program, Eyebeam is shifting its focus to be more responsive to artist needs and the larger community. check out their FAQ for more details.
Toronto New Wave has an open call for interactive, VR, AR, XR and new media works for the 2019 program! the submission deadline is July 2, so you still have some time to put in some work on this one. they’re prioritizing new works completed after January 1, 2018 and projects intending to premier at the festival. get on it! you can fill out a submission here.
from March 18-22, 2020, the third edition of festival DIGITAL SPRING will take place in Salzburg, Germany. this year’s theme is STAND BY. there’s an open call for non-commercial media arts projects as well as a four-week residency from the end of February through the end of the festival. the deadline is June 30, 2019 so get on it if this sounds up your alley! more details here.
Google Arts & Culture and Google AI present Artists + Machine Intelligence Grants – the grants will support six artists with technical mentorship, core Google research, and funding. I always feel a lil wobbly about big corporate grant opportunities, but if it fits your practice, go for it. in this case, you get to keep ownership of your IP, which is always the biggest risk. apply by Monday July 15!
do you want your own project to be featured in this newsletter? I’ve set up a new open call submission form so you can send your work my way. WIPs are welcome!
📅 upcoming events!
Monday, May 13! SVA Theatre! New York, NY USA: SHFT, the 2019 MFA Interaction Design Thesis Festival at SVA, will be a celebration of the work of this year’s class of interaction design graduates. SVA IXD can tend to be a bit more commercially-oriented than some of the other interaction design programs around the country, but this year’s projects include some unusual standouts, like Rachel Balma’s Form– a blanket and music-therapy tool for pediatric patients who are deaf or hearing impaired. admission is free with RSVP on Eventbrite, and if you can’t make it in person, you can check out the livestream here.
Saturday, May 18! New Museum! New York, NY USA: it’s finally time for Trail Blazers #9!!!!!!!! presented by Rhizome and Arcangel Surfware, this web surfing competition is always a blast. if you think you have want it takes to be a champion, you can register here, but you should also just 1000% enjoy this uniquely wonderful event. it’s near and dear to my own heart, and I’m just sorry I won’t be in NYC for this round!
also Saturday, May 18! B Street Station! San Mateo, CA USA: Hackaday and Tindie are teaming up with Kickstarter this year to host the largest Maker Faire after party in the area. show of your projects, meet other hackers and makers, and just decompress a lil after the chaos of Maker Faire Bay Area. your RSVP includes a free drink (21+ only, obvi)!
also also Saturday, May 18! Eyebeam! Brooklyn, NY USA: sorry there’s just a lot of good stuff going on next weekend! Eyebeam Exchange hosts a workshop with LaJuné McMillian on Understanding, Transforming, and Preserving Movement in Digital Spaces.
This workshop will introduce Black performance artists to the DIY 3D community. We will go over questions including “Who’s making in this space? How are they making?” and “Who is left out of the community due to a lack of resources?” Attendees will learn and create using current “accessible” motion capture and modeling technology, and will brainstorm ways to make the technology serve diverse communities/bodies in their needs and differences.
this workshop is open only to people of color interested in race and representation in the digital sphere and no prior tech experience is required. get your tickets via Eventbrite.
Tuesday, June 18! Wythe Hotel! Brooklyn, NY USA: Eyebeam is turning 20 with a “Fête of the Future” benefit at the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn this June. it’s definitely a splurge, but the event includes visuals created by THE FAMILY with art direction by Eyebeam resident Yo-Yo Lin, artist-led experiences up for auction from alumni Zach Lieberman, Lauren McCarthy, and Taeyoon Choi, as well as a live performance from Jasminfire. tix are available on Eventbrite.
just for lulz!
*~housekeeping~*
as always, submit to the open artist call if you have anything in the works that you are excited about! I swear I’m actually going to read through them and start pinging people (lol). and if you have an event or opportunity to promote (anywhere), please send me all the details. the next newsletter will cover the week of May 20 to 26, but I’m happy to promote events further in the future as well and keep them on the calendar.
we also now have a Discord channel! right now it’s just a few of us, but feel free to drop in and share a gif. I’m starting to experiment with new tools for building community and moving off of Facebook, and this is just one attempt! if you have recommendations for other tools and platforms that you enjoy, please let me know.
