how do y’all find people who inspire you, even in difficult (read: noninclusive/unwelcoming) spaces? sometimes it just feels like luck!
I have been a Freya Holmer stan for a minute since stumbling about her Twitch live streams, and this interview with Gwen Frey captures what makes Freya great: she’s super accessible and open about her experiences as an indie game dev, including how she’s made a sustainable career with a nontraditional path. there are also some interesting tangents about burnout (hitting me right in the feels!), about organizational structure, about bridging the social gap between math and art, and more.
if you’re looking to get inspired for 2020, her various accounts are a treasure trove of tutorials, sketches, resources, and honest conversation. I’ve also especially been digging her documentation on Twitter of her progress in learning to draw- it’s inspiring to see someone who has made a career in one area stretch their skills in a new area from the start. you can support and follow Freya’s work on Patreon, and you can check out more of Gwen Frey’s interviews with developers here.
and if u have any fav creators u think I should check out, leave a comment on this post w/ the little 💬 button at the bottom!
resource roundup!
speaking of inspiring creators, it has been super fun seeing this project by Angela Sheehan unfold on Twitter. why wear any old scarf when you can make a scarf that is also a blinking dragon friend????
here’s a nice rundown of some of the major AR devkit options on the market, including projects built using each. it’s pretty commercially-oriented, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a decent starting point for exploring your options for your next project.
luv this fun lil drag interaction from Cyd, made with Canvas! sometimes u just wanna do weird stuff and share it with the internet!
here’s a treasure trove- a speculative oral history imagining the present and future societies from the members of Code Societies 2020’s cohort. what an interesting way to document the experience! bookmark this one and dig in when you need some inspiration.
this article focuses on programming, but is really just about how to build a new habit in general. I am generally a big fan of treating your creative practice as a practice, i.e. something you do habitually with discipline, rather than something that you do just when you’re *~inspired~*. but I could stand to refocus and take my own advice!
opportunities!
Phoenix, Leicester’s center for independent cinema, art, and digital culture, is seeking proposals for new web-based artworks exploring the theme of idleness in online space. they encourage an open interpretation of the theme so long as the work is primarily accessed via a website. submissions are due by February 20, so get cracking! you can learn more here.
applications are open until January 31 for the Artificial Intelligence and Music PhD at Queen Mary University of London. this is a fully-funded program, and I hear consistently great things from friend-of-the-newsletter Lia Mice about her own experiences there. if this feels relevant to your practice, take some time to apply, and I’m happy to connect you with anyone I can as best as I can. you can learn more here.
The Strange’s Decelerator is back with a spring program centered around the theme of Earth 1.0. past participants have raved about this program, so if this season’s theme feels relevant to your practice, take some time to apply by February 6. you can learn more here.
do you have a fresh game ur ready to share with the world?? do u have a WIP game that u can get out the door by Feb 2? submit your works for the A MAZE. / Berlin 2020 festival! you can learn more here.
📅 upcoming events!
we are heading into some epic workshops/festivals/conferences for 2020, so I’m gonna start dropping in some bigger events that are farther out into the future so y’all can start thinking about travel for the year and snag those early bird passes!
Weds Jan 29! Wonderville! Brooklyn, NY USA: Wonderville is hosting a casual synth jam this week – all synths and skill levels welcome! this looks like a fun meetup to tinker and play with new likeminded pals. you can learn more here.
Sun Feb 2! Brooklyn Public Library – Central Branch! Brooklyn, NY USA: for this month’s Cypurr Session, the focus will be cyber harassment and the steps we can take towards harm reduction. this is a free event, but any donations help support the Cypurr Collective’s work. you can learn more here.
Fri Feb 07! Eyebeam! Brooklyn, NY USA: this free event will feature celebrated curator Barbara London in conversation with artist Christine Sun Kim:
Together they will dive into Kim’s ongoing artistic investigation of the ways sound operates in society. Among the topics considered will be the politics and possibilities of voice, listening, and language, as well as the role technology plays in how we engage with and visualize sound. The two will discuss a number of Kim’s key projects while considering Musical notation, written language, American Sign Language, and body language as recurrent components of Kim’s witty and engaging work.
you can learn more and register here. ASL interpretation and CART will be provided.
Sat Feb 8! MotionLab.Berlin! Berlin, Germany: bring your pet projects, favorite electronics, equipment, microbial friends, specialist knowledge and imagination to this monthly hack lab from Berlin Science Hacking! learn more here.
Fri Mar 13! NYU School of Law! NYC, NY USA: this year is the 10th anniversary edition of the Open Hardware Summit, and friend-of-the-newsletter and all-around wonder woman Sophi Kravitz will give the keynote! this year’s badge is powered by CircuitPython, and the Adafruit Discord channel now has a topic for the event. you can learn more on the summit here and get your tickets here.
Mar 27-29! Gray Area! San Francisco, CA USA: Algorithmic Art Assembly is back for a second year! this 2-day conference and music festival will showcase diverse artists using algorithmic tools and processes in their work. early bird passes are on sale now – you can learn more and get tix here.
just for lulz!
I mean, we just don’t deserve Billy Porter.
*~housekeeping~*
if you have anything in the works that you are excited about (an event, a workshop, a new project), please send me all the details. the next newsletter will cover the week of February 3 – 9, but I’m happy to promote events further in the future as well and keep them on the calendar.
