Due to the environmental pollution tampering our mother Earth that is spreading across the world nowadays, team TAPOK (Tinguha Alang sa Pagpalapnag sa Obligasyong pang Kalikupan) have come up with an idea of spreading environmental awareness with the use of theater and arts in expressing perspectives. Furthermore, conjoining technology as a tool in redeeming our mother Earth into a more satisfying environment and a nourishing habitat, and the arts became a challenge and a necessity. Team TAPOK decided to present a theater play entitled LISO NI LAUM wherein the concerns in our community regarding water, land and air pollution is given an emphasis.

The team's project of promoting awareness through a creative performance will highlight on how we abused and misused our natural resources and on how we can reduce the environmental impacts from our day to day activities from simple ways to bigger actions. In the same manner, team TAPOK will be using costumes, sets, and props from scraps to illustrate our passion and advocacy.

In the first five days of our rehearsal, we felt the challenge that says “we cannot do it” because most of the members of the project are first timers when it comes to theater arts and we all have different ideas, that makes everything change from time to time.

However, as we go along the process and met people with theater arts experiences, we grew in mind and in spirit that inspires us to finish and bring this project on stage and to people that will definitely give the ribbon for our project’s success — spreading awareness to the community.

What do we like most in this project? Through team work, we have experienced how fun it is to co-work with young and artistic minds for our story. And how we creatively turned trash into costumes with Andrew Quitmeyer’s shared knowledge. Just as people should act with our Earth’s intensifying cry.

Team TAPOK took only two (2) weeks to prepare for our play entitled “Liso ni Laum” (Seed of Hope). Each of the individuals did their best during their rehearsals. Will the given two weeks be enough for them to present a jaw-dropping output?

During the project making, team TAPOK have been busy mounting our script. Our script was actually already composed during the workshop conducted by YATTA (Youth Advocates Through Theater Arts) but it became one of their struggles because of the often changes and additional ideas of some individuals are added. In the end, the script was finally made. Even though the actors for the play were first timers in acting they were good at it. The performers of this production were very excited because everyone contributed during the script making and some of them will perform on the beach for the first time.

The performers were in charge to their own costumes and props. To lessen the expenses, they borrowed from the YATTA’s properties like some of the props and costumes of the past plays. They also used recycle materials like disks, leaves, ribbons and bottle caps for their headdresses.

The team encountered some problems with time management, because some of the performers were often late during practices and sometimes they also do things not related to the play. We also struggled with movements, levels, blocking and dialogue, because they often forget their parts.

In regards with the sound effects, Liza Marie Ragusta was the stage manager at the same time that she was the sound technician. The sound effects were cool and hilarious. It made the audience guffaw and it added essence to the play.

Rojan Talita, their amateur director did a great job in directing and guiding the performers during the rehearsals.

Team TAPOK also have a song and dance number for the finale of the play. Some of their kapatids (siblings) from YATTA helped them with the vocalization for their song.

Team TAPOK had our technical/dress rehearsal last May 6, 2016 at Banilad Marine Sanctuary specifically on the BOAT Lab. Andrew Quitmeyer did a great job suggesting to Team TAPOK what they have to do to enhance their production. Right after the technical/dress rehearsal, Team TAPOK proceeded to their practice area (Consuelo Multi-Purpose Center) and there they applied the suggestions of Sir Andrew.

Before the final exhibit the casts of the play prepared theirselves for the presentation. All of them looked good especially Basmuk (The Garbage Monster) who looked terrifying and perilous. Before the performance, the team prayed together for God’s blessings and guidance of their final exhibit.

During the Exhibition Day, May 7, 2016, Team TAPOK presented their play at Banilad Marine Sanctuary. Team TAPOK’s crew were excited and nervous at the same time on how the play would go. There were difficulties before the play started, one was the stage is too small, another was the lights. The stage during the exhibition day was too small than the one they practiced with, so as performers they have no choice but to go on with the show and adjust with changes. The lights used were of the same color. Those were just minor issues but the show must go on.

The play went well, but there were minor issues. First was a microphone always falls down, every time a huge bang occurs in the stage. Second was the cast was having a hard time adjusting on the small stage, they are afraid to move around because the stage’s floor isn’t level. Third was on their final act where they sang with a guitar but the guitar was late making the song lousy, but after a few lines the guitarist caught up with the singers.  Besides all that, the show went on like it didn’t happened. They had impromptu make-ups for their casts, which turned out awesome.

Team TAPOK received a well sounded ovation from crowd. With all the difficulties they had, and having 2 weeks to prepare for a play, Team TAPOK did a good job. A lot of people appreciated their work. All the time and effort spent to make play was indeed worth it. Showing people the effects of their actions to nature, and the consequences it brings. Sharing knowledge of the environment with people and giving them ideas on how to care for it. The cast had a great time with the show and so did the crowd. With every member of team TAPOK working together and some other support from other teams, everything in the plan was made to be. To sum everything up all of the teams did a very good job on that day. Everyone had fun, with the exhibits and the play. Everyone enjoyed the snacks served. Together with Team Viz, Sea Sense, F.U.P.P.I., and TAPOK the exhibit day ended well. Smiles were everywhere because of the great things they’ve done for the environment.

Team TAPOK will have their second show on 26th of May 2016. This will be held at Dumaguete City’s dumpsite, situated at Barangay Candau-ay.

The play "Liso ni Laum" (Courtesy of Team Tapok)

Team TAPOK took no rest in creating and spreading environmental awareness to the people of Dumaguete City as they staged their second performance of the play “Liso ni Laum”.

Last May 26, 2016 at exactly three in the afternoon, Team Tapok performed in the Dumaguete dumpsite, Candau-ay Dumaguete City, a place where all the garbage in the city are being delivered and deposited to decompose, with relatively a handful of locals residing in the area, some of them were scavengers in the site. The performance was part of the KAMPBATAAN 2016, a camp organized by the Youth Council of the Consuelo Foundation Life Skills plus Program through the Youth Advocates Through Theater Arts. The Project Manager of the program coordinated with the barangay’s councilor for the venue and other logistical needs.

As part of the team’s goal to spread awareness, the performance’ venue makes it more appropriate as it was surrounded by mountains of garbage, as some were already occupying the near vacant lot. The people who watched were so eager to see what will happen next as was observed on their faces as they were educated to the morals of the story. The play also fits the audience as most of them were scavengers and some were government officials who implements the law.

The Barangay Councilor was so touched by the story that the team was once again invited to perform on the feast of barangay Candau-ay.

Today, the team seeks for more partnerships of the LGU’s and NGO’s to create and spread awareness to more people, within or outside the city.

With increasing pollution levels, it is essential for our team to find new ways to psychologically approach a new medium pertaining to self awareness in relation to the environment. The aim for this project is, (1) to get people involved by sparking their interest, (2) to relay data from all the information we have regarding the environment and (3) to introduce technology and art as a way of emotionally connecting with people.

Our project has 3 different approaches and designs. The main project is to create a 3D projection screen that gives out a hologram like output with the use of fog and, of course, for that we need a machine that creates a fog. It's basically much more convenient to just buy a fog machine but locally we can’t find one and It’s much more “fun” and we get to experience and encounter different problems in building one which gives us more insight in the world of technology. We also needed to build a platform to direct the airflow of the fog in order to make the projection screen.

There is only one problem with the main project and that is the wind factor that might blow away the projection screen so came up with some backup plans which also serve as an output to give out data to people.

Two of the side projects is (1) to manipulate addressable LED strips that functions as an output from the inputs of the different sensors that we have and creating a fun and amazing concepts to how it would blink or like what colors to show.and also (2) the making the of the waterfall curtain that can also serve as a projection screen. We also attach an LED strip into the top of the curtain’s pipe to give out beautiful light reflections.

We hope our approach can attract people to see for themselves and spark the interest of the local people. Some might find it new and very intriguing, and at the same time we would also be letting them know what is happening in the environment with the use of the projection screen. This may convince them to get involved in making a difference and make the world a better place for generations to come.

Week 2 of the Waterspace project (courtesy  of  Team Viz) 

The 3 projects have been initiated, (1) The water projection screen was mounted into the BOAT Lab using bamboo as the material, (2) The LED Strips were stapled on the BOAT Lab and (3) The fog machine was already built and so is the fog projection screen device.

PVC pipe (or water screen) installation (courtesy  of  Team Viz)

Minimal problems were encountered in mounting the water projection screen. When mounted we observed that the BOAT Lab was not leveled properly, having the water flow only to one side. Our solution to that was to add another component in the PVC Pipe establishing another one in the middle, the intersection point between the current of the water was placed in the middle of the new established PVC pipe, distributing the water equally between two sides.

Although the water projection screen was okay, a lot of problems was again encountered in the fog machine. The unexpected thing was the ceramic around the heating element was broken due to excessive moisture from the fog. So we tried to figure out another alternative to prevent that but due to a small timeframe we just decided to buy another tea kettle. And just to be safe we bought two.

Week 2 of the Waterspace Project

May 7, 2016, Exhibition day for the Waterspace teams. There is a huge pressure on us (Team Viz) because we had to setup everything on the exhibition day. We started setting up our projects at around 9 am, and we have 10 hours to set everything up. On the last minute our fog machine broke but with Team Viz’s magic they fixed it right away. We made everything work on that day.

Before the end of May, our team coordinated with Dolf Andringa a marine biologist and we thought of expanding the community to get as many students involved since it would be the start of class soon, and since all of this is about learning to collaborate each and every one’s ideas. The Team Viz Initiative does not only mean visualizing all the creative ideas that comes to mind but to actually implement it. We do not only envision a community of greater and rich culture but we would also like to make that happen, and personally I plan to do so.

In regards with the projects, Team Viz has already initiated the Glowing Buoy project and we actually experimented in mixing the silicone with neodymium powder and applied it with an expendable styrofoam ball and waited for the night to see if it would work. After the experiment we concluded that though it still glows in the dark, due to its transparent attribute of the silicone and because of the neodymium powder doesn’t highlight it colorful property at day, it seems like it's just an ordinary styrofoam ball.

So we are planning to use acrylic paint or any paint that is not toxic and collaborate with artists to paint using the buoy as the canvas and afterwards apply glowing silicone to make it look awesome at night.

Glowing Buoy experimentation (Courtesy  of  Team Viz)

Foundation University Precious Plastics Initiative (FUPPI) is a project based on the Precious Plastics program of Dave Hakkens. He has posted blueprints of a shredding machine, extrusion machine, compression machine, and an injection machine. The idea is that we can collect plastics and transform them into something; be it a pot, a top, a vase, a plate, or make it into a thread of plastic which you can manipulate into whatever you want. Foundation University, being national champions for best eco-friendly school in the Philippines, our team feels that this is a logical step forward. This is our small contribution to our school’s thrust in creating a cleaner, more livable community. The community in Banilad can benefit from this project because they will see how these machines are built and they can create something from an otherwise wasted material.

The Challenges

Having access to the blueprints made our team very excited, we were confident that we could build a shredder and an extrusion machine. We got what needed for building the framework from metal cut offs from the construction site in our north campus. Then came the question of the electric motor, shredding blades, and heating elements. It turns out that low RPM motors cost a lot of money… too much money for our budget. An alternative was to to get a 2-3 horsepower high speed motor and connect that to a reducer/converter to get it to turn at 40-60 RPM. This would cost us 1/3 of the price of a low speed motor. Then, we had to find suppliers for the blades and heating elements. As it turns out, there isn't one in Dumaguete. We had to find them in Manila or Cebu. Unfortunately, quotations took several days to come. We started to worry. At first we were afraid, we were petrified, thinking how we could ever build without blades and heating elements by our side. But then we spent so many moments thinking how it all went wrong, then Clint grew strong, and decided how to move along. So now we're back, we got quotes for the shredder and the heating elements. Only worry is if they can arrive in time for us to install and test before the big day in May 7.

The Fallback Plan

In case the blades, heating elements and motor will not arrive in time, we have two fallback plants. The first is we will make a plastic bottle stripper; this makes a long, narrow, strip of plastic from plastic bottles. The second fallback is to melt plastic bags and mix it with sand to make “bricks”. Plastic bags and sand are two things that are quite abundant.

So, May 7th has passed. All the groups were able to show their respective projects to the community and the guests. The great thing about that event was that we got to meet with people were interested in our project. There was a couple that was very glad that we were doing the Precious Plastics. They were glad to see this project because they are also planning to do a similar project. This was great for us because this means we can share experiences and learn from each other, especially from each other’s mistakes.

Now, let us go back to reality; back to our reality that we are still missing crucial components for our machines. First, the bad news; the parts for the shredder are expensive. We mentioned that already but as it turns out, it is even more expensive that what we originally thought. We are now looking for other sources of funds so we can get those parts. But, there is some good news; our heating elements are coming in this week. When (and if…fingers crossed) that arrives, we can assemble our extrusion machine and test it.

Barrels and Plungers (Courtesy of the FUPPI community project members)

Finally, our heating elements have arrived. Now what? As it turns out, the electrical part is a bit tricky. As a result of this mind boggling gadget, we have asked for help from one of our colleagues. We are waiting on him when he becomes available. In the meantime, we have made mock-ups of our barrel and plunger. A detail we missed earlier is that these pipes are welded. We need a smooth surface to the injection machine to work. Therefore, we have a guy going around the city to ask whether there is a shop that can smoothen the pipe out for us. We have also made arrangements with our metal working shop to lend us some tools. Things are starting to look up.

Heating Elements (Courtesy of the FUPPI community project members)

Heating Elements (Courtesy of the FUPPI community project members)

Heating Elements (Courtesy of the Team FUPPI community project members)

Before we talk about our Precious Plastics injection machine, I would like to share another project that a member of team FUPPI was involved in. It is called a bio-mechanical goat. The concept is simple, have a plastic barrel where you put biodegradable materials in, turn it, put some water, after a few weeks, you have compost. Well, a member of team FUPPI, Clint Absin, worked on a version which has a stationary bike attached to it. This way, you cycle to turn the barrels; you cycle to recycle… Catchy.

Bio-Mechanical Goat (Courtesy of the Team FUPPI community project members)

Bio-Mechanical Goat(Courtesy of the FUPPI community project members)

Going back to our injection machine; it is taking shape, in fact, we lack a hopper and…. Well, that’s it basically.  However, we still have issues, as always. Our extrusion bit is too short, we are looking for a longer one to buy or to fabricate, whichever comes first. Another concern, our axle for our shredder, we are still waiting on the machine shops whether they will make one or if we have to buy it ourselves. If we have to buy it, good luck, we couldn’t find it in the city. We are looking once again, outside the island.

Making of Extrusion machine, Compression machine, and an Injection machine (Courtesy of the FUPPI community project members)

Making of Extrusion machine, Compression machine, and an Injection machine (Courtesy of the FUPPI community project members)

Making of Extrusion machine, Compression machine, and an Injection machine (Courtesy of the FUPPI community project members)

ZERO1 and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs are pleased to announce the artists selected to participate in the 2016-17 American Arts Incubator (AAI), an international new media and digital arts exchange program developed by ZERO1 to support American artists and underserved populations working together to create impactful community-driven public art projects that address local social challenges. The accomplished hybrid artists and the locations chosen for this next exchange cycle are Elaine Cheung (Russia), Scott Kildall (Thailand), Michael Kuetemeyer (Cambodia), Nathan Ober (Colombia), and Balam Soto (Guatemala).

Each of the selected artists will lead a training workshop, production lab, and public exhibition addressing a social challenge during a month-long exchange to each country. Through AAI’s experience-based learning methodology, participants will engage in discussions, activities, and experiments around a social challenge of local importance. Small grants will be awarded to participant groups from the local community, creating new opportunities for collaborative innovation. By applying creative practices to social challenges, community participants will develop their own arts-based solutions to bolster local economies, influence public policy, and further social change.

The five American artists will act as cultural envoys, using artistic collaboration to foster new relationships built upon common social values and the collective exploration of differences. They will share their technological skills and aesthetic sensibilities with international creative explorers working in the burgeoning fields of social entrepreneurship and arts-based community engagement.

ZERO1 is proud to welcome this year’s AAI artists into our ever-expanding network of hybrid explorers in art, science, and technology. In the year to come, we will be working together to provoke and explore new ideas that build more inclusive, engaged, and vibrant communities around the world.

Meet the Artists

Elaine Cheung

Location:

Moscow, Russia

Elaine Miu Cheung works at the intersection of art, design, computing, and technology. Originally from Los Angeles, she explores themes relating to our embodiment of tech, future systems, and experiential interactions. As a Chinese-American, she bridges ideologies from Eastern and Western perspectives and practices, which feeds into her most recent work on the nature of consciousness through wearable technologies. In 2013, she completed her BFA at University of California, San Diego majoring in Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts and has just completed an MFA in Media Design Practices from Art Center College of Design. Her work has been exhibited in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Grinnell, Iowa. Most recently, she traveled to Myanmar as a summer researcher and UX designer at Proximity Designs, developing strategies for brand identity and joining a collaborative research team exploring betel farms and the potential for technological and smart systems in rural farming.

Scott Kildall

Location:

Bangkok, Thailand

Scott Kildall is a cross-disciplinary artist who writes algorithms that transform various datasets into 3D sculptures and installations. The resulting artworks often invite public participation through direct interaction. His work has been exhibited internationally at venues including the New York Hall of Science, Transmediale, the Venice Biennale and the San Jose Museum of Art. He has received fellowships, awards and residencies from organizations including Impakt Works, Autodesk, Recology San Francisco, Turbulence.org, Eyebeam Art +Technology Center, Kala Art Institute and The Banff Centre for the Arts.

Michael Kuetemeyer

Location:

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Michael Kuetemeyer is an award winning media artist and teacher of experimental and documentary media. He received his MFA from Temple University and BS from University of Wisconsin - Madison. He is a recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Award and a founder of Termite TV Collective. His work has been broadcast on PBS and screened at festivals and museums worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Flaherty Film Seminar & the Museum of Television and Radio, New York. As part of SPACES, a social practice artist residency funded by ArtPlace America, he is currently an Artist in Residence at the Village of Arts & Humanities in Philadelphia. He is committed to creating innovative, socially engaged participatory media art projects with communities. He was awarded a Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Artist and Communities Grant to conduct a youth filmmaking residency at the Reichhold Art Center in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Michael currently teaches in the Film & Media Arts department at Temple University.

Nathan Ober

Location:

Colombia

Nathaniel Ober is an artist whose work crosses disciplines from installation and performance, to video and sound. His interdisciplinary works examine concepts of human perception and natural phenomena. Nathaniel’s current research is focused on astronomy and astrophysics, which deal with techniques of sonification and processes that attempt to expose our innate connection with the universe. Nathaniel’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally with over 40 solo and group shows. In 2009 he moved to New Delhi, India to serve as Program Director of Visual Communication and Interactive Media Design at Raffles Millennium International, later transferring to the Raffles Design Institute in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is currently working as a hybrid artist and educator in the Bay Area. He earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Digital Arts and New Media program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Columbus College of Art and Design.

Balam Soto

Location:

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Balam Soto creates contemporary, exploratory artworks that fuse low tech with high tech, including interactive art installations, public artworks and video. Balam works independently on the artistic and technical sides of his pieces. An award winning, internationally acclaimed new media artist, Balam has exhibited in fine art venues worldwide including: the AluCine Latin Media Festival in Toronto, Canada; World Maker Faire at the New York Hall of Science Museum in Queens, NY; El Museo del Barrio in Manhattan, NY; Gallery of Oi  Futuro in Brazil; Queens Museum of Art  in Queens, NY; Everhart Museum of Natural History, Science & Art in Scranton,  PA; the Centre Cultural in Brussels, Belgium; the National Library of Cameroon in  West Africa; and the Art and Technology Corridor at the Three Rivers Arts Festival  in Pittsburgh, PA among numerous others. Balam has received four Editor’s Choice awards from the World Maker Faire held at the New York Hall of Science Museum in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Balam is the owner of Balam Soto Studio and co-owner of Open Wire Lab, both located in Hartford, Connecticut.

Balloon mapping, using a tethered red weather balloon with a small time lapse camera attached, was a great way to meet curious walkers along the water’s edge. It was also an amazing way to explore and document areas along Dunedin’s coastline that are vulnerable to sea level rise. Thanks to the toolkit from Public Lab, helium from the Otago Museum, and an unusually sunny day, we documented 7 coastal locations.

The ZERO1 New Zealand Arts Incubator program was a rare opportunity to learn and explore climate change issues on the South Island of New Zealand with amazing community partners and participants. Many of the ecological challenges facing the South Island, such as sea level rise, rivers polluted by industry, drought, a warming ocean, ocean acidification, and endangered animals, are issues shared across the globe.

Next Steps

The local New Zealand incubator participant artists are working on prototype 2 of their projects to be featured at Dunedin’s Vogel Street Party and the Art and Futures conference at the Dunedin School of Art this October. We are looking forward to seeing these great projects evolve and create more community dialog about art, climate change and resiliency planning in New Zealand.

The Climate Kit exhibition is planning a show in collaboration with the California College of Art and the University of California at Davis in the future. We will be launching our global project submissions on the climatekit.org website soon.

Hear more about Climate Kit on the radio!

• "Climate Kit: When Technology meets Climate Action" — Radio New Zealand
• Sustainable Lens: Resilience on Radio — Otago Access Radio

The Climate Kit: Field Tools from the Anthropocene exhibition at the Otago Museum was a big success with a great turn out on opening night, despite the morning ice storm. Check out this interview we gave during the final hours of the installation process with 39 Dunedin TV.

The Living Map

Bridie Lonie, Luke Easterbrook, Beth Ferguson, Sara Dean

The Living Map adds three-dimensionality to the projections often used in modeling the effects of climate change. Historical, present and future geological projections provide important data for the resiliency planning regarding coastal sea level inundation. The digital map layers are from Surging Seas, the Dunedin City Council, the Otago Regional Council, and the National Library. This project was led by Bridie Lonie from the Dunedin School of Art along with Sara Dean and Beth Ferguson from the ZERO1 New Zealand Arts Incubator with the help of Luke Easterbrook from the University of Otago, the Otago Museum, and Workspace and Andrew Early at Otago Polytechnic.

Dunedin Youth Map

Karen Parker, Jen Smith, Tahuna Normal Intermediate School 7th grade class

The Dunedin Youth Map was led by 7th grade teacher, Karen Parker, of the Tahuna Normal Intermediate School. She developed civic icons with her students and then created a community participatory map for the Otago Museum Climate Kit exhibition. The public was invited to interact using a combination of the icons, emoji, and eco icons from the Green Map System. Karen’s 7th grade class joined us for a day of balloon mapping to document their sports field, a site that is vulnerable to flooding due to saltwater inundation with sea levels rising on the coast of South Dunedin. The class plans to continue to develop the Dunedin Youth Map project this year.

Stones and Bones: A Geological and Paleontological look at New Zealand

Amy Smith, Katherina Marino, Rebecca John

Most people do not think about climate change on a geological scale. The Stones and Bones exhibit is meant to show visitors that the rocks and fossils beneath our feet tell a story. We can learn about paleoclimates and see how vastly different our surroundings used to be. The Stones and Bones project shows a rock core columns and a panel engaging geological history and human engagement with rocks and fossils, with particular emphasis around the Otago region.

Shedding Some Light: Dunedin’s Dark Skies Initiative

Emma Hanisch, Conor Feehly, Ravitesh Ratnam, Colin Smillie

This project relates to the Dark Skies Initiative proposed by the Dunedin City Council. They are considering the implementation of shielded LED street lighting to replace the current sodium models. While this is a council vote, the public is involved in the decision-making process. Therefore, our aim was to create an exhibit which will initiate interest in light pollution and solutions. We provided information on the different options the council are considering along with examples of lighting solutions currently being implemented across the globe. Elements of the exhibit include information panels on doors covering many different topics related to the Dark Skies Initiative, and a box containing alternate street light models and images of the night sky from Dunedin.

ZERO1 is going through an exciting transformation. We’ve seen some dramatic shifts in the Silicon Valley arts and technology scene and are making bold moves to take advantage of these changes in unique and powerful ways. With the closure of the Garage in July 2015, we officially moved away from producing the ZERO1 Biennial and will be launching a set of new programs. As a result of these adjustments to our focus and direction, we will be redefining our current mission statement in the coming months. Stay tuned. Our goal is to more fully nurture the rich art and technology network we’ve built over the years, focusing that collective power on our society’s biggest challenges. Ultimately, we aim to build more engaged and vibrant communities, not only here in Silicon Valley, but across the nation and around the world. As you are all keenly aware, when art, technology, and science collide, we see provocative and powerful possibilities emerge. We’re excited about the possibilities that will take shape as we continue to promote, inspire and connect a wide array of the creative explorers in art, science and technology. It’s an exciting time and we’re glad to count you as a member of the ZERO1 family that will take this journey with us.

As the recently appointed interim executive director, I’d like to take this opportunity to share some my background as it relates to my current work at ZERO1. I first started working with ZERO1 in January 2016 as an Encore Executive Fellow after retiring from a 41-year career at Hewlett-Packard, leading some of the company’s most innovative and technologically advanced businesses. Throughout that career, I came to understand the power of innovation and the essential role artists play in helping us to reimagine the world and the impacts our innovations might have. After this exciting career, ZERO1 was exactly the type of art and technology organization I wanted to be a part of. I am thrilled to be supporting its continued success. Since taking on the role of interim executive director earlier this year, I’ve worked with ZERO1’s board, staff, and strong network of community partners to take stock of the organization’s rich capabilities and assets, the program successes it enjoys, and the emerging needs and opportunities that lie ahead. I’ve drawn from my financial and business leadership experience at HP, as well as my work in social entrepreneurship. For many years, I worked to advocate, incubate, and support creativity and innovation that serves our community’s most pressing social needs and challenges. It’s been an honor to apply myself in service of ZERO1, carrying forward the leadership of an organization that is known for its innovative approach to bridging the worlds of art, science and technology. We have a strong foundation to build upon with ZERO1’s rich history of community-building Biennials, awe-inspiring public art installations, boundary-pushing Garage exhibits, and culturally rich American Arts Incubator exchanges.

The future is looking more and more promising as we expand our work with the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to extend the reach of our ZERO1 American Arts Incubator program. As we embark on the third year of the program, we’ll be sending American artists abroad to 5 countries where they will lead community-engaged new media and digital art projects. We’re also designing a local component of the program that will allow us to invite international collaborators back to the Bay Area for professional development and cross-pollination with their American peers. Our local programming will grow to include a range of collaborative Creative Communities Exhibits produced with our key Silicon Valley partners to showcase the thought-provoking and inspirational works of ZERO1 artists. There will be new opportunities for knowledge sharing with the launch of our Creative Explorers Summits, a program that will convene a broad, cross-sector group of creators in arts and technology to discuss global and local shifts underway in hybrid arts. Each of these programs will activate the many branches of our artist network to accelerate the building of more engaged and vibrant communities. We continue to develop internal strategy and are actively collaborating with our program partners, so you can expect more details to be coming your way in future blog updates.

As you can see, these are exciting times at ZERO1. Despite the rapid pace of change and the many moving parts of this evolving organization, transformation has energized us. ZERO1 is at its core, dynamic and adaptable. It's now more important than ever for us to walk the walk associated with risk-taking, creativity, incubation, and innovation. We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to present innovative year-round art programs at the ZERO1 Garage and now look forward to continuing to work with arts and technology communities to enhance the capacity of our programming as a premiere Silicon Valley and Bay Area arts organization.

Regards,

Brad Maihack

P.S. Feel free to send us updates from your own unique creative explorations, adventures, and new works. We value your accomplishments and would like to share them with the community.

We are excited to be kicking off our work with ZERO1. The American Arts Incubator is an opportunity to work with international artists, designers, and scientists on global and local climate change issues, digital tech, and forms of civic engagement. This involves a lot of interdependent parts, and we will be pulling apart this constellation of components through these posts. The starting point for us is the City of Dunedin on the South Island of New Zealand. Our residency in Dunedin will coincide with The New Zealand International Science Festival in July, creating an amazing springboard for this cultural incubator.

Dunedin is the southernmost city of New Zealand, putting it in direct proximity to the Antarctic Ocean, the west coast Glaciers in the Southern Alps and the 600km Alpine Fault line that has produced four earthquakes around magnitude 8 in the past 900 years.

New Zealand is under an increasing number of climate stresses. New media and research methods, such as crowd-sourced content, real-time climate sensors, and community mapping allow designers and artists to engage scientific and environmental scales of work. Dunedin has active science and climate research communities, including interesting work developing at University of Otago, Otago Museum, and the Otago Climate Change Network. We look forward to learning from these institutions and developing an understanding of their on-the-ground perspective of Dunedin as a cultural and climatic intersection.

Artist Core Project Overview
Climate change and natural stresses are impacting every aspect of life. Designers are in a unique position to identify and amplify new scenarios and potentials that engage the public about this changing world. Drawing from scientific and artistic field-research practices, we will develop ways of seeing the changing landscape in the Anthropocene. This will develop as ‘field kits’ and ‘field guides’, as a way of bringing this work back out into the environment in various ways.

We will develop a further understanding of the scope of this project during the pre-trip, so that it can respond to local knowledge and priorities. However, we anticipate the project to be have a crowd-sourced component, collecting tools and methods of research from climate practices, both scientific and artistic. We will collect (through our core project and connected community projects) weather and air quality data through sensor technology, and anecdotes related to the changing relationship of climate in daily life. These will be developed into physical artifacts and/or video installations for the final Exhibition.

ZERO1 Friends and Family,

After eight years as Executive Director of ZERO1, I have decided to step down to set the stage for a next generation of leadership. It’s been quite the ride, but the time has come to turn my attention to new challenges including my own art practice. During my tenure, ZERO1 featured over 600 artists from around the world, emerging the ZERO1 Biennial as one of the most significant art and technology festivals in North America. I am proud of the many ZERO1 exhibitions, public art initiatives, Fellowship Program and the American Arts Incubator, all of which have provided unique platforms for artists to experiment, provoke, and inspire new strategies and critical discourse.

ZERO1 represents a network of organizational partners, stakeholders, funders, and individuals who relentlessly offered their guidance, support, and expertise. Thank you all. I often described my job as network facilitator, when actually it was the other way around.

Lastly, I want to acknowledge the ZERO1 Board of Directors and my incredible staff for their dedication to this amazing enterprise.

Sincerely,

Joel Slayton

A note from the ZERO1 Board Chair, Barbara Goldstein

On behalf of ZERO1’s Board of Directors, I want to thank Joel Slayton for the important and ground-breaking work he has done for the organization, first as a founding board member and later as Executive Director. Since ZERO1’s inception, Joel has been a visionary leader who continually promoted new ways to showcase the work of groundbreaking artists who are working with technology and science to reflect and comment on the world around them. Joel built partnerships with industry, academia, and government bringing the power of art to hundreds of thousands through ZERO1's programs.

A recognized artist himself and former Director of CADRE Lab at San Jose State, Joel elevated ZERO1 to an international brand, perhaps better known beyond San Jose than in its own hometown. Beginning with the 2006 ZERO1 Biennial, when he chaired the International Symposium on Electronic Arts (ISEA), Joel’s clear vision brought the work of national and international curators and artists to a worldwide audience, stimulating dialogue and action.

After more than eight years as Executive Director of ZERO1, Joel has decided to move on to pursue other artistic and personal interests. Concurrently, ZERO1 is re-examining its core mission, moving away from producing a Biennial and seeking other ways to connect creative explorers in arts, science, and technologies to affect change in their own communities and beyond.

During this interim period, ZERO1 will be led by Brad Maihack, an Encore Executive Fellow and former HP executive, whose expertise in strategic business development, turnaround, partnerships, and alliance management will provide the organization with the skills it needs to face the future.

We wish Joel a bright and productive future and welcome Brad to ZERO1!

Warm Wishes,
Barbara Goldstein
ZERO1 Board Chair

Amorphic Robotic Inflatable Sculpture Greets Visitors on San José City Hall Plaza during Game Week Public art senses and responds to people during special SB50 unveiling 

Photogrammetry is the science, technology and art of obtaining reliable information from non-contact imaging and other sensor systems about the Earth and its environment, and other physical objects and processes through recording, measuring, analyzing and representation. In this case, photogrammetry is used to create 3D models from series of photographs taken at various angles.

IMG 9773 by johncraigfreeman on Sketchfab

Geo-located Augmented Reality allows people to experience alternative realities at site specific locations. The public can simply download and launch a free mobile app and aim their devices’ cameras at the surrounding physical place. The application uses location detection technology  to superimpose virtual objects, people or scenes at precise GPS coordinates, enabling the user to immerse themselves in the work as if they existed in the real world.

After meetings with stakeholders in Hankou, I had the opportunity to test if geo-located augmented reality was even possible on Chinese mobile networks. Zhang Heer helped me acquire a local SIM card for my phone at China Unicom, a local provider.

Although fraught with suspicious anomalies, the mobile networks of the city were active enough to open temporary access to alternative realities emanating from New York City and Los Angeles.

I’m just starting up a new adventure with art, technology, and the natural environment in the Philippines. It’s a project managed by ZERO1 in partnership with the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs! The goal will be to launch several projects with community members that combine digital technology with local crafts in order to address the issue of Environmental Health.

My previous work (digitalnaturalism.org) has involved working with scientists and crafters to build technology to interact with animals and natural environments. Typically my personal blend of interests and experiences across science, technology, and the arts can make it hard to find programs that support all these realms; this generally means I am forced to downplay some parts of what I do, in order to focus on the specific technological, scientific, or artistic tasks at hand. ZERO1's unique program allows me to explore and protect natural environments via collaborative new media art - a true synthesis of my favorite passions.

Most of my previous work took place in rich tropical environments (such as in Panama and Madagascar) full of unique creatures in special relationships. Being able to continue my work in the tropics of a new fascinating place (I have never been to the Philippines before), increases my exitement for the AAI program yet another level. 

Preliminary Research

I am just starting to research the Philippines and specifically Dumaguete, the main town in which I will be based. As I mentioned, I have no firsthand knowledge of the Philippines, and the basic idea of a country formed out of a collection of tropical islands is fascinating.

Dumaguete itself is located several islands south of the largest, and perhaps most well known, city in the Philippines: Manila. The island it is located on is called Negros (“Black Island”), and is divided into east and west provinces. Before the Philippines was colonized, most of the islands were apparently inhabited by different groups of indigenous tribes. On Negros, the indigenous locals are referred to as “Negritos,” and from my early research there looks like a fascinating cultural center nearby in Dumaguete called Sildakang Negros Village. Dumaguete is now known as a small university town hosting Silliman University.

The first thing most discussed when looking into Dumaguete is the broad array of marine resources. It’s seated at the edge of a channel of several islands known to attract sea turtles, dolphins, and whale sharks. Terrestrially, Dumaguete is near a couple national parks home to interesting animals such as Flying Foxes, Hawk-Eagles, Leopard-cats, and Tarsiers. Negros itself is home to most of the endangered species in the Philippines as it is one of the areas most threatened by development and environmental destruction.

Right now I am focusing on making as many contacts as possible with researchers who have worked in the Philippines along with Philippine-run organizations in Dumaguete. It’s thrilling to imagine all the different ways this project can turn out!

I have been invited by the U.S. Consulate in Wuhan, in partnership with the K11 Art Foundation to spend 28 days in Wuhan, China where I will engage and empower youth by building a portal to an alternative reality. Based on traditional Chinese timber carpentry techniques, the physical structure will act as an access point where the public will be able to immerse themselves in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experiences documenting the rapidly changing city.

I will assemble and train production teams made up of faculty and students from the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, Central China Normal University, and the Wuhan Textile University to engage the local community to determine in which parts of the city we will create VR and AR work. Other potential partners include China Endangered Culture Protector, Hubei Museum of Art, Wuhan Art Museum and the studio of local artist Cai Kai.

The City of Wuhan
Wuhan is a city of over 10 million people locate in central China’s Hubei Province at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han Rivers. The city is consolidated from three traditional walled cities: Wuchang to the east of the Yangtze, and to the west, Hankou north of the Han and Hanyang to the south of the Han. With a more ancient history than Beijing, Xi’an, and Nanjing, the three cities date from before AD 223.

During the Second Opium War (1856–1860), the Qing Dynasty was defeated by western powers, which led to the founding of foreign concessions along the banks of the Yangtze in Hankou. In 1911, the rebellion that ended dynastic rule and led to the founding of the Republic of China was launched from Wuchang. The city was occupied by Japanese forces during the Second World War and largely destroyed by U.S. firebombing in December of 1944.

Considered one of the fastest changing cities in China, Wuhan just might be the fastest changing city in the world. Choked by Tortoise Hill in Hanyang and Snake Hill in Wuchang, the Yangtze has a history of unleashing devastating floods in Wuhan, which was an important factor in the building of the Three Gorges Dam, 335 mile upstream, and the recurrence of Dragon King mythology.

Site Visit and Planning Meetings: November 27, 2015
On my first day in Wuhan I was met by Jamie Dragon, Public Affairs Officer from the U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan, Bu Shi, Assistant Manager of Arts Projects at K11 Art Foundation (our AAI program partner in Wuhan), and Officer of Arts Projects at K11, Zhang Heer. We all walked over to Zhongshan Park to look for some test augments I had placed there before I left for China.

For me, as a Queer Vietnamese American Woman in the diaspora, the issue of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) rights has always been vital to my survival and existence. I have had to navigate my queerness in the context of my identity as an American, as mixed race, and as a transnational Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese). When I came out in the early 90s there was no one to look to in order to see myself, in the US or in Vietnam. In the U.S., visibility of LGBTQ community was sparse and there certainly weren’t out queer Asian Americans, much less Vietnamese people that I could relate to. I took it upon myself to be as visible and out as possible.

Over the years in my travels to Vietnam, I have always sought out LGBTQ Vietnamese. Over a decade after coming out, I had to navigate my queerness delicately when I traveled. After my trip to Vietnam in 2003, I wrote a bit about my search for folks like myself. Here is a link to the soundcloud from the Whitney Biennial SAIC Free radio that details my story.

Twenty years after coming out, I remember sitting in a cafe in Saigon in June of 2013, with my Viet Kieu Queer friend celebrating the overturning of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) in the U.S. We sat and cried by ourselves. No one to share our joy with as we witnessed the slow roll towards equality in our home country. Fast forward to July 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned bans against same-sex marriage nationwide in the U.S., hashtags of #lovewins and #vietnamnext exploded across Vietnamese social media.

In the recent years, I have watched the shifts in the political landscape in Vietnam from afar, and it has been incredibly emotional. In 2012, one of the initial precursors to the contemporary LGBTQ movement was a flash mob organized to happen simultaneously in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). I was moved to tears watching the LGBTQ flash mobs in Hanoi and Saigon. It was so compelling to see young Vietnamese LGBTQ people out and proud - waving rainbow flags. Here were all the people I had been looking for since I came out over 20 years ago. This movement of LGBTQ Vietnamese is incredibly young, and seems to be driven by young people under the age of 20 - young enough to be my own children! It gives me enormous pride to watch these LGBTQ developments in Vietnam. There are many new LGBTQ organizations that have sprung up in the past few years since I returned from Vietnam. Some of the organizations include Viet Pride and ICS and iSEE PFLAG and most recently Queer Forever. In 2013, the first ever Pride events took place in Vietnam, a small gathering and parade on motorbikes in both Saigon and Hanoi, now an annual event with elaborate shows and performances.

I am looking forward to meeting LGBTQ Vietnamese in Hanoi and creating a space for visibility through digital media. While I know the recent enfranchisement of LGBTQ offers some legal protections, it is far from acceptance. As an artist, I want to offer a platform for the stories of Vietnamese LGBTQ in this time of change. I want to document their stories. I want to create a space for these young people to tell their own stories, and create visibility, which in early stages of LGBTQ movements is essential and vital to success of the transformation, LGBTQ people, and all people, in Vietnam and beyond.

The American Arts Incubator team at ZERO1 received a message from Aliana Juson of community project group, Suyac Advocates, in the Philippines to offer insights and developments on their project, Floating Eco-Resource Library.

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For the American Arts Incubator project, my co-proponent Keith Cari-an and I initially wanted to create the multifunctional floating eco-resource center structure right away. However, due to our restricted budget, we decided to focus on programming instead. We decided upon activities that we, and the community, aim to showcase in the future eco-resource center. Our main principles are about spreading information on marine conservation and environmental health through various activities, which include read-aloud activities, interactive discussions, performance art, and film screening. By starting with the programming instead of concretizing the center itself, our hope is to gain attention from more prospective funders.

We decided to use the typically-celebrated event in the Philippines during the month May, Flores de Mayo, as our starting point. We weren't going to have just any ordinary Flores de Mayo, because we decided to make the costumes out of recyclable materials! Participants as young as 3-12 gathered from the area, thus, Flo-recycle de Mayo. The tradition of Flores de Mayo, or Flowers of May in Spanish, dates to Spanish colonization and is devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. As a country known for being predominantly Catholic, it is quite understandable that the community in Suyac encouraged us to do it.

The community in Suyac was nothing short of helpful, welcoming and cooperative. In addition to community members, we were put in touch with Visayas Sea and Earth Advocates (SEA) Camp, who are also funded by the U.S. Embassy of Manila and organized by Save Philippine Seas. We were then connected to our co-participants and friends, Kim Casipe, a fourth-year Biology student, Robert James Lesterio, a Communications graduate, and Christine Thel Geollegue, a second-year Law student.

Soon, we were busy building the Eco-Resource raft! Kim and Robert helped purchase the additional 55-gallon drums needed for the raft and took beautiful pictures of the Mangrove forest while she was there. Thel helped make decisions when Keith and I were too exhausted to function, and Robert helped the kids cross the part of the mangrove forest when it was high tide so they won’t get wet. Their acts of volunteerism were touching!

For the arts and crafts activity, our team and Catechesis teacher, Ross Dueñas served as facilitators for the five groups.

My group, who later won first place, looked for king and queen costume styles by looking in an old catalog. For the recyclable materials to be safe and clean, the members of my group volunteered to wash the materials and to dry them under the sun.

Since our focus is on environment health, it was important to promote eco-friendly acts. During morning snacktime, we asked the kids to bring their own glasses for juice. After arts and crafts activities, we all took part in cleaning the surroundings by getting rid of waste like pieces of paper and plastics we didn’t need for the costumes and disposing of it in their appropriate receptacles. Even mothers helped ensure that our work areas were clean.

Several of the four qualities that American Arts Incubator artist, Felipe Castelblanco, saw in the Filipino culture were the same qualities that I saw in Suyac community. These are the reasons why I never, and will never get tired of traveling two hours north and crossing the ocean just to help them as much as I can.

1. Strong community values

In more than a month of visiting Suyac almost every weekend, I can say that they have strong community values that they are proud to showcase especially to tourists. I have seen how they, especially the members of Suyac Island Eco-Tourism Association (SIETAS), responded to the possibility of having a floating eco-resource center in their community. When they first heard of it, they were soliciting ideas on how it should look like and what materials should be used.

And that was how I met Manong Noli Burlan, who we sometimes call Tatay (a local term for ‘father’) or Tito (a local term for ‘uncle’), because that is just how he usually is to us.

2. A strong sense of togetherness

SIETAS was formed out of our immediate and collective sense of frienship. They were often, if not always, laughing, and have a positive outlook in life. They share that positivity with one another! This positive outlook in life that I see in them is one of the many reasons why I believe that the Suyac Floating Eco-resource Center will succeed.

3. Shared identity and admirable resilience

Not only can they identify the seven species of Mangroves, they are also thankful to the Mangroves because those were primarily what saved them from massive destruction from the Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013. To me, those century-old mangroves are just like SIETAS—willing to sacrifice for the good of all people. They sacrificed their time just to talk to us during our meetings with them and welcomed us in their homes even if they don’t have much. Their resilience is so inspiring.

We look forward to what continues to be a result of our art-making and community bridging around environmental health.

Our next activity will be documentary screening for the teens in the community where the reflection part of the activity will be held in the raft, surrounded by the Mangroves. How cool is that?