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.
