ArtPrize and Project 1 - Grand Rapids

[MiGuyz]

Those who are thinking special event are more on track than anyone else.

[hombre_de_ciudad]

Maybe a new annual film festival?

[GRDadof3]

Those who are thinking special event are more on track than anyone else.

Maybe the answer's been right in front of us all along:

I really hope it's not an event to announce an event. That's pretty lame. boohiss....

[Veloise]

Wonder how many boxes of chalk remain...

[d8alterego]

That is my guess. In the latest news article on Mlive, they suggested it might be something "annual." If some A-list celebs showed up in GR for the anouncement and annual festival, maybe that would be impressive. I'm trying to not get too hyped on this though because I sense it'll be a dud. What can a social networking developer do to bring "worldwide" attention and young professionals to GR other than a film festival?

Maybe a new annual film festival?

[Kib]

What can a social networking developer do to bring "worldwide" attention and young professionals to GR other than a film festival?

Free beer...

[walker]

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/ind...uncement_b.html

"It is expected to be part of ongoing efforts by local leaders to project a progressive, hip image of Grand Rapids that will make it a more attractive place for young, creative people to live and work."

I suppose with enough money you can buy any image you want but I've never associated any of the Amway clan with progressive or hip. (Not that I am young or particularly progressive or hip either.)

In fact I think that up till now at least they probably scare away from the area as many progressive hip "young creative people" as they might attract here with jobs.

[GRDadof3]

Free beer...

Maybe Devos can pull the Beer Festival from 5/3 park to downtown. Forget upscale. How about attracting young talent on tight budgets (like most of the young people I know).

[Veloise]

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/ind...uncement_b.html

...

The source refused to provide further details, but wanted to quell some of the more wild speculation making the rounds on the Internet and at the water cooler.

Wild speculation? Where??

Some of the reader comments on Mlive are excellent.

[radicaljoy]

Here's my fantasy of what this is going to be . . .

It's going to be Grand Rapids "official unleashing" as a Transition Town. The unleashing (announcement) drives momentum and engages people.

In a nutshell, a transition town positively builds local resilience to be able to proactively adapt to change. Very exciting stuff and would impact the city for a long time to come.

I've had my hands slapped for posting links in the past, so I'm not going to post any here, unless GRDadof3 gives permission. Using 'Chelsea Green Rob Hopkins Explains the Transition Initiative' or 'transitionculture' or 'transition towns' in a search engine will get you to sites that explain what I'm getting at.

I'm struck by how many pieces of the 12 steps Grand Rapids already has in place. Seeing the pieces as part of a roadmap to somewhere and something that we collectively want to get to is a very important part - starting with the "official unleashing". Unleashing is the 4th step of 12 in the Transition Town strategy.

To take this fantasy farther out - the old Davenport campus could be used as GRCC's Schumacher College division, which would be focused on the Great Reskilling needed for the transition and beyond.

Edited April 22, 2009 by radicaljoy

[canetoad]

Man, even though it would be cool to have a high profile film fest in GR, I hope that's not the big announcement. The world really doesn't need yet ANOTHER film festival, and we already have a rather prestigious film fest with the Waterfront Film Festival in our backyard. Plus film festivals aren't doing so well these days - even Sundance has been cutting back. Please let it be something more innovative! Sigh.

[Parhelion]

Any word on this?

[Veloise]

I went to the heralded live vid-cast site. ustream.tv Much clutter, no search available. The underwater fish-cam, however, was pretty cool.

Hey, maybe we're getting a webcam at the Fish Ladder!

[jrwquattro]

As we sit and speculate I must first tip my hat to the DeVos and Van Andel families. They (as well as countless other families) in the Grand Rapids area are what have made this city what it is. While we all may not stand on their side, sharing their political views, and may question the non-traditional business structure that blessed them with their wealth, they have been nothing but world class with their support of Grand Rapids. It is easy to look at the countless buildings that bear their names, but to fully understand their philanthropy, look no further to Doug and Maria

[dragt]

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/ind...uncement_b.html

"It is expected to be part of ongoing efforts by local leaders to project a progressive, hip image of Grand Rapids that will make it a more attractive place for young, creative people to live and work."

I suppose with enough money you can buy any image you want but I've never associated any of the Amway clan with progressive or hip. (Not that I am young or particularly progressive or hip either.)

In fact I think that up till now at least they probably scare away from the area as many progressive hip "young creative people" as they might attract here with jobs.

While I can understand this comment, I think it's based on very limited perception. Rick certainly does not fit that perception (take a moment to look at past projects like spout.com or thecommon.org). And as was stated in the post above, he hasn't been known to grandstand without cause. I'm looking forward to Thursday morning =)

[GRDadof3]

Here's my fantasy of what this is going to be . . .

It's going to be Grand Rapids "official unleashing" as a Transition Town. The unleashing (announcement) drives momentum and engages people.

In a nutshell, a transition town positively builds local resilience to be able to proactively adapt to change. Very exciting stuff and would impact the city for a long time to come.

I've had my hands slapped for posting links in the past, so I'm not going to post any here, unless GRDadof3 gives permission. Using 'Chelsea Green Rob Hopkins Explains the Transition Initiative' or 'transitionculture' or 'transition towns' in a search engine will get you to sites that explain what I'm getting at.

I'm struck by how many pieces of the 12 steps Grand Rapids already has in place. Seeing the pieces as part of a roadmap to somewhere and something that we collectively want to get to is a very important part - starting with the "official unleashing". Unleashing is the 4th step of 12 in the Transition Town strategy.

To take this fantasy farther out - the old Davenport campus could be used as GRCC's Schumacher College division, which would be focused on the Great Reskilling needed for the transition and beyond.

Go for it.

[zenstyle]

Joy, it's interesting that you mention the Transition movement; The NY Times Sunday magazine had quite a nice piece on an Idaho town that is involved:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/magazine...ml?ref=magazine

Reading that piece was the first I'd heard of Transition, then you go and mention it on this forum. That's how a meme is born!

I'm following this thread with interest, bum-crawlers notwithstanding.

[PR-15]

Reminding you all that if you can make it down to Lyon Square for the 9 am announcement I'm sure it will prove interesting...and a nice turnout of people no doubt on a beautiful morning.

I'm not sure if cookies will be served...but if there are I'd suggest you get there early because I'll be able to find that table pretty quickly

[Veloise]

There's a Facebook page where anyone is invited to attend.

(more info here, frankly)

[radicaljoy]

Go for it.

Okay, with official permission, here's some URLs to make it a little easier to check this out if you're interested:

http://www.chelseagreen.com/content/watch-...tion-initiative

www.transitionculture.org

www.transitiontowns.org

There are 2 of the 12 Transition steps where Detroit is ahead of GR or in a better position:

Detroit just announced community currency and they have a lot of vacant land that can be used to grow food. We'll have to go micro-local and everyone give their yards over to food not lawn production.

Not that this is a competition. The more cities that adopt the model, the better for everyone, everywhere.

Zenstyle, thanks for that post. I hadn't (and haven't) tried to find out if there are any U.S. cities that are "official" Transition Towns (if there is such a credential). While it might be an ego boost or PR generator to say one is the first, having others as models is useful. I find the categories mentioned in the video 'WATCH: Rob Hopkins Explains the Transition Initiative' (first URL) amusing: about 200 UK town are "mulling", 12 are "fully endorsed".

[GRguy]

I have no insider knowledge, but think this is getting way overblown with optimism. An annual, several day event does not change a community and draw people from all over the world to live and work there. Sure, it can be fun, entertaining and fill up some hotel rooms, but the hype is leading people down a disappointing path, I believe.

It is great to have the family name where everything you say gets press coverage, but if he is really just trying to get free publicity by inflating the importance of this, it really is a jaded thing to do.

[Rizzo]

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/ind...uncement_b.html

"It is expected to be part of ongoing efforts by local leaders to project a progressive, hip image of Grand Rapids that will make it a more attractive place for young, creative people to live and work."

I suppose with enough money you can buy any image you want but I've never associated any of the Amway clan with progressive or hip. (Not that I am young or particularly progressive or hip either.)

In fact I think that up till now at least they probably scare away from the area as many progressive hip "young creative people" as they might attract here with jobs.

Speak in anonymity

Opt to quell speculation with more crack

We have to give a hand to the folks behind the roll out of this.

Edited April 22, 2009 by Rizzo

[sonic]

Okay, with official permission, here's some URLs to make it a little easier to check this out if you're interested:

http://www.chelseagreen.com/content/watch-...tion-initiative

www.transitionculture.org

www.transitiontowns.org

There are 2 of the 12 Transition steps where Detroit is ahead of GR or in a better position:

Detroit just announced community currency and they have a lot of vacant land that can be used to grow food. We'll have to go micro-local and everyone give their yards over to food not lawn production.

Not that this is a competition. The more cities that adopt the model, the better for everyone, everywhere.

Zenstyle, thanks for that post. I hadn't (and haven't) tried to find out if there are any U.S. cities that are "official" Transition Towns (if there is such a credential). While it might be an ego boost or PR generator to say one is the first, having others as models is useful. I find the categories mentioned in the video 'WATCH: Rob Hopkins Explains the Transition Initiative' (first URL) amusing: about 200 UK town are "mulling", 12 are "fully endorsed".

While I highly doubt that's what will be anounced, I am quite intrigued by this vision of the future. In many ways it seems a mix of Rousseau, Marx, Bakunin etc...

[radicaljoy]

Reminding you all that if you can make it down to Lyon Square for the 9 am announcement I'm sure it will prove interesting...and a nice turnout of people no doubt on a beautiful morning.

I'm not sure if cookies will be served...but if there are I'd suggest you get there early because I'll be able to find that table pretty quickly

Here's my plan, I'll bring ice cream in case there are cookies. I'll toss the ice cream in the other direction, then run for the cookies. I know you'll go for the ice cream.

Edited April 22, 2009 by radicaljoy

[rocknsixth]

David Bailey from TV 3 says it's an art show competition... $500,000 prize.

Big Whoop

Suck it Suzy.