Issue 5 March 9, 2015
Exponential Thinking Agriculture
SHIFTS IN TIME & SPACE Australian choreographer and contemporary dancer Daniel Riley explained during our most recent MIX+PIVOT the concept behind "Sacred Shifts," the closing piece he choreographed for the Louisville Ballet's Choreographers' Showcase. The notion of shape shifting he said, "is fascinating because you shift when you are located in a new environment. For me I wanted to translate that into a new ritual and journey.? Similarly, people were required to shift in many ways over the past week - changing their clocks as time "sprang" forward, switching routines due to weather - shifts, both big and small are required everyday. It comes down to how we respond to these shifts that determines the impact they have on our lives and those around us. One of the goals of Project 6: Who's Louisville? is to inspire conversations that can lead to shifts in understanding, and awareness - and hopefully- shift our cities potential for further strengthening the creative economy. Artist Sarah Owens, who recently moved back to Louisville shared during her artist talk that a change in her body's response to gluten required a shift in her diet, leading to the study of sourdough fermentation and creation of a microfactory in Brooklyn, called BK17. Kasey Maier of Botanica discussed the shifts that the land, located at the corner of Frankfort Ave. and River Rd. has gone through over the past few decades, from development to landfill, and how the waterfront botanical gardens will again shift the use of this land to one that supports experiential education in coming years. From shifting people's awareness of creative placemaking to changing attitudes about artists' role in a thriving economy, we hope you'll join in the conversation during Project 6 and afterward through programming throughout Louisville. Josh Miller
IDEAS Theo Edmonds
Josh M iller
A creative chamber of commerce based in Louisville, KY, IDEAS was founded in 2013, and promotes artists as agents of change in civic and corporate settings while serving as a creative catalyst - enabling Louisville to move forward while succeeding socially, culturally, and economically. We are redefining what a chamber of commerce can be and do in the 21st Century by focusing on creativity as the fuel of innovation and people as Louisville?s greatest asset. The Who?sLouisville?Project (#wholou) is a two-month dialogue to further cultivate a network of allies, to have frank discussions and to promote inclusive practices for creating the best Louisville possible.
MIX+PIVOT
Co-Hosted by the Louisville Ballet
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IDEAS?monthly MIX+PIVOT on March 3 was co-hosted by the Louisville Ballet. The event included interesting and innovative pitches along with a performance from the Ballet?s 2015 Choreographers?Showcase, which ran from March 4-7. Speakers included Shelly Zegart of Kentucky to the World, Jessica Grace with TriCross Kitchen, illustrator and cartoonist Koren Shadmi, Amelia Gandara of the Releve Society, and Daniel Riley, who was brought in by the Louisville Ballet as part of the showcase. While natives and visitors of Kentucky know how wonderful natives of our beautiful state can be, Kentucky to the World is a way to show the rest of the world. ?Kentucky to the World is an organization that showcases the talent, ingenuity and excellence of the world?s prominent movers and shakers who claim Kentucky ties.?said Shelly Zegart of her organization. ?You will be able to have engaging interviews and profiles of the 17 pages of people we have so far.?The website also presents interviews, social media, and more about these great Kentuckians. ?It will benefit you by helping out with relocation issues, retention, mentorship through speakers and people on website, and for students to know there are people who claim Kentucky doing great things. Also a speaker resource and economic development.?continues Zegart. ?We have both the usual suspects, and the usual suspects. We are a small nonprofit looking for your help.?The website also offers speaker presentations to the public of Kentuckians doing great things around the world as a way to not just raise money but to encourage others.
Jessica Grace, a chef and dedicated athlete partnered up with Kelley Thomas to found TriCross Kitchen. ?We are a company that is centered and focused on preparing meals that are for athletes.?These of course can also be for anyone who just doesn?t enjoy cooking after a long day, but are prepared to include nutritional necessities. ?We work out, we train, and then come home and don?t just feel like cooking. We then had that moment where we realized other people must feel the same way, and maybe they also just wanted really good healthy food prepared and ready to go when they get home. If you are training, you are working out and what you eat is going to effect that. That?s where we think you will be successful.?The Paleo-focused menu will be released weekly. People will then be able to sign up and receive their food at different ?drop-spots?around town. ?We are active athletes ourselves, so we understand the need and importance of nutrition. Most importantly, we want things to taste good.?They are also looking for people to sign up and spread word of their new company. The third presenter for the night was cartoon artist and illustrator Koren Shadmi. ?Cartoonist is a little deceiving. What I do is work with magazines. I get assignments and editorial articles and then I have to find a solution to make them interesting.?Currently, Shadmi is here through XLerateART as an artist in residence with Metro Louisville due to his powerful illustrations and their ability to influence conversation. Other work done by Shadmi can be seen in The Wall Street Journal, VICE, Wired, and more.
A former ballerina, IDEAS board member Amelia Gandara of FirstBuild started the Releve Society as a way to support the ballet although she no longer practiced. ?Releve means to rise in the dance world. This is for young people who have something to give back. They get to attend shows together and get access to cocktail parties with higher level donors. It?s not just to get free wine it?s because we want to meet people who are the board members now and so they can give us examples of what it takes to become the future board members of the Louisville ballet, of Actors Theatre, of whatever arts organizations we each feel attached to.?Perks of joining include discount tickets, networking, and more. The final pitch of the night was from Daniel Riley. As an aboriginal from Australia, Riley came to Louisville to use his experience in dance from the Bangarra Dance Theatre in Australia to be a choreographer in the Choreographers' Showcase. ?There?s institutions in Australia where young, indigenous dancers can leave their communities, they can leave the red bush and long grass and come to the city and train to be dancers. Dance is such a big part of culture, it?s a way of storytelling. Not just of ideas, but passing down knowledge to the young generations so culture doesn?t get lost.?The very first dress rehearsal of Riley?s dance, "Sacred Shifts," was presented to the MIX+PIVOT audience. ?The work for me is about shape shifting. The idea to me is fascinating because you shift when you are located in a new environment. For me I wanted to translate that into a new ritual and journey.? ?I want to make it clear that it is not ballet. What they?ve done is physically shifted from something that is so clean and lenient to something that is so loose and boneless," Riley explained of Sacred Shifts, which departed from the traditional ballet form inspired by his contemporary background.
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AGRICULTURE W ITH SUMMER AUERBACH
Our fifth webcast in the Who?s Louisville? series included a conversation on agriculture with guest Summer Auerbach. ?Louisville is really creative and a progressive city that has a lot of great local businesses that has a place of sense that?s different from anywhere else," said Auerbach about Louisville. ?We have a vibrant scene of independent businesses. The sense of
few months and that turned into a few years and now it?s been almost 11 years.?Auerbach now serves as the head of her family?s business due to these difficulties and her success at overcoming them. ?It?s been a very rewarding and gratifying experience, and I don?t know if there?s anything else I could have done that would have been so fulfilling.?She says of her journey.
?It?s been a very rewarding and gratifying experience, and I don?t know if there?s anything else I could have done that would have been so fulfilling.? place is partially that.??Speaking of sense of place, your family has really helped with that. Can you elaborate on that??asked host Theo Edmonds. He is referring to Auerbach?s business Rainbow Blossom, a local natural food market that exists in 5 locations. The market was started in 1977 by her parents. ?Around 2003 my dad started getting really sick. After college my parents asked me to move home and take over the family business because at that time [a couple of national competitors] had moved in right across the street and we had fallen onto the sidelines. The stores were massively struggling and my dad was so sick we weren?t sure he was going to make it. I said I would help for a
Before moving back to Louisville, Auerbach went to college at Bentley University in Boston. ?You?re representative of a lot of young Louisvillians who have gone to bigger cities and have made the decision to move back to Louisville. What was that like??Edmonds asked next. ?I was always a very enthusiastic traveler but I always knew I wanted to move back to Louisville, it seemed like a great place to grow up and it seemed like the type of city where I wanted to live.?Auerbach replied. ?I lived in Madrid and Boston and I realized I wasn?t really a big city person. Louisville just felt like a place that I belonged.?
their businesses at a scale that works.? Edmonds?next comment was on local food as well as business. ?Without fail, everyone that comes and visits us is so surprised when they come to Louisville because it?s not like any place they?ve ever been.?Auerbach has also been on the Mayor?s food and bourbon council. ?We had a number of facilitated discussions on how to describe the food scene and it kept coming back to it being a surprise, but it shouldn?t be! We want people to come here because they know we have all these great local businesses. There are so many cool businesses and great businesses and I?m always amazed at how many people come here and love it. It does have to do with the quality and diversity of what we have.?
One thing Auerbach does hope to see is increased transportation in Louisville. "We could learn from cities in terms of upping transit and trying to make downtown more pedestrian friendly. Tarc is just not a very reliable way to get around town so I think if we want to make the large size of our city a little easier to get around more efficient transit would go a long way." Along with her store, Auerbach is is the president of the Louisville Independent Business Alliance (LIBA). As a way to celebrate local businesses, they throw two festivals annually. ?The first is our Buy Local Fair, which is at the water tower. We invite local businesses, artists, and restaurants all together. It started in partnership with the Louisville Visual Arts Association to pair local art and local businesses with local food altogether. We have close to 200 different booths set up. That has been a really fun event and it?s part of our public business campaign. Our other big festival is the Louisville Brewfest, which is held at Slugger Field Annually.?LIBA has two business campaigns that can be seen all around the city: ?Keep Louisville Weird?and ?Buy Local First.? ?With our work, we are looking at new ways to involve artists in businesses. You?ve been doing a lot of work with these for a long time. Can you talk about the relationship between art and business based on your experience?? Edmonds asked next. ?Art is really important to all business. Everything has to be created and designed. The independent businesses really give you freedom of choice. If you have tens of thousands of small independent stores then they can really interface with local artists. You can find products in our stores that you can?t find anywhere else in the world. That?s something I don?t think people realize when they shop at other stores. The businesses that are supporting local artists give more people a chance to grow 7 Exponential Thinking Issue 5
For Louisville?s future opportunities, Auerbach said, ?Kentucky has deep agricultural roots. We are surrounded by local farmers and people who grew tobacco and are now transitioning into growing other things. We are in a really unique position being surrounded by enthusiastic farmers that can help set an international precedent for local food. We are doing great but still have a long way to go.?Another program doing well is the New Roots?Fresh Stop. ?Fresh Stop is community organized CSA. This is designed for lower income families so there?s a reduced rate and you can decide a week before. There are community leaders at these areas and they are teaching people how to use it. It?s a great way to increase access to fresh food in areas that wouldn?t really have it.? This concept goes right with Auerbach?s philosophy for Rainbow Blossom and healthy living. ?You feel better when you?re healthy and it?s really about doing the right thing not just for yourself but for the environment. It?s something I?ve really grown up with, but there?s so many large corporations using chemicals so for me it?s about transparency and knowing what you?re putting in and on your body.? Ending the discussion, Edmonds asked, ?What do you think our biggest challenge is to moving forward as a city??Like many Who?s Louisville? guests, her response revolved around civil rights. ?I think in the past couple years a lot of stuff has come through with segregation and diversity. If we could become more diverse neighborhood-by-neighborhood that would do a lot for our city,?said Auerbach. ?The good news for almost anyplace you go in the city this is at the top of people?s minds. It?s an active conversation for everyone. And when you see that kind of energy around a topic with intentional actions that change can happen, and it?s a positive thing,?said Edmonds. ?Louisville has a thriving scene of independent businesses and that?s going to continue to draw more creative?s here, which will only benefit the city.?says Auerbach. ?50 years from now I would hope Louisville has a lot of the great character that it does and some of the negatives will be different.?
Sarah Owens
BIOPHILIA, HORTICULTURE, BAKING & HER MOVE BACK TO LOUISVILLE
Her career started in ceramics, which she majored in at Bellarmine University. ?For the next few years I spent time indulging in the process of looking at patterns, textures, and forms that occur in nature through several different residencies. One was at Bernheim forest near Bardstown Kentucky.?From these experiences Owens returned to her home in Tennessee where she set up a studio to continue her sculpting. ?I realized about that time I had pigeonholed myself into a creative style, which as an artist that?s trying to make a living off what they do that?s usually a good thing, but what I realized is that I had a specific skill set and I wanted to expand on that. I started to think of different ways I could do that without sacrificing my passion for the natural world.? This lead to Owens move to Brooklyn where she expanded into the world of horticulture through a two-year program at the New York Botanical Gardens School of Professional Horticulture and how she gained her position as Rosarian. ?I was really living this amazing life as a gardener living in what is considered the center of the cultural universe, it was all wonderful. But I also went through a personal health crisis at this time, and it lead me to begin learning Sarah Owens about and using fermentation techniques to make my food more digestible and nutritionally available. So IDEAS?artist in residence Sarah Owens gave a presentation on her journey to baking through nature at what happened was basically I became an avid and the weekly cultural event on March 4. Owens is returning obsessed bread baker. I really started using sourdough as a natural leavening process and I got this product to Louisville to participate in the Creative Innovation Zone supported by ArtPlace America, after spending the that was not only digestible but really filled this need last 6 years working at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, that I had to have my hands in a malleable, sculptable where she worked as a Rosarian. She also owns her own thing called dough. I also had this full-circle moment where I realized everything I was doing had a direct microbakery called BK17, which inspired her cookbook response to nature.? called Sourdough. ?People started asking me ?why is it that you do what you do??A lot of people have known me as a creative person, a gardener and a baker, but through the way I?m working creatively all of those things are starting to come together,?Owens explained. She considers herself a Biophiliac, which can be defined as ?the innate need that we as human beings crave and desire to connect with other natural living processes and systems.?This term is evident throughout her sculpting, gardening, baking, and now writing. 9 Exponential Thinking Issue 5
Those who tried Owen?s bread kept requesting more, leading her to begin selling it to her community. ?What really happened for me is I had a way to support my hobby making beautiful things that were also edible. Owen'sof Bread What was really fun for me about that was looking at these beautiful processes, forms, and textures and translating them directly into the surfaces of the things I was creating. There are certain skills that you have to perfect in order to bake a loaf of bread. One of the things is you have to score the bread in order for it to open up in the oven and expand and become the beautiful loaf that we?re able to eat. I discovered I could do that in a way that mimicked the way that flowers open and progress.? Word of her bread began spreading, causing Owens to be approached with a book deal. ?What?s been really exciting is I?ve been able to bring everything into this project of writing the cookbook. There?s the botanical elements, there?s the inspiration from nature, the health aspect. It?s really been one of the most creative things I think I?ve ever done.?The book will be offered under the cooking genre, but there are several
elements and aspects that could make it versatile enough to be considered gardening. Sourdough will be Sarah Owens released in November. Owens?is back in Louisville to further develop her brand and offerings, including baking to fresh cut flowers, both of which will have options for people to subscribe to her services. As part of this strategy she plans to offer apprenticeships to the young people of YouthBuild and other organizations to develop the skill-sets needed to allow her businesses to grow. ?What all this means and why it applies to what I?m doing here is through the IDEAS residency I?ve been able to return to Louisville and work on incorporating all of these elements into one umbrella of Sarah Owens as a creative artist, meaning that I?m here focusing on trying to develop myself as a creative branding element so that I can continue to do all of these things here in Louisville and I can continue to write about what I?m doing. The really exciting this is that I can continue doing these things in a city that supports the creative arts and the lifestyle that I want as a creative.?
Bot anica
Waterfront Botanical Gardens
Willie McClain of Birdseye Photo
Part of IDEAS?Cultural Event for March 4 included a presentation on the future Waterfront Botanical Gardens. Presented by Kasey Maier, Director of Program Development, the audience explored the proposed site through a birdseye view video filmed by Willie McClain of Birdseye Photo as well as detailed concept designs and explanations of what can be seen at this beautiful site. Maier defined a botanical garden as ?a garden for the exhibition and scientific study of collected, growing plants usually in association with greenhouses, herbariums, laboratories, etc.? The Waterfront Botanical Gardens aim to transform 23-acres of abandoned land into not only a beautiful place for locals and guests to enjoy but also a learning experience for people of all ages. ?Botanica?s mission is to create a botanical garden and conservatory of extraordinary beauty that engages, inspires, and enlightens people about plants and nature through experiences that promote appreciation and understanding of plants for a more harmonious and sustainable world.? 11 Exponential Thinking Issue 5
The site of the future gardens is located at the corner of Frankfort Avenue and River Road. The site will be adjacent to Butchertown, Nulu, the Waterfront, and other developing areas. Previously, the area was a neighborhood with flooding issues preventing it from fully developing. The site then became a landfill after the city condemned it and then was capped off in the 1970s. The landfill will not impact the site?s potential per word of state inspection.
before,?Maier says of the learning opportunities there. The main one intended by the gardens would be environmental. ?The components of environmental education are awareness and sensitivity to the environment, so we can bring kids to the site and raise their awareness, the knowledge they need, the attitudes of concern and respect for the environment, the skills, and participation in activities in terms of the environment.?
?Why and how do we turn this 23-acre site that used to be a landfill into a resilient, educational, healthy, cultural, environmentally sustainable place with positive economic impact??Maier asks. The 23-acres will be jam-packed with activities, attractions, and unique nature not seen in Louisville before. There will be a parking lot complete with a miniature botanical garden, wind turbines, a plaza, a visitor center, a bike path, a lawn for events, walking pathways, and a children?s garden complete with muddy hands-on activities. Also several types of unique gardens will be planted as well, from a Japanese garden, a palisade garden, water-cleaning garden, sensory garden, and a labyrinth, just to name a few. ?The architects did a lot of work in preparation for this design. People wanted spaces where walking from one space to the next would be like walking in another room. They wanted spaces that were meditative, where they could go and sit down and not have to tune in to what?s going on around them, and to walk into a new space and see something different each time they turned.?
A recent passing of dedicated board member Dot Wade helped bring more value to the importance of education in this project. ?When I was writing something for the website in memoriam, I looked back at an interview with Dot and the list of what she was saying was ?we need to do a better job of teaching our kids about the environment, plants, and food.? For some reason, it had never stuck in my mind that that was her personal mission. Dot was also a member of gardening clubs and she was a well known teacher of flower arranging, but truly her mission was the education of kids. This is our opportunity to provide that facility near downtown to do a better job," shared Maier.
?I think that you can see with this plan what the opportunities are in terms of education. I see it as experiential. You walk up, and immediately you learn something because you see something you?ve never seen
Casey Maier
The master plan estimates expenses to be at $50 million dollars. Currently the city of Louisville owns the lot with the nonprofit Waterfront Botanical Gardens Inc. under a 5-year land use agreement until enough funds are available to fully purchase the land. The date to start the project is currently undecided due to fundraising. There will be three phases, each ranging from $15 to $20 million dollars. ?What I tell any audience that I talk to is that you are now ambassadors [of the gardens] and you have seen it and can talk about it, and I encourage you to do that.?
Koren Shadmi Artist Talk Wednesday, March 11 | 530-730pm Koren's "Op-Ed" approach to illustration makes him an artist acutely skilled at influencing conversations. Even in words, Koren challenges us to think.
March 9, 10, 12: The Awesome School: Coffee and Creative Placemaking 8-9am March 11: Who?s Louisville? livestream webcast 8am Cultural Event: 5:30-7:30pm | Koren Shadmi Artist Talk
March 14: AMPED Live Recordings 3-7pm March 18: Who?s Louisville? livestream webcast 8am Cultural Event: 5:30-7:30pm Artist Jakub Szczesny's ?The Louisville Table? Presentation. Also featuring art by Andrew Hyslop, Robert Mitchell, and Terrence Humphrey March 19: Manufacturing Roundtable 5:30-7:30pm March 20: Urban Matter, Inc.: Artist Talk and Launch Party 5-8pm March 21: AMPED Music Mash Up: East Meets West 1-5pm March 25: Who?s Louisville? livestream webcast 8am Economic Development & Creative Placemaking Roundtable March 27: Culminating Event 15 Exponential Thinking Issue 5
Koren Shadmi was born in Israel. At 17, he had his first graphic novel published a collaboration withone of Israel's leading comic book artists, Uri Fink. Upon completion of his service for the Israeli Defense Force, Shadmi relocated to New York to study illustration at the School of Visual Arts, where he acquired his degree and now teaches. Shadmi's books have been published in France, Italy, Spain, Israel, and the US. Clients include: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, BusinessWeek, the Village Voice, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Wired, Spin, ESPN the Magazine and Popular Mechanics.
M arch 20 | 530-730pm
Air-Bare
Launch Party & Artist Talk
Air-Bare is a data art project that visualizes data collected from air quality sensors deployed around the city of Louisville. Air is a prerequisite for human sustenance, and yet it is rarely discussed in an urban health context. This is mostly because air is invisible, and what cannot be seen or touched is easily overlooked. By making the invisible visible, we make the community more attentive to the air we breathe every day. An element of gamification allows the users to interact with the piece, and learn more about what causes air pollution and what can be done to reverse it on our end. AirBare is being created in collaboration with Puneet Kishor, Manager, Science and Data Policy and Peter Sand, Founder of Manylabs. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is generously funding the project. This project would be impossible without the support of Ted Smith, Chief of Civic Innovation at Louisville Metro Government and Rebecca Matheny, Executive Director The Louisville Downtown Partnership Corp. Urban Matter Inc is a Brooklyn based experience design studio that brings spaces to life by transforming environments into meaningful experiences through storytelling, data visualizations and participation.
Exponential Thinking Published by IDEAS
PROJECT 6: W ho's Louisville? Theo Edmonds
Co-Curator
Editor: Josh Miller
Josh Miller
Co-Curator
Contact: jmiller@ideaslouisville.com
Hannah Morgan
Project Manager
Contributor: Olivia Karem
Robert Mitchell
Graphic Designer
Chris Radtke
Exhibition Co-Coordinator
Peggy Sue Howard
Exhibition Co-Coordinator
Front & Back Cover: Photos by Josh Miller
IDEAS Funding Organizations - ArtPlace America - National Endowment for the Arts - The Educational Foundation of America IDEAS Operational Partners - YouthBuild Louisville - Residency Unlimited (Brooklyn, NY) Who?s Louisville? Key Collaborators -
LEO Weekly AMPED Kertis Creative Switcher Studio USA Image
Featured Artists -
Man Bartlett Koren Shadmi Jakub Szczesny Alex Schweder Sarah Owens Urban Matter Squallis Puppeteers Nora Christensen Shawn Hennessey Sarah Choate Beth Henson Robert Mitchell Andrew Hyslop Terrence Humphrey Lance Newman Leonard Bulletz Jenna Anklebra Jessica Bellamy
Who?s Louisville? Participating Organizations -
People for the American Way Bridge Kids International Kentucky Refugee Ministries Kentucky Center for African American Heritage Kentucky to the World, Inc. Metro Louisville Office for Safe & Healthy Neighborhoods XLerateHealth Louisville Commission On Public Art (COPA) TEDxUofL University of Louisville Center for Women and Families Steam Exchange Botanica GE FirstBuild Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft Beam Technologies Uproar Labs Louisville Ballet ACLU Fairness Campaign Kentucky Center for the Arts SpreadLove Enterprise Blue Boi Entertainment Wiltshire Pantry Signature Healthcare
Featured Musicians More than 20 musicians will be participating in the # WhoLou project. Music curators are AMPED. A complete list is coming soon! Zephyr Gallery 610 E Market St. Louisville, KY 40202 zephyrgallery.org | ideaslouisville.com