Premier Magazine PH Vol. 2 - Issue 9 September 2022 The Thinker

Pr emier SAPERE AUDE ISSN2799-0702 Vol. 2.9

SEPTEM BER, 2022 ISSUE

The Thinker, French Le Penseur, is a sculpture of a pensive nude male by French artist Auguste Rodin, one of his most well-known works. Many marble and bronze editions in several sizes were executed in Rodin?s lifetime and after, but the most famous version is the 6-foot (1.8-meter) bronze statue (commonly called a monumental) cast in 1904 that sits in the gardens of the Rodin Museum in Paris.

The sizeable muscular figure has captivated audiences for decades in his moment of concentrated introspection.

The Thinker was initially called The Poet and was conceived as part of The Gates of Hell, originally a commission (1880) for a pair of bronze doors to a planned museum of decorative arts in Paris. Rodin chose his subject Dante?s Inferno from The Divine Comedy (c. 1308?21), and modeled a series of small clay figures that represented some of the poem?s tormented characters. The museum, however, was never constructed, and The Gates were never cast during Rodin?s lifetime. Some suggestions of his vision can be found in the original plaster exhibited at the Musée d?Orsay and in the doors made posthumously. In these examples, a 27.5-inch (70-cm) Poet appears on the tympanum above the doors. The nude form is seated on a rock, his back hunched forward, brows furrowed, chin resting on his relaxed hand, and mouth thrust into his knuckles. Still and pensive, he observes the twisting figures of those suffering in the circles of Hell below. Some scholars suggest that the Poet was initially meant to represent Dante, but the muscular and bulky form contrasts with typical sculptures that depict the Poet as slender and lithe.

Rodin shows us that a great artist should be judged by what's in his head, and not what's in his hands.

ABOUT THE COVER ANG KIUKOK's Thinking Man This powerful painting showing a seated human figure engrossed in thought and set against an energetic crimson background is quintessential Ang Kiukok - one of the leading lights of Philippine figurative expressionism.

The painting is a highly charged presentation of contrasts, which is achieved by the rendition of the pictorial space as a smooth surface vis-a-vis the textured application of paint on the subject. The inner struggle that is presented here goes beyond the literal. In as much as the human figure calls attention by its sheer size and position on the foreground, the vivid color behind the subject does not allow it to dominate visually, maintaining its own assertive presence.

1981 Oil on canvas 81 x 61 cm (32 x 24 in) Source: Salcedo Auctions ABOUT THE ARTIST

©Avery Evans

Ang Kiukok was a Filipino painter known for his expressive, Cubist-like works. He often chose dynamic or disturbing subject matter, frequently depicting rabid dogs, crucifixions, and screaming figures in an abstracted geometric style. W hen asked why he often chose subjects full of such anger he once replied "W hy not?

Open your eyes. Look around you. So much anger, sorrow, ugliness. And also madness." Born on March 1, 1931 in Davao City, the Philippines, Kiukok gained both critical and commercial success in his home country throughout the 1960s. Some of his most gruesome paintings were made during the rule of Ferdinand Marcos, who held the Phillipines under martial law throughout the 1970s. Kiukok was awarded the title of National Artist by his home country in 2001, and continued to exhibit with success until his death on May 9, 2005 in Quezon City, the Philippines. - ARTNET

IN THIS ISSUE BEGIN W ITH THE END IN MIND We are on our 21st issue, and for a while, we thought sooner or later, we would run out of fresh ideas. But this is how we challenge ourselves.

Almost always, the best ones arrive at the last hour. That exact moment when an average day becomes a red-letter day. And why not? We believe that creativity shouldn't be forced, so we stop for a while, do something more creative like play a mind game or two; listen to some old tunes that change the mood; cook lasagna or visit the salon; wait for the sunset, take a long walk or watch the entire world crumble on social media and immerse ourselves in some of the meaningless banters.

Afterward, the flow continues, and we can come back and reconnect all the random ideas together. That's what most people would call "the process." The unpredictable wave of thought when you have called it a day, then that Troy moment arrives when you return to the table and put the puzzle pieces together. Just. Like. That.

We have invited our friends from Paris to enlighten us about critical thinking; Evrim Emir-Sayers is the founding and core faculty member of PICT (Paris Institute for Critical Thinking) along with her team. Expect to read more from them in future issues. Stephen W ilshire has long been recommended by one of our contributors from KSA, Weam Fageera, a subject she is more akin to. We have also highlighted the issue of neurodiversity with Jeff Miller, the Founder, and CEO of Potentia. These are just a few of what's in store for our readers. We encourage you to reach out and take part in sharing your story.

To the global citizens and organizations who continue to support Premier, we are more than grateful for your share of knowledge, talent, and time. You inspire us even more. It's an honor to face these trying times, knowing we become better humans when we work together.

More than anything, thank you for your continued trust and cheers to more partnerships!

The Publisher

Photo Courtesy of PICT

PICT, or the Paris Institute for Critical Thinking, is a volunteer-run, non-profit educational institute financially supported by a growing global community of members. Thanks to its members? contributions, PICT can organize free courses and events and expand its free, open-access library of resources, including podcasts, videos, and articles. PICT membership starts from 3 euros a month and is open to anyone from around the world who wants to join this global, critical community. Evrim Emir-Sayers, the founding and core faculty member of PICT, shared some of her time with us for a brief tete-a-tete.

We would like to get to know more about PICT. How did t he inst it ut ion come about ?

We are an international collective of educators, researchers, writers, and artists who are united by our love for the humanities and by our desire to bring the humanities closer to people?s everyday lives. Many of us also teach at universities, but we believe that interests like philosophy, history, literature, or cinema enrich our lives at every stage and should not be reduced to a few university courses which are, in any case, only accessible to a certain group of people at a certain age.

This is why we founded PICT? we wanted to create a space where everyone with an interest in the humanities, no matter their age, profession, or educational background, can find kindred spirits in pursuit of similar questions. We believe in education as a public service, not as a for-profit venture, so we created PICT as a non-profit association under French law, and our entire administrative work is done by volunteers.

We also believe that education should be independent, so we accept no corporate or state sponsorship and rely solely on the financial contributions of our individual members.

We started by offering free public lectures and a number of courses that are designed like graduate seminars at universities? maximum ten people per course, lots of opportunity for participation and discussion, and in-depth engagement with a specific topic such as a philosophical work or a genre of cinema. But as opposed to graduate seminars, our courses don?t follow a certain curriculum, so our instructors can pick their topics according to their own passionate interests. Also, our courses do not lead to grades, credits, or diplomas, which means we only get participants with a genuine curiosity for the topic.

When pandemic restrictions made in-person teaching impossible, we did not go into online teaching, which we don?t regard as an adequate substitute for face-to-face interaction. Instead, we started publishing free, open-access articles and podcasts, which can be put online without compromising quality. Thanks to this growing online library of resources, we were able to connect with many like-minded people around the world who would never have been able to come to a PICT event in person. Today, we organize in-person courses, public lectures, and conferences? mostly in Paris, France? as well as publishing various podcast series, blogs, and dePICTions, our own annual critical review.

Courses and Event s PICT organizes a colorful program of courses and event s: Public lect ures and conferences; Courses in t he humanit ies and art s; Creat ive w rit ing workshops; Children?s ateliers in chess, draw ing, and music; Educat ional w alking tours in Paris.

PICT welcomes part icipant s from all backgrounds, regardless of age or educat ion level. All PICT courses are in person and capped at max. 10 part icipant s. ©Mbzt

Crit ical t hinking is uncommon to learners and st udent s; w hat made you focus on t his?

It is so interesting that you say critical thinking is uncommon, when, in fact, it should be the central goal of education! But when most people think about education? and sadly, this includes most universities as well? they imagine some kind of training: something that you do, often quite joylessly, to acquire some specific skill that you will use at some point in life, most probably in order to make some money. This kind of instrumentalized, means-to-an-end approach to education is actually the opposite of critical thinking.

We love the humanities because they don?t let themselves be reduced to facts, numbers, or ?learning outcomes,?as so many course summaries put it. The humanities are all about a rigorous but open-ended engagement with subjects such as philosophy or art, subjects in which questions rarely have a final answer. The humanities are all about the process of thinking rather than its outcome. The humanities have the power to unite people, bring the most diverse groups of people together around questions and issues that are of passionate interest to us all as human beings. All this is why the humanities are the natural home of critical thinking.

©Juni Marie Benjaminsen

PICT is a ?young? inst it ut ion; most universit ies alw ays highlight t heir seniorit y and ranking in t he field of educat ion. W hat drove PICT to cont inue amidst everyt hing t hat has been happening now regarding t he economy?

Well, we are not a university, and we don?t want to be! The constant insistence on seniority and ranking that you so correctly mention is, for us, one of the main problems with education today. This insistence creates a culture of hierarchy not only between different universities, but also between administrators and professors, professors and students, students of different years, and people who have a university education and those who don?t. We think of education as something that should bring us together, not something that should divide us into categories and ranks.

At PICT, rather than create a hierarchical administrative structure, we make our decisions together in an anarchic way. We also have a very flexible attitude that allows us to evolve the institute in whatever direction seems most appropriate at the moment, for instance when we started creating open-access resources such as podcasts and articles during the pandemic. We want to retain this youthful spirit of anarchism, curiosity, and exploration.

W hat obst acles are you current ly facing, and w hat are your plans?

Our most immediate plan is to make everything at PICT absolutely free for all our members. All our online resources, such as articles and podcasts, are already free and open-access. Our public lectures are free, and we also organize a number of free courses each academic year. But we still charge enrollment fees for most of our courses, simply because we want to give our instructors fair compensation.

Our current goal is to get rid of these enrollment fees.

If our courses are open to all people regardless of age or education level, they should also be open to all people regardless of income or wealth. This is why we are in the process of shifting from enrollment to membership fees. PICT membership starts from 3 euros a month, and the support of our current members has already enabled us to lower the fees for most of our courses by more than half. Once we reach 1000 members, we will be able to make all our courses free while still offering our instructors the compensation they deserve? as well as our authors and podcasters, who are producing PICT?s open-access online resources entirely for free right now.

We want to give the lie to the so-called ?education industry,?which would have us believe that the kind of service provided by PICT is only possible if educational institutions aim for financial profit, are run in a hierarchical way, exclude learners on the basis of arbitrary criteria such as age, and make themselves dependent on state and corporate funding. Our very existence proves that none of this is true. To date, we have taught around 60 courses, organized more than 20 public lectures and conferences, and published over 120 podcasts, videos, and articles. We have done all this without receiving a single penny from a state, corporation, or other funding body, solely thanks to our members?support of our volunteer work. PICT is living proof that education as a public good, directly supported by and aimed at the general public, is not only possible but infinitely preferable.

Ulitmately, we would like to set an example for others to follow. What we do in Paris can be done anywhere around the world. We want to hear from the Philippines Institute for Critical Thinking!

Parisian bookseller in the streets of Paris near the banks of the Seine near the Quai Saint Michel streets. ©Eddie Junior

They say t hat social media is like a terrible dragon t hat flies over everyone and t akes over people?s lives. W hat is your st ance on t his?

Social media can be a very powerful tool for people to directly find each other, or anything they are looking for, without the intermediacy of some institutional gatekeeper. If not for social media, you probably never would have heard about our work, and neither would many other people around the world. But we should keep in mind that most social media platforms are private, for-profit enterprises. Your visibility and voice on these platforms are controlled by the platform?s owners. We are not just talking about politically motivated censorship, but the simple fact that the platform can artificially restrict your outreach, only allowing you to reach as many people as you are prepared to pay for. We have come to regard social media as a public good, and as a public good, we believe it should be taken out of private hands and controlled by the public.

You favor face-to-face or act ual interact ion over online learning. W hy is t his?

As we were just saying, the internet has many advantages. Replacing face-to-face interaction is not one of them. We believe that an essential component of education? its soul, if you will? only emerges in face-to-face interaction, in the flow of energy and exchange that happens in a room full of people who are willing to challenge and support each other in a spirit of curiosity and solidarity. We do not believe this magic can be recreated online. This is why, throughout the pandemic, we suspended our course program rather than shift to so-called ?online teaching.?But that doesn?t mean we are opposed in principle to people getting together online. For instance, our Student Ambassadors, who are higher education students from around the world, organize online workshops where they invite intellectuals to discuss their work in a small group that has studied the work in advance and prepared questions. This kind of trans-continental get-together would be very difficult, if not impossible, face to face, so in this context, ?online learning?can work quite well.

"People will always be interested in people." Jimmy Westerheim credits the success of this project to the nature of the human being as a social creature. We are inextricably bound to others, some directly and many less so. As John Donne once wrote, "No man is an island." THA continues to run on honesty, directness, and earnestness that creates interest in people on all sides --- from the people willing to be interviewed to the people who volunteer their time in The Human Aspect and, of course, to us, as readers and watchers, intrigued by the message and purpose of it.

The future of The Human Aspect is to continue doing what they're already doing and to expand into creating User Guides for professionals using The Life Experience Library with their clients.

They want to increase awareness and understanding of mental health through education efforts in our schools and used by teachers. Critically, they are increasing their ability to provide local mental health resources to those who ask for them and to increase accessibility by developing audio versions of all their interviews.

An alternative view of the Eiffel Tower ©Chris Karidis

EVRIM EMIR-SAYERS is a founding and core faculty member of PICT. Her teaching and research concern philosophy, particularly phenomenology, philosophy of art, and existentialism.

Evrim received her Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Amsterdam in 2018. Her M.A. and M.Phil. degrees are from the Higher Institute of Philosophy, Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium). From 2013 to 2016, Evrim served as Lecturer in Philosophy at San Francisco State University, where she taught on continental philosophy, existentialism, and phenomenology.

In the summer of 2013, she was a Research Fellow in Residence at the Netherlands Institute in Turkey (Istanbul).

Evrim spent the academic year 2012?13 at Princeton University, where she was a Research Collaborator in the Near Eastern Studies Department and a Graduate Fellow at W ilson College.

Evrim?s article, ?Gauging Proximities: An Inquiry into a Possible Nexus Between Middle Eastern and Western Painting,? was published in 2014 by the journal Philosophy and Literature. In 2008, she published Turkish translations of two dialogues by Plato (?Criton? and ?Lysis?) as part of the volume, Platon Toplu Diyaloglar? I. She has also co-translated the memoirs of Turkey?s first professional female journalist, Sabiha Sertel, from Turkish into English; the volume, entitled The Struggle for Modern Turkey: Justice, Activism and a Revolutionary Female Journalist, was published by Bloomsbury in 2019. Evrim is a frequent contributor to international conferences such as the Society for European Philosophy and the Forum for European Philosophy Joint Conference, the European Society for Aesthetics Conference, and the Annual Conference of the Society for Intercultural Philosophy.

In November 2021, Evrim co-authored the academic exposé, ?The Real Academy in Exile,? with David Selim Sayers for the PICT blog, The Faculty Lounge. Sparking a major debate on clique formation in contemporary academia, the article received extensive discussion in international media ranging from the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung to the state-run Turkish news agency Anadolu Ajans?.

MACHA (MARIA) MATALAEV is a founding and core faculty member of PICT. Her teaching and research concern comparative literature, translation studies, and classical music.

Macha is a professeur certifié who received her MA in Arts, Letters, and Civilization and her BA in Applied Modern Literature, both from the Sorbonne, where she is currently working on a thesis about the rivalry between fiction and reality in the works of Nabokov, Gary, and Cortázar. Since 2008, Macha has been active as a freelance translator? her 2015 book Valentin Berlinsky: Le quatuor d?une vie, an edited French translation of Russian cellist Valentin Berlinsky?s memoirs, earned her the ?Prix du Témoignage?at the 2016 Prix des Muses.

Macha is also a concert pianist, having completed her studies at the Regional Conservatory and at the Ecole Normale de Musique A. Cortot in Paris. Laureate of several international awards, she started performing with orchestras at age 15 and has since played as a soloist or chamber musician in various countries, including at the W igmore Hall (London), the Gaveau and Cortot Halls (Paris), and the Great and Small Halls of the Moscow Conservatory. In recent years, Macha has been active as an audience development manager, working for 3 years with the Secession Orchestra and the piano duet Berlinskaya-Ancelle.

DAVID SELIM SAYERS is a founding and core faculty member of PICT. He is a scholar of Ottoman and Turkish Studies with a focus on history and literature.

David is a Lecturer at École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (ENPC) and HEC Paris. His previous posts include Lecturer at Sorbonne Nouvelle ? Paris 3 (2019-20), University Professor (visiting) at the University of Vienna (2017-18), Research Fellow at Justus Liebig University Giessen (2016-17), and Lecturer at San Francisco State University (2013-16). He received his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University, his M.A. in Turkish Literature from Bilkent University, and his B.A. in Theology from the University of Cambridge. A native speaker of English, German, and Turkish, David has taught university courses in all three languages as well as French.

David?s publications include the books The W iles of Women as a Literary Genre (Harrassowitz, 2019) and T?fli Hikayeleri (Bilgi University Press, 2013) as well as the translated volumes The Struggle for Modern Turkey (Bloomsbury, 2019) and Muhacirname: Poetry?s Voice for the Karamanlidhes Refugees (Istos, 2016). His scholarly introductions to the work of Sabahattin Ali and Sabiha Sertel have been published by Penguin Classics and Bloomsbury, and his articles have appeared in academic and literary journals alike. David has also commented on Turkish current affairs in the media, including the ABC television show Good Morning America.

In November 2021, David co-authored the academic exposé, ?The Real Academy in Exile,? with Evrim Emir-Sayers for the PICT blog, The Faculty Lounge. Sparking a major debate on clique formation in contemporary academia, the article received extensive discussion in international media ranging from the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung to the state-run Turkish news agency Anadolu Ajans?.

Canning Rise, Fort Canning Park Tree Tunnel, Singapore

Photo by Kelvin Han @kelvinhan

HECTOR ?YUCA? ULLOQUE is a founding and core faculty member of PICT. He is a film director, director of photography, editor, and producer whose teaching is geared towards film professionals, aspiring filmmakers, and film aficionados.

Hector is co-founder of the film production company, Medio de Contención Producciones, with the historian and anthropologist Manuel Ruiz Montealegre. His first documentary, Hartos Evos Aquí Hay (2006), won the Best Documentary Prize at the Biarritz Festival 2006 and the Otras Miradas (Other Looks) Award 2008 from the Latin American Council of Social Sciences. The first feature film produced by Hector and Montealegre, Valley of Souls (Nicolás Rincón Gille, 2019), was awarded the Etoile d?Or for Best Film at the 18th Marrakech International Film Festival and the Special Mention of the Jury at the 42nd Festival des 3 Continents. Hector is also a founding member, curator, and programmer of the association Le Chien qui Aboie in Paris, which aims to promote and distribute Colombian and Latin American cinema in France and Europe.

Hector?s activities in the field of film education include organizing and producing the 2017 workshop ?Taller Filmando en Cuba? with German filmmaker Werner Herzog and the 2014 workshop ?Taller Filmando en Colombia? with the late Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. His 2014 collaborations with Kiarostami also include a master class with the filmmaker at the Jorge Eliecer Gaitán theater and a retrospective of his work at the Cinemateca Distrital and at the Festival Internacional de cine de Cartagena ? FICCI 2014. Since 2012, Hector has been developing Cinescuela, a project combining cinema, audiovisual education, and ICT (Information and Communication Technologies). From the time of its inception, Cinescuela has been implemented in several educational establishments, cultural centres, and over 1200 sites of the National Network of Public Libraries of Colombia.

KRISTOF K.P. VANHOUTTE is a Belgian philosopher with an interest in ?continental philosophy?? particularly the works of Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and Giorgio Agamben? and Church History, with a focus on the Early Church Fathers and Medieval concepts of the Afterlife.

Kristof is Guest Professor of Philosophy at the Pontifical University Antonianum, Rome, Italy, and Research Fellow at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. Having received his BA and MA from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, Kristof went on to study Spiritual Theology at the Pontifical University Gregoriana in Rome before obtaining his PhD in Philosophy from the Pontifical University Antonianum. He has served as Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of Edinburgh, UK, and is the recipient of the 2010 Essay Prize for European Philosophy from Kant to the Present, awarded by the University of Kentucky, USA. Kristof?s thinking and publications span a variety of genres and reflect his interests in ?continental philosophy,? patristics, theology-philosophy-politics interdependencies, educational theory, and soccer. His publications include Sulla ?vera?Filosofia ? Un?Archeologia della Filosofia Cristiana (On ?True?Philosophy ? An Archaeology of Christian Philosophy) (Lateran University Press, 2009) and Saramago?s Philosophical Heritage (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018 ? co-edited with Carlo Salzani). A particular research interest? described by Kristof as the ?Archeology of Forgotten Concepts?? has yielded the publications Purgatory. Philosophical Dimensions (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017 ? co-edited with Benjamin McCraw) and Limbo Reapplied. On Living in Perennial Crisis and the Immanent Afterlife (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018). Kristof is currently working on a multifaceted research project analyzing the contemporary implications of the ancient understanding of the concept of Heresy.

PICT Honorary Lectures I: Michael Barry, ?Matisse and Islamic Art,?Sorbonne University, 8 October 2018.

PICT Creative Writing Workshop with Amal Chatterjee, Mairie du Paris Centre, 31 May 2019.

PICT Aegean Summer School, Ayvalik, Turkey, 20-26 June 2022.

PICT Honorary Lectures V: Felix Ó Murchadha, ?The Shadow of Kant: Reconsidering the Modern Self,?Goethe-Institut Paris, 19 April 2022.

ROLLS-ROYCE REVEALS TRANSFORMATION OF W ILDLIFE GARDEN

©Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

?Today marks the successful conclusion of a project very dear to the hearts of everyone at the Home of Rolls-Royce. The Wildlife Garden, created when the site was first developed almost 20 years ago, has always been one of our most popular initiatives, used extensively by local schoolchildren, as well as our own employees. Now enhanced with a range of new features, it offers even more opportunities to spend time outdoors in nature, with all the physical and mental health benefits that brings."

Andrew Ball, Head of Corporate Relations, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

September 8, 2022

©Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has celebrated the completion of its project to update the W ildlife Garden at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood in a grand reopening ceremony.

©Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has celebrated t he complet ion of it s project to update t he W ildlife Garden at t he Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood in a grand reopening ceremony.

Occupying a small, secluded area just inside t he main gates, t he W ildlife Garden support s a w ide variet y of plant s, insect s, birds and animals nat ive to t he Sout h of England.

The rejuvenat ion, carried out in part nership w it h Chichester Dist rict Council and t he Sout h Dow ns Nat ional Park Trust , reflect s changes in conservat ion t hinking and pract ice since t he W ildlife Garden w as est ablished almost 20 years ago, as part of t he original landscaping of t he 42-acre Goodwood site.

One of t he project 's cent ral t hemes is 'rew ilding', recognised by conservat ionist s and bodies including t he United Nat ions, as a crucial tool in preserving funct ional ecosystems and reducing biodiversit y loss. Rew ilding involves ret urning land to it s former uncult ivated st ate, connect ing habit at s by creat ing 'w ildlife corridors' and moving tow ards a more nat ural ecosystem w it h reduced human intervent ion and management .

The W ildlife Garden is now one of 60 sites in seven corridors t hat toget her form t he St rategic W ildlife Corridor. This pioneering rew ilding init iat ive connect s t he Sout h Dow ns Nat ional Park to Chichester and Pagham Harbours, bot h of w hich have numerous conservat ion designat ions including Local Nat ure Reserve (LNR), Special Protect ion Area (SPA) and Site of Special Scient ific Interest (SSSI). Formally approved by Chichester Dist rict Council in 2021, t his is t he first t ime t hat w ildlife corridors have been st rategically included in planning policies anyw here in t he UK. As part of t he St rategic W ildlife Corridor, t he W ildlife Garden w ill play an import ant role in protect ing biodiversit y, part icularly honeybees, bumblebees, but terflies and ot her pollinators, by reconnect ing habit at areas previously fragmented by human act ivit y.

The updated Garden also incorporates element s of t he w inning design from t he W ildlife Garden Compet it ion held in 2021, in w hich children aged 5-11 were invited to submit ideas for new feat ures t hat would benefit bot h w ildlife and people.

Iris, t hen aged eight , created Tiggy Tow n, to help support t he UK?s w ild hedgehog populat ion, w hich is in crit ical decline. Her individual hedgehog houses, each w it h it s ow n address, have been lovingly made to her design by Apprent ices in t he Interior Surface Cent re. The depart ment has also produced beaut iful Bespoke nest-boxes for birds, bat s, dormice and solit ary bees and a new sign at t he ent rance.

Anot her of Iris's key design feat ures, 'hedgehog highw ays' in t he fences, are formed from recycled terracot t a pipes w hich have been cut in half to form an archw ay for t he hedgehogs to pass under. The Garden's cent repiece is a new pond, shallow enough for hedgehogs to drink from and bat he in safely, w it h a boardw alk enabling t hem to climb out should t hey become t ired.

Some welcome addit ions to t he project also included a new seat ing area created using recycled wooden pallet s, a new ly rebuilt ent rance gate and t he creat ion of a safe bark pat hw ay t hrough t he Garden.

Andrew Ball said, "This project is so full of posit ives, involving children's imaginat ion and creat ivit y, collaborat ion bet ween Rolls-Royce and our local communit y, real generosit y of spirit and a great sense of shared enterprise and teamwork - all in t he name of support ing our fant ast ic local w ildlife. We're part icularly excited to be part of w ider rew ilding and w ildlife corridor creat ion project s t hat support biodiversit y far beyond our ow n boundaries. This update w ill ensure t he W ildlife Garden remains a t ruly valuable resource for people and nat ure alike for many years to come."

Story of Gardening Museum

by Stonewood Design The Newt in Somerset, A359, Hadspen, Bruton BA7 7NG, United Kingdom

Hidden from view on the edge of a small woodland, the Story of Gardening Museum is a space of calm serenity that celebrates the historic Somerset landscape that surrounds it.

From a distance, the only hint of a built structure is a balustrade that runs along the edge of the museum?s grassed roof, where deer and other wildlife roam freely.

From here, a treetop walkway gently snakes down into the woodland, fully immersing the visitor in nature. The visitor catches the first glimpses of the museum?s glazed façade between the trees and foliage. It is an unexpected and almost incongruous sight to find such an elegant civic space hidden away in this remote bucolic setting. On arrival, elegant five-metre-high glass doors slide open to welcome the visitor into the reception and café space. The museum?s permanent exhibition centres on the history of gardening. The exhibition spaces offer broad views back out to the woodland, maintaining a constant dialogue between interior and exterior. The objects on display require no humidity or temperature control. The earth is used to insulate and heat the building through a ground-source heat pump, while excess heat from the server room is directed back into the earth; the exhibition spaces are heated and ventilated by an air source heat pump. The Story of Gardening museum won a RIBA National Award and a RIBA South West Sustainability Award in 2021. The Newt in Somerset was named RIBA South West Client of the Year 2021.

© Craig Auckland

© Craig Auckland

The Story of Gardening museum is located on the edge of a small woodland area within the wider visitor attraction at The Newt in Somerset. The museum is set underground with a long glazed elevation opening onto the adjacent woodland.

The roof is grassed and is inhabited by the estate deer herd. The museum has as low a visual impact as possible as one approaches it. The approach is dramatic. The woodland floor descends from the museum forming a dell at a lower level. This topography provides the setting for a treetop walkway. The walkway, called ?The Viper?, starts its journey at the museum roof level and winds its way through the trees..

The visitor approaches it at the northern end of the museum and walks through the tree canopies towards the entrance. As one weaves through the trees, immersed in the flora and fauna of the woodland, views of the museum are glimpsed at canopy level. The drama of arrival at the The Story of Gardening is set up by the juxtaposition of a civic public space which is located in a secluded woodland setting. On arrival at the entrance the walkway splays out to form a terrace and the museum reveals itself. Full height glazing to the front elevation is minimal and elegant.

© Craig Auckland

© Craig Auckland

During the day-time the woodland is reflected in the glazing. 5m high glazed sliding doors open to present the visitor reception and cafe. The permanent exhibition offers the opportunity to engage in a deeper exploration of the central theme of the estate, the garden. All the while, whilst enjoying the exhibition and the museum, the visitor can look back outside through the glazed elevation to the woodland right outside. The interior of the museum is a simple in-situ concrete shell.

Bathrooms and cafe areas display a continental style ?civic-ness?through the use of moulded ceramic tiles. This is complemented by a playfulness in metal coat pegs which are handcrafted by locals blacksmiths in a natural waxed finish to the theme of garden tools, flowers and insects. The southern wall of the museum, and the base to the glazed elevation are expressed inside and outside by the use of local Hadspen stone aggregate concrete. This material is being used elsewhere on the Estate and grounds the museum in its context. The contents of the museum can exist in a robust environment.

The internal environment of the museum is therefore more about sufficient fresh air and correct temperature for visitors than a perfectly controlled atmosphere more akin to other museums and galleries. This allows the cafe space to be an ?in-between? environment where staff and visitors may decide to keep their coats on. The museum utilises thermal mass from the in-situ concrete which lessons the cooling and heating load. A ground source heat pump with a horizontal ground array primarily feeds underfloor heating. A mechanical vent heat recovering system minimises the energy required to heat and cool air.

Curated by Paula Pintos MUSEUM : HADSPEN, UNITED KINGDOM Architects: Stonewood Design Area : 1000 m² Year : 2019 Photographs :Craig Auckland Manufacturers : Edgewood Joinery, IQ Glass, IQ Glass Roltrac mechanisms, MJ Patch, Sphere 8, Woodmace using Hadspen Quarry Stone Services Engineers : E3 Contractor : Beard Construction Planning Consultant : AZ Urban Studio

Stonewood Design received a RIBA National Award, for their project Myrtle Cottage Garden Studio in 2015. This award celebrates architecture of the very highest level.

The project demonstrates a sensitive approach to a beautiful landscape setting.

They were named BD Small Project Architect of the Year 2016.

In 2019 they received a RIBA National Award for Kingswood Preparatory School and Nursery as well as a RIBA South West Project Architect of the Year Award.

In 2021 they won a RIBA National Award and a RIBA South West Sustainability Award for the Story of Gardening museum. The same project is currently among the World Architecture News Awards - shortlisted entries for Civic Libraries and Museums of 2022. https:// www.stonewooddesign.co.uk/ Photo by Stonewood Design Co UK

© Craig Auckland

Prem ierR ecom m endstheClassics

W hen it comes to critical thinking there's only one female that will always come into our minds.

Marie Curie Paved the way for x-rays and cancer treatment; her sense that pitchblende must include unknown radioactive elements led to the discovery of polonium and radium.

If you take one critical thinking tip from Marie Curie, make it?

Critical thinking is nothing to do with negativity or nitpicking. It ?s about asking quest ions? t he right quest ions. It?s about not accepting things on trust.

Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout

by Lauren Redniss

Photo by hub.jhu.edu

Roger Brunyate, artistic director emeritus of the Opera Department at Johns Hopkins' Peabody Institute, where he's been on faculty since 1980, He has an unconventional path to becoming an esteemed opera director, librettist, and teacher. Born in Northern Ireland and educated in England, Brunyate studied classics and science before earning degrees in English and fine arts from Cambridge University, all while pursuing music on his own, and finally devoting himself to opera full time in the 1960s.

He emigrated to the United States in 1972 to teach at Florida State University. Since coming to Peabody and in 1985 creating the Opera Étude program that creates new works through collaborative workshops with young composers and singers, he says the greatest things that he's learned over the past 40 years have emerged through the challenges of teaching his art. It's an impressive career for a man who describes himself as a "perpetual amateur."- JHU

Way Out side t he Box A Review on Lauren Redniss' RADIOACTIVE

by Roger Brunyate So I order t his to read for our book club, t hinking it would be just a normal account of t he Curies' discovery of radioact ivit y. The book arrives. Surely t here must be some mist ake; t his looks like somet hing for children? pages filled w it h big colored illust rat ions mingled w it h occasional paragraphs of handw rit ten text . But no, w hile often childlike, t he book is never childish. And t he mixt ure of media gives only a hint of how w idely aut hor-art ist Lauren Redniss has foraged to fill her cornucopia of art , science, and history.

She st art s by apologizing to Marie Curie for ignoring her insistence t hat "t here is no connect ion bet ween my scient ific work and t he fact s of private life." Not only does she make such a connect ion, she glories in it . Look at t he chapter headings of t he first part : Symmet ry, Magnet ism, Fusion? scient ific terms, but also personal ones. In t he opening chapter, Redniss port rays t he separate lives of Pierre and Marie in symmet ry, on opposite pages, before show ing t he magnet ism t hat drew t hem toget her as a couple, and t he fusion t hat produced a child. But she also tells us of Pierre's work on t he symmet ry of cryst als, and Marie's on magnet ism and radiat ion. The quest ion of atomic fusion (and fission) lies far in t he fut ure.

But Redniss goes t here too. At t he very end of t he first part , amid draw ings of Marie and Pierre embracing in t heir laboratory, she has t he words: "The new science needed a name." Turn t he page to a double spread glow ing in a muted cloudburst , cont aining only t he words, "I coined t he term radioact ivit y." Then look again, and you realize t hat t he cloudburst is really an atomic blast? not at all in your face, but lurking t here as a t hreat .

Alt hough t he longer second part cont inues w it h t he story of t he Curies, it st rikes off sparks in many ot her direct ions: spirit ualism, for example, t he dancer Loïe Fuller, a list of famous Poles.

A photograph of a man receiving radium t reat ment for a t umor in 1920 is juxt aposed w it h t he first-hand account of a t umor survivor in 2001. Soon, we are jumping to Chernobyl, t he Manhat t an Project , and Three-Mile Island, and each t ime Redniss finds some unexpected w it ness to bring her message home. An FBI surveillance report ; photos of t he mut ant zinnias and roses found near Harrisburg; t he report s of a biologist st udying w ildlife in t he Ukraine.

One of t he most effect ive spreads in t he book is also t he simplest , a black paper cutout used by a survivor of Hiroshima to show how her fat her's blackened skin peeled aw ay at a touch.

"A t ale of love and fallout ," says t he subt it le. Not hing is predict able, neit her t he great discoveries nor t heir unexpected consequences, and love is t he least logical t hing of all. So by jumping around in subject and t ime, Redniss is only celebrat ing t he power of surprise. She is t hinking out side t he box, w ay out side. The skill w it h w hich she balances t he glory of t he Curies' discoveries and t heir cont inued benefit s against t heir terrible consequences would be remarkable even in a book t hat w as all text . But t he illust rat ions offer a furt her layer of unpredict abilit y. In almost no case does she simply illust rate t he act ion; her draw ings are bold, somew hat expressionist , even dist urbing. I can't say t hat I like t hem as art , but as a const ant ly shift ing mat rix for a subject t hat refuses to be pinned dow n, t heir effect is powerful indeed.

My only real complaint is t hat patches on t he hard cover are printed in slight ly raised ink like fine sandpaper, t hat you fear coming off on your hands. But close t he cover and put out t he light s, and you w ill see t heir purpose: t he book literally glow s in t he dark!

Critically acclaimed for her role as Marie Curie, she recently had netizens attention on her as she shared her monologue on Instagram during the Queen's funeral. And just like the roles she played , her admiration for the Queen left her awestruck , repeating the words dignified and grace to describe what her family witnessed at the time.

Rosamund Pike and the characters she brought to life. ?I took my children out to of school to watch the funeral, livestreamed by the BBC. The coverage, as I?m sure you?ll all agree, was exemplary and an example of what British broadcasters can do best." https:// www.instagram.com/ p/ CisVp80KZaM/ Photo by empireonline.com

Photo by Alexander Mcqueen

Making a Scene

by Constance Wu Named a Most Anticipated Book by Time and The Associated Press!

From actor Constance Wu, a powerful and poignant memoir-in-essays.

Growing up in the friendly suburbs of Richmond, Virginia, Constance Wu was often scolded for having big feelings or strong reactions. ?Good girls don?t make scenes,?people warned her. And while she spent most of her childhood suppressing her bold, emotional nature, she found an early outlet in local community theater? it was the one place where big feelings were okay? were good, even. Acting became her refuge, her touchstone, and eventually her vocation. At eighteen she moved to New York, where she?d spend the next ten years of her life auditioning, waiting tables, and struggling to make rent before her two big breaks: the TV sitcom Fresh Off the Boat and the hit film Crazy Rich Asians.

Through raw and relatable essays, Constance shares private memories of childhood, young love and heartbreak, sexual assault and harassment, and how she ?made it?in Hollywood.

Her stories offer a behind-the-scenes look at being Asian American in the entertainment industry and the continuing evolution of her identity and influence in the public eye. Making a Scene is an intimate portrait of pressures and pleasures of existing in today?s world.

BioXp? 9600 system ? a fully automated, high-throughput benchtop instrument for synthetic biology workflows ? empowers scientists to accelerate discovery of new vaccines and biologics.

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSW IRE) -- Codex DNA, Inc. (NASDAQ: DNAY), a pioneer in automated benchtop synthetic biology systems, today announced commercial release and first shipment of the BioXp? 9600 system, a next-generation high throughput platform designed to revolutionize synthetic biology workflows. The latest instrument further accelerates the design-build-test process of research and discovery by building biology overnight and at the push of a button.

The fully automated BioXp? system enables scientists to overcome process limitations created by the turnaround time, cost, or complexity of alternative means of building or acquiring DNA and mRNA. The BioXp? system provides over-night, automated synthesis of genes, clones, DNA libraries, and mRNA, enabling users to more tightly integrate design and build cycles, driving greater productivity and reducing time to answer. ?Codex DNA is committed to empowering and inspiring scientists to advance their discovery of life-changing vaccines and biologics. We believe the BioXp? 9600 system, the third release on our versatile and powerful BioXp platform, can enable scientists to overcome inefficiencies in their workflows which limit their discovery. Demonstrating our commitment, we accelerated development of this system, releasing one quarter ahead of schedule,?said Todd R. Nelson, PhD, CEO of Codex DNA.

Photo by JINZHOU LIN

Codex DNA Debuts Next-Generation Automated Synthetic Biology Workstation ?The versatility of the platform enables us to release additional capabilities intended to optimize discovery workflows. Beginning in Q1 of 2023 we will release additional BioXp kits that enable scientists to begin the cloning, amplification, and mRNA synthesis process from the customers own linear DNA or plasmid DNA. We believe providing scientists the flexibility to begin with their sequence, linear DNA, or plasmid DNA, will further expand the utility, speed, and impact of the system,?said Todd R. Nelson, PhD, CEO of Codex DNA. About Codex DNA Codex DNA is empowering scientists with the ability to create novel, synthetic biology-enabled solutions for many of humanity?s greatest challenges. As inventors of the industry-standard Gibson Assembly® method and the first commercial automated benchtop DNA and mRNA synthesis system, Codex DNA is enabling rapid, accurate, and reproducible writing of DNA and mRNA for numerous downstream markets.

The award-winning BioXp? system consolidates, automates, and optimizes the entire synthesis, cloning, and amplification workflow. As a result, it delivers virtually error-free synthesis of DNA and RNA at scale within days and hours instead of weeks or months. Scientists around the world are using the technology in their own laboratories to accelerate the design-build-test paradigm for novel, high-value products for precision medicine, biologics drug discovery, vaccine and therapeutic development, genome editing, and cell and gene therapy. Codex DNA is a public company based in San Diego. For more information, visit codexdna.com.

The Paradigm Shift of t he Digit al Age Writ ten by Marília Matoso | Translated by Diogo Simões

Five Years from Now, W ill You be Working in a Profession That Does Not Exist ?

Imagine explaining to someone 25 years ago what the professions of social media manager, uber driver, or drone operator are all about in 2020. Technology combined with population demands, resource scarcity, urbanization, and other factors have created several new jobs and radically changed others. Research claims that 65% of children entering elementary school today will end up working in positions that don't yet exist.

IA 2016 World Economic Forum report found that in many industries and countries, the most sought-after occupations or specialties did not exist ten or even five years ago, and the pace of change is set to accelerate. In the old days, when you entered college and trained in a functional area for an available job, where you would spend most of your career. The paradigm shift of the digital age is far from practical knowledge about the ability to be fluid in your skill set and understanding. W hat will become of these professions when we talk about Architecture, Engineering, and Design?

W here Are We Going?

Architecture is one of the world's oldest professions. Although the formal degree of architecture did not appear until the end of the 19th century in England, by the time our ancestors piled the first stones to build a shelter in the Neolithic period, this was already an active form of construction. If we are to speak more formally, the architectural profession is very recent, less than 200 years old, and became famous when the first offices emerged. Groups of people who did not belong to the bourgeoisie could hire architectural and design services.

Architects have always existed, building palaces, temples, and churches. These people were not always architects but artists, engineers, or artisans. At the beginning of the 20th century, discussions about the formation of cities, major engineering works, and opening a university such as the Bauhaus (all driven by the Industrial Revolution) brought the architectural profession to another level. Since then, the world has changed a lot. The Digital Revolution and the Fourth Industrial Revolution have given new meaning to the careers of architect, engineer, and designer (which emerged less than 100 years ago) in society with new paradigms.

Should we stick to the classical training of the architect who builds houses with bricks, matches the wall color to the cladding, and scales the size of windows? W ill the engineer always be the one who calculates concrete and iron beams? And will the designer always be the one who creates graphic images or cool chairs? Aren't there other urgent and fundamental niches beyond classical academic training that need to be taken up?

Photo by Karina Tess

Skills, Not Degrees The future of work will not be about degrees. More and more, it will be about skills. And no school, whether Harvard or Oxford, can insulate us from the unpredictability of technological progression and disruption. Although our parents probably held a job all their lives, most of us have had multiple jobs and careers. However, shifting our focus from degrees to skills will enable a larger workforce representing our population's diversity, closing employment gaps. This shift will mean transitioning to an always-on, skills-based education infrastructure that encompasses credentials and certification and the ability for work and employment.

We need to understand that we can use spatial skills more abstractly to develop tomorrow's systems, working with other types of technicians and skills. We need to learn to recognize our abilities and place them in the world through the junction of different universes.

And wouldn't these universes be new market niches emerging with the various changes the world has been going through in the last 30 years? Having multiple skills will be essential to the future of work. We all have numerous talents, and no one is good at just one thing, but in the traditional system of education and work, we were taught to focus on a single target. We will need to be polymaths, that is, to move between different areas of knowledge, not being limited to a single subject.

Niches of the Future W hen I started Tabulla a year ago, I immersed myself intensely in articles, research, and books about the future of architecture, engineering, and design, new models of creation, profession, new modalities and niches of work, and the influences of technology on university careers. Almost a year of many posts later, towards the end of last year, I noticed a pattern: some niches seemed to be standing out and gaining traction, transforming the traditional way of what we were taught in college.

I started to gather all the articles and research. I identified 20 niches that were repeated in innovative business cases, in studies in the best universities in the world, and articles in the most powerful technology and creativity magazines. These 20 niches gave rise to Nichos do Futuro (Niches of the Future), my new ebook, which explores why creative work will change, why these areas have everything to succeed and why maybe you are an architect or designer who does not work directly on design: simply because the future is not just that. The end is vast, broad, giant, and full of opportunities and professions. These are the 20 areas that I cover in Nichos do Futuro:

Photo by images.adsttc.com

-

Justice Designer Virtual Retail Designer Food Architect Fiction Architect Self-Building and Social Architecture Manager Experience Designer Nature Designer Health Designer and Healing Architect NeuroArchitect or Action Designer Designer for Seniors or Multigenerational Architects Communicator of Spaces Design for Children Water Architect Drone Space Adapter Educators of Creation Past Searcher Precast Specialist Urban Tech Designers Smart Homes Manager Tech Artists

L eonar

ardodaV inci, alesson in perfumery The story behind the ?nameless?perfume, inspired by Leonardo De Vinci

One learns that the painter was dedicated to perfume thanks to Mara Pulli?s recent discoveries, a specialist of Leonardo da Vinci. More precisely, he tried to capture the essence of the plants. That is how she found out, in his notes from the Codice Atlantico, descriptions of the various methods of extraction, such as the maceration, and the « enfleurage, that he called ?modern technic.?For him, perfume acted as a treatment just as well as a seduction device. One can cite the Jasminum Officinalis, the Lavandula spica, and the citrus Aurantium among his favorite essential oils. He already, at the time, was using even ligustrum vulgare. These ingredients are still used today, as one can see. More, he became a garden designer of odors. That is why he designed a garden, a roof consisting of cedars and lemon trees. A green perfume would release mingled with the song of the birds, creating a synesthetic atmosphere.

The ?nameless? perfume, Emilie Copermann?s creat ion

Consequently, this « nameless » perfume had to express the eclectic and stunning Leonardo de Vinci?s spirit. He has been able to be enigmatic, highly spiritual, and even a visionary. It?s about this duality that Emilie considered attractive to put forward. W hat could have been better than the tree to illustrate this statement? For her, the tree symbolizes a natural element deeply rooted in the earth, with its branches orientated towards the Divine.

The choice of the oak appeared to be a piece of evidence. It is a grand, noble tree with the emblem of longevity. ?That is why my creation turns around this central idea while evoking an olfactory illusion, regarding the multiple interpretations, in the manner of Leonardo?s work,?declares Emilie. Eventually, notes of pink berries of seeds of angelic are there to show Leonard?s fantasy. The soul of the perfume is impregnated with patchouli for its deepness, of incense for the spiritual touch. Finally, the ambrostar, a Symrise captive, brings vibration and a masculine effect.

The « nameless » perfume flacon designed by Franz Degano

?The challenge was about capturing the multifaceted essence of Leonardo de Vinci?s work. Furthermore, the project had to enclose the esthetic of the Renaissance. To design this flacon, I smelt the perfume for a long time, and I spent many hours of study with Maria Pirulli, the searcher and commissionary of the exhibition,?told me, Franz Delano from Quinto Lancio agency.

The bottle's stopper had to hold a rebus to bring an authentic and modern message from Leonardo de Vinci. Maria Pirulli reports, "it is most probable that these recurs were usually used at the Milanese Court. Furthermore, some riddles were placed into ornamental clothes to pass on private messages for recreational purposes. Consequently, Leonardo de Vinci's enigmas reflect on the fundamental themes of the period. In effect, it is a key concept that Leonardo mentions in various texts while declaring that the thought can be painted".

For example, when an enigma contains a heart, letters ?ni,?and two bridges with three arches, ?the solution is revealed, by reading from right to left,?as the Master wrote, to be ?ponticore.? So, then, it takes a double meaning.

Associated with the perfume, the enigma takes the place of the fragrance, which reaches the heart and incarnates the essence of the creation.

It is a lesson in perfumery!

The design and making of of the flacon by Franz Degano Source and photos: Tatousenti

GUTHRIE JENSEN'S RESEARCH ON DIGITAL AGE and the

4th

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

may the fourth be with us We are now living on the World W ide Web, and as disruptive as it may seem, we have no choice but to adapt. But the question is, have we adjusted well to the rise of technology? Are we skilled enough to face the challenges? Here's what we found out.

Built upon the innovation of the third industrial revolution, new fields and markets emerged, such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, self-driving vehicles, nanotechnology, renewable energy, quantum computing, and biotechnology. W ith these, we need new or additional skills to survive in the workplace.

1. Complex Problem Solving - the skill to see relationships between industries and craft creative solutions to problems yet to appear.

2. Critical Thinking - ability to see data into insightful interpretations.

3. Creativity - random ability to build something out of ideas 4. People Management = People Skills for leaders/ managers 5. Coordinating with Others - effective communication & collaboration 6. Emotional Intelligence - the natural ability for empathy & curiosity 7. Judgment and Decision-Making - ability to condense a vast amount of data through data analytics 8. Service Orientation - adding value to clients in the form of services 9. Negotiation - the ability to come up with mutually beneficial solutions 10. Cognitive Flexibility - ability to switch between roles as needed

?The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.?

- Alvin Toffler, writer and futurist

THE TOP FIVE INDUSTRIES 1. TECHNOLOGY & COMPUTATIONAL THINKING 2. CAREGIVING 3. SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE & NEW MEDIA LITERACY 4. LIFELONG LEARNING 5. ADAPTABILITY & BUSINESS ACUMEN Photo by: John Moeses Bauan

Panoramic Drawing o

Photos Courtesy of Stephen Wiltshire

of H ouston

713

Stephen 2021

Stephen W iltshire and his

Beautiful Mind For over 30 years, the name Stephen W iltshire has been synonymous with finely detailed, vigorous pen and ink drawings of the world's great cities. This young artist produces energetic street scenes and panoramas that are immediately recognizable to his fans and much sought after by private and corporate collectors. Stephen's drawings ? often drawn from memory and at great speed ? are sketched on the spot at street level, drawn from the top of skyscrapers, or sometimes made after whistle-stop helicopter rides over the city.

Today Stephen is well-known the world over. His talent has been recognized with an MBE for art services; he has a thriving gallery in the heart of London, and the originals of his work fetch thousands of pounds. He regularly travels worldwide on private and public commissions, the most famous of which are his 15 city panoramas drawn from memory. Drawing street life and modern architecture have been Stephen's passions for as long as he can remember. His extraordinary talent is even more incredible, considering that he was diagnosed with autism when he was three. Stephen, born in London in 1974, was completely mute as a small child and found it hard to relate to others. At age five, Stephen was sent to Queensmill School, London, where it soon became apparent that he communicated through the language of drawing. His teachers encouraged him to speak by temporarily taking away his art materials; eventually, he uttered his first words ? "paper" and "pencil" (just like Picasso) - but didn't learn to speak fully until the age of nine.

Drawing was Stephen's passion, and he was seldom to be found without pen and paper: animals, London buses, cityscapes, and classic American cars were all sketched with increasing maturity as the years passed. Once the school started to enter his art into competitions, news of his prodigious talent began to spread. Early fans included the late Prime Minister Edward Heath, who bought his drawing of Salisbury Cathedral, made when Stephen was just eight. But Stephen gained public attention when the BBC featured him in the program 'The Foolish W ise Ones' in 1987 when he was introduced by Sir Hugh Casson (a past president of the Royal Academy of Arts) as "the best child artist in Britain."

"Do the best you can and never stop."

- Stephen Wiltshire

After that, Stephen's artistic career developed quickly, and his first book, Drawings, a volume of his early sketches prefaced by Casson, was published that year. Stephen's reputation grew worldwide. His first visit to New York was a career highlight; he was entirely captivated by the city's atmosphere, streets, squares, skyscrapers, cars, and people. To this day, the resulting New York sketches are among his favorites. Visits to other cities - Paris, Edinburgh, Venice, Amsterdam, Leningrad, and Moscow ? quickly followed, with Stephen attracting awed crowds wherever he stopped to draw. A second BBC documentary in 2001 showed Stephen flying over London in a helicopter and completing a detailed and perfectly scaled aerial illustration within three hours.

This masterful drawing of a four-square-mile area included 12 historic landmarks and 200 other structures and is a perfect example of his natural artistry and an excellent eye for detail. By now, Stephen's work was increasingly in demand worldwide. In 2005, he was commissioned to undertake vast panoramic drawings of ten world cities, starting with a 10-meter long canvas representation of the Tokyo skyline. Stephen subsequently took on commissions from Hong Kong - where he produced a 10-meter-long drawing of Victoria Harbour after just a 20-minute helicopter ride - Rome, Frankfurt, Madrid, Dubai, Jerusalem, London, and ? his spiritual home New York. Further trips followed to Sydney and Shanghai in 2010, Brisbane in 2011, Singapore, Istanbul, Houston, TX, Mexico Cit,y and Doha, Qatar later.

In 2006 Stephen was recognized for his services to the art world when he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire. That year was also memorable as Stephen and his family opened a permanent art gallery in London's historic Royal Opera Arcade. Today Stephen continues to amaze art lovers with his fresh, vibrant sketches of world cities, and wherever he goes, people are fascinated by his prodigious talent. Variously described by the media as 'the leading architectural artist in the world and 'the living testament to what can be achieved when the potential is realized and developed early on, Stephen enjoys accolades from all over the world. But perhaps he would enjoy most the description of one journalist who also noted his enduring love of music: "he is a rock star in the art world." At one of his recent exhibitions in Singapore, he set attendance records by welcoming 150,000 visitors to his venue in just five days. His motto remains, 'Do the best you can and never stop.'

This is how I roll

Much drawn in two days, Houston, Day 2

Houston signature moment

Drawing at The Galleria, Houston ELEVATE HOUSTON (TX, US) (19 - 23 Apr 2016) Stephen W iltshire makes his debut visit to Houston in April to create the most spectacular panorama drawing of the Bayou City live at The Galleria. (Feb 2016)

NOTRE DAME, PARIS Open Edition Prints of the Original Drawing Notre Dame, Paris, created and hand drawn by the artist.

Q & A with Stephen W iltshire How old were you when you started drawing?

I was three years old. My earliest drawing was recorded at the age of five.

W hat type of subjects did you draw?

I started drawing animals, aeroplanes before buildings and landscapes.

W hy do you like drawing so much?

I enjoy it because it makes me feel happy and lots of people enjoy looking at my work. It makes them smile. They always say how good my work is. I feel very proud.

Apart from using pen and ink, what other medium do you use?

I also use chalk pastels. I like to use it when I add colour to my work, it's easy to smudge in. I also use oil paints for larger work sometimes. I don't paint that often as it takes too long for the paint to dry. I much prefer pen and ink.

You are alw ays listening to music. W hy?

It makes me feel good, it helps me to relax while I am working.

W hat t ype of songs do you listen to?

I like mostly 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s music, rock n roll, motown, funk, soul, rnb and also pop.

W ho is your favourite art ist ? W hy?

Richard Estes. I like his work because it is very realistic and they are American scenes that I can relate to as they are one of my favourite places.

W hen you are not draw ing, w hat do you do?

I like watching sitcoms on tv in the evenings and listening to the Top 40 on the radio at weekends.

Sometimes I dance to get some exercise and I like going shopping with my family on my day off.

W hat are your favourite buildings?

I have several favourites, Empire State Building in New York, I also like Canary Wharf in London. They are modern blocks.

W hat is your favourite colour?

Blue.

How often do you draw ?

I often draw, nearly every day.

Having your ow n gallery in t he heart of London is a real achievement . How does it make you feel?

I feel proud of myself, lots of people come to visit my gallery from all over the world and buy my artwork, lots of school groups also come to visit. I come to my gallery twice a week and meet people and sign my autograph.

You seem to get filmed quite a lot . Do you ever get shy or nervous in front of t he camera?

No, I don't get nervous at all. I feel very relaxed and comfortable. Sometimes filming can take a few hours or all day, but I don't mind, I have a lot of patience.

If you did not draw, w hat do you t hink you would do instead?

I think I would always draw because I started so young. It's what I do best. I used to make a lot of mistakes when I was young, but I have had many years to practice, so I am a very confident artist now. I have had time to mature and grow with my work.

Through your journey w it h t he media and t ravelling to various count ries, have you met any famous people?

Yes, I have met Dustin Hoffman and was on the front cover of You Magazine. I have also met Michael Crawford at the 'Phantom of the Opera', he showed me how to put his make-up on. I met Junior Giscombe, he used to be a singer and Beverley Knight at the Hilton Hotel for Gibson Guitar event in London. I have also met Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace when I got my MBE for services to Art. I have read t hat you play t he piano. How long have you been playing?

I have been playing for over 15 years with my piano teacher Evie. She is great. I also practice at home at the weekends.

W hat is your favourite food?

Chicken.

W hat has been t he longest t ime for you to finish a piece of art work?

Eight days, that was in Tokyo when I did a 10 metres panorama from memory.

This is the longest panorama of all the ones I have done.

W hat has been t he shortest t ime for you to finish a piece of art work?

Two minutes, a quick sketch of a bus, also Statue of Liberty.

You were very young w hen your fat her died. Do you t hink about him somet imes?

Sometimes. I know it made my Mum feel very sad and she misses him a lot. We have many photos in our family album with my Dad photographed with me and and my sister Annette.

You are very much t he globet rot ter. W hat is t he best t hing about t ravelling?

Coming home to the UK. I enjoy travelling very much and seeing different styles of architecture, but after a while I miss my Mum and my bedroom, all my favourite American classic cars are in my room.

How did you realize t hat you had t his t alent ?

My teachers at Queensmill School noticed that I drew London Landmarks from memory. When we came back from the bus tour I started to draw what I saw.

They used to enter my drawings into competitions and I won them all.

W hen you fly over a cit y and you memorise it , how long can you keep t hese images in your mind?

I can memorise any city I like, buildings or anything really. I can still remember buildings I saw when I was very young, like five or six years old.

Words of inspirat ion?

Do the best you can and never stop.

W hat inspires you?

I like buildings, especially modern cityscapes and street scenes. I love the chaos and the order of avenues, bright lights of modern cities, the rush hour and the people. I think it is all exciting.

Tell us your daily rout ine I always have cereal for breakfast and choose what I want to wear for the day. I travel to my gallery on Pall Mall and draw there in my studio a few days a week.

Sometimes I work on commissions and give interviews for film crews. A lot of people come to see my work in the gallery. Sometimes I get invited to events and I get to wear my dinner suit. I often travel abroad as well. Other days I go to my college to use their print room working on new ideas.

W hat do you consider t he highest and lowest moment s of your art career?

When I was a young boy it was sometimes frustrating that I could not express myself and it was very hard. I am a grown man now and was very proud of myself when I met Prince Charles who gave me an MBE for services to the art world. He is a very nice man.

Drawn from Dawn Houston Panorama Complete

Stephen, are you left-handed or right-handed?

I am right-handed.

W hat are your favourite films? W hy?

Rain Man and Saturday Night Fever. Rainman because of Dustin Hoffman. He is a great actor, makes me laugh, especially when he says 'I am an excellent driver!'. Saturday Night Fever because John Travolta starred in it when he was young. I like the music from the Bee Gees and John Travolta's dance moves, which I sometimes do when I am at home.

W hen you t ravel w hat are t he most import ant t hings you must t ake w it h you?

My pencil case with my favourite pens and pencils, rubber and my London double decker bus pencil sharpener, also my camera, so I can take lots of photos of all my favourite things.

My diary, my iPad and my iPhone.

W here do you see yourself in 10 years?

I will keep doing what I do best, drawing. I might even get better by time. I would like to visit some places I have not been and one day would like to have my own penthouse in New York.

http://adhdsocphils.org/

JEFF MILLER POTENTIA Founder and CEO

THRIVING ON DIVERSITY Jeff Miller's life is the perfect example of an all-American dream. A beautiful family, an excellent job, and a better lifestyle than most.

His life changed when his son was diagnosed with autism when he was six. For a parent and a father, this is a traumatizing experience, but his true calling was just starting.

Giving up was not an option. He learned everything about his child's condition. He never left a stone unturned until he eventually understood how neurodivergent individuals could live and survive in the same environment as normal kids. He practically walked in their shoes to gain a broader perspective of life from their point of view. In other words, he walked the walk.

He founded Potentia with the primary objective to provide the workforce to companies staffed by neurodistinct individuals across the globe.

Ever since, it has become his one true calling, his mission in life. Adversity became a window of hope for the neurodiverse communities, and he has never stopped.

...and his mission made possible Here's our conversat ion w it h Jeff Miller, Founder and, CEO of Potent ia Neurodiversit y sounds like a very challenging word for t hose w ho are not yet fully aw are of it . W hat are your t hought s about t he workforce for t he neurodiverse communit ies?

Neurodiversity is a relatively new term for cognitive differences that have been around forever. People who are autistic, ADHD, dyslexic, PTSD, etc. may process information differently. They also make up more than 25% of the population and often have tremendous strengths, like hyperfocus, that can be incredibly beneficial in work environments.

A vast majorit y of organizat ions are not open to hiring neurodiverse individuals.

How were you able to create a niche?

Actually, we find that once they see the data, most companies embrace the concept of hiring more neurodistinct (ND) individuals. They also realize they have a great many ND employees who don?t disclose for fear of being stigmatized.

Are t here specific specializat ions w hen it comes to hiring neurodiverse applicant s?

Most companies come to us for tech talent because (a) they need it and (b) they associate neurodiversity, to the extent they are aware of it, with STEM (science, tech, engineering or math) roles. They are surprised to learn we have more non-STEM candidates and they are succeeding in dozens of roles.

Photo by Pawel Czerwinski

Where do neurodiverse individuals typically excel? Is there a training program for them?

ND candidates excel in ND-friendly environments ? as do most candidates generally.

Things like clear instructions and mentor programs are very helpful for ND?s but really benefit everyone.

The landscape for the workforce is changing, what do you foresee coming in say 5 or ten years?

Covid has really changed the landscape for employers and employees alike. More employers are asking ?what is truly essential to this job being performed well??

Companies are becoming more flexible on things like location and college degrees in order to get the skills they most value. Employees are much less likely to stay with companies that are inflexible or aren?t a core values fit. These trends should continue.

How can governments help?

Governments ca play a key role in helping ND?s to maximize their potential. It starts with good education that fosters learning and creativity. Governments can then invest to help their people to gain the skills they need. This is a much smarter investment than just relying on public assistance. Both play a role, but we want to see healthy individuals reaching their potential and contributing to society in a variety of ways.

Do you retrain people who hire them?

We prefer that most of our employees are ND themselves, so we certainly practice what we preach. Those individuals then train companies on what neurodiversity is, why it's such a business winner, and how to implement it smartly. These companies then become better homes for current or new employees.

W hat first few steps can you suggest for organizat ions to consider if t hey are exploring t he idea?

First, do a little research. There are companies, like Potentia, that really focus on this area and can share a lot of best practices. Next, look to create a culture where ND employees can come forward and support each other. They are your best teachers but many hide their diagnoses. If that is happening to you, there are reasons why and you?ll want to take concrete steps to be more inclusive and benefit from it.

They say t hat to underst and cert ain sit uat ions, you have to experience t hem yourself and relate to t hem. Does t his apply to you?

I used to run a global staffing company. I started Potentia because my son is autistic and saw the immense potential he has. With that said, everyone is different, including autistics. A diagnosis is just a starting point, never the conclusion.

Families have a significant role in support ing neurodiverse individuals and t imes are hard, w hat would be your message to organizat ions, communit ies, and HR pract it ioners?

Individuals need on-the-job support, but also support outside of work. Family, friends and organizations can play a huge role both in helping during tough times but also encouraging people to stretch. You never know what someone is capable of if they are encouraged and supported. Most ND?s really take off in their careers when they find a passion and turn it into a related vocation. But getting there is a journey that requires some trying, failing and trying again. Keep your level or support and your expectations high and you may see some amazing results. - PremierMagazinePH

Potentia?s Founder and CEO, Jeff Miller, has spent over two decades in leadership roles in the human capital industries. He was president of a global workforce firm that provided over 2,000 engineers, and field workers to industries including energy, aerospace, manufacturing, and technology. Jeff had full responsibility for the day-to-day operations of this international firm, reporting to the board of directors, and completed four acquisitions during his tenure.

W hat Is Neurodiversity?

Over 25% of today?s adult population is neurodiverse. Yet most businesses miss the opportunity to leverage this talented community fully.

Many people focus on the difference and ignore the incredible strengths these individuals bring. Organizations that have invested in hiring Neurodistinct professionals report lower turnover, higher productivity, and improved employee engagement. https:// potentiaworkforce.com/

ROLLS-ROYCE MOTOR CARS AND WORLD-RENOWNED ARTIST, SACHA JAFRI, ANNOUNCE ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM ?THE SIX ELEMENTS?

©Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Dubai and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Abu Dhabi, are inspiring greatness at its best by collaborating with the Dubai-based world-renowned contemporary Artist Sacha Jafri for the inception of ?The Six Elements?Phantom.

-

-

World-renowned artist, Sacha Jafri, crafts six hand-painted Galleries for unique one-of-one Phantom Series II motor cars, themed around the Six Elements Expressed aim of collecting $1 million for charities spanning three sectors: Education, Health, and Sustainability ??The Rolls-Royce That Keeps On Giving??: each Phantom Series II will have a unique NFT embedded within it, which can be sold to raise additional funds raised for charitable foundations

"?Phantom ?The Six Elements?is an idea that was born during an inspiring phone call between Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Middle East & Africa and the boundary-pushing creativity of Sacha Jafri. Through the collaboration between the Rolls-Royce dealer partners in the UAE and a contemporary artist beyond compare, art and craftsmanship have converged into a deeper, breathless expression of matter and meaning. ?Raw elemental power, encapsulated within pure artistic expression. ?The Six Elements? elevates the nascent legacy of the Phantom Gallery, commissioning an artist of utmost acclaim to distil the most potent components of nature: Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Air ? alongside a ?sixth element?: Humanity ? within the best car in the world. ?We understand that Rolls-Royce motor cars are designed for the few, but we are mindful of the many. That?s why Phantom ?The Six Elements?will raise $1 million for charity. Beyond that goal, the six utterly unique Phantoms will keep on giving beyond the initial charitable donation, thanks to a unique NFT initiative, providing even more value for the cause.?

César Habib, Regional Director, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Middle East & Africa

©Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Dubai and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Abu Dhabi, are inspiring greatness at its best by collaborating with the Dubai-based world-renowned contemporary Artist Sacha Jafri for the inception of ?The Six Elements?Phantom.

These six one-of-one Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II motor cars will each feature a unique, painted Sacha Jafri Gallery, inspired by the one of the five elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Air, with Humanity as the ?sixth element?. The project has the expressed aim of raising $1 million for charity, with associations to be announced later this year. The chosen beneficiaries will be Humanity-centric, spanning three sectors: Education, Health, and Sustainability.

Selected for his inimitable vision, style and use of colours, Jafri is crafting a unique Gallery for each Phantom Series II, themed around the Six Elements. The principle of adding Humanity as an element builds on the ethos of the British artist?s works around the five traditional elements. The underlying message is the need to reintroduce a sense of humanity to the world and to find balance within ourselves.

For Sacha Jafri, each of the elements evokes different emotions, spirit, energy and purpose. Fire represents passion and belief. Fire is balanced by earth, which represents grounding and roots. Air is the essence of life, enabling us to breathe. Wind enhances our feelings of freedom, whilst Water, supports our lyricism and fluidity. Humanity brings love, embrace, and the linking of souls. ?The six Rolls-Royce Phantoms will embody the emotion of each elemental force. The artistic journey begins and ends with emotion and intention, fuelling my inspiration to create the colour palette of the ?Six Elements?. Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Air are enhanced by the addition of a ?new element?, Humanity ? the very essence of life itself.

Rolls-Royce is a brand of intention, excellence, power, detail and passion ? a brand that has been on a similar journey to my own. It has set new levels of achievement, with pioneering accolades yet to be surpassed. By embracing empathy, we are able to reconnect the spirit of our world, in connection with our Elements and the souls of not only the individual, but of the very idea of universal consciousness.

We are embarking on a journey that aims to continuously fulfil those values, keeping our intentions pure and driven, eternally. This commission is indicative of these principles, not only incorporating art for the sake of aesthetic inspiration, but also a nurturing of the soul, an uplifting of the spirit, and the embodiment of a true charitable cause.?

Sach a Jaf r i, Ar t ist

©Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

THE ROLLS-ROYCE THAT KEEPS ON GIVING The Rolls-Royce Phantom ?The Six Elements?motor cars will also feature a unique digital element. The marque is simultaneously launching "The Rolls-Royce That Keeps on Giving? NFT initiative, which includes six individual flythrough animations.

Each time any of the six NFTs are traded, a royalty of 20% will be donated to the chosen charity. The six distinct one-off NFTs are linked to each of the six Phantoms, however, owners can sell their NFT separately if they choose to do so. These NFTs will be uniquely embedded within the glove compartment of each Phantom Series II, enabling each of the six owners to view their NFT experience whilst sat within their car.

©Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Prem ierR ecom m endstheClassics

In 1939, newly created British intelligence agency MI6 recruits Cambridge mathematics alumnus Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) to crack Nazi codes, including Enigma -- which cryptanalysts had thought unbreakable. Turing's team, including Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley), analyze Enigma messages while he builds a machine to decipher them. Turing and team finally succeed and become heroes, but in 1952, the quiet genius encounters disgrace when authorities reveal he is gay and send him to prison.

The Imitation Game is a 2014 American historical drama film directed by Morten Tyldum and written by Graham Moore, based on the 1983 biography Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges.

The term ?imitation game? comes from a paper Turing wrote in 1960 called ?Computing Machinery and Intelligence,? where he asks ?Are there imaginable digital computers which would do well in the imitation game??Turing then goes on to describe a game that is really a test to determine if computers can actually think.

In new era, Ray-Ban owner extends partnership with Armani

© Devin Avery

MILAN, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica(ESLX.PA)extended its partnership with Armani in a sign of continuity on Wednesday as it held its first capital markets day since the death of chairman and main shareholder Leonardo Del Vecchio in June.

The owner of the Oakley and Ray-Ban sunglass brands extended its licensing deal with Giorgio Armani's luxury group for a further 15 years.

The partnership dates back to 1988 when Del Vecchio and the renowned fashion designer teamed up to bring Armani-branded glasses to a global market. The move is widely seen as driving a revolution that helped to turn glasses into a fashion accessory rather than a medical device.

Del Vecchio, who founded the frame manufacturer Luxottica in 1961 and built an industry leader that merged with French lens maker Essilor in 2018, died three months ago at the age of 87. read more His right-hand man and chief executive Francesco Milleri immediately added Del Vecchio's role as chairman to ensure a smooth transition for a group that employs 180,000.

"In keeping with Leonardo Del Vecchio's vision, with Armani we inaugurate a new long-term partnership model that will anchor us in the same spirit for many years to come," Milleri said in a statement.

COST PRESSURES The company also said it was dealing with the impact of rising costs, in common with other businesses."Energy inflation is impacting strongly (in) EMEA which is important for luxury made in Italy," Chief Operating Officer Giorgio Striano told analysts.

The company had some protection because many of its frames and lenses were actually produced outside of Europe in areas where energy inflation was more contained, but he added that wage inflation was an issue everywhere.

However, Milleri said the company was not transferring higher costs to consumers through price increases because of efficiency measures it was taking. Milleri also took the reins of Del Vecchio's 27 billion euro holding company.

In addition to a 32% stake in EssilorLuxottica, the Delfin holding is a major shareholder in Paris-listed Covivio (CVO.PA) and a key investor in three top Italian financial companies Mediobanca (MDBI.MI), Generali (GASI.MI) and UniCredit (CRDI.MI). read more After sound revenue growth and strong margin expansion in the first half of the year, EssilorLuxottica confirmed in July its medium-term targets for an adjusted operating profit between 19% and 20% of revenue by 2026, up from 17% in 2021.

?For years I caused myself so much pain by wanting to be what my ego told me I should be. Every day I fought myself because I didn?t feel right. I skipped school every day for a year, because the thought of going made me sick to my stomach. Being around people, even my classmates I?d known for years, filled me with fear. I didn?t know what was wrong with me, I went to a child?s psychologist who told my parents that I was just ?spoiled?.

A few years later, at around 15 years old, I got depressed and wanted to kill myself. I played with the thought every fucking day. Every day at fucking fifteen years old I thought of how and when I should end my own life. I went to a psychiatrist with my mom, who diagnosed me with Asperger?s syndrome almost on the spot and saved my life by putting me on anti-depressants.

Today I?m the luckiest girl in the world. I wouldn?t change my life for anything, I am so grateful for every single person in my life and am filled with love by the thought of them, and heartbreak by the thought of ever hurting or leaving them.

I?m writing this because I know I am not alone. Boys and girls around the globe are living in constant darkness, children, who are living with something no one understands and they can?t explain. You are not alone.

Trust me, you are never alone. You are just the way you are supposed to be.

I know that life can seem tough, but trust me it is but a passing moment.

The strength to go on is so fucking worth it. Please seek help if you need it, no one will judge you. And why does what someone else thinks of you matter more than your own experience? I love you. Read the Untethered Soul?. - Nina Marker, most wanted Danish model Source: Elite Model , Italy

Pr emier SAPERE AUDE ISSN2799-0702 Vol. 2.9

SEPTEM BER, 2022 ISSUE