Media Sponsor City Paper to Kick-Off "Green Month" with GA/GI!

This week, we got the green light from City Paper, Pittsburgh's leading alternative news weekly, who has joined GA/GI as an official media sponsor. With an equally rabid interest in spotlighting innovative people, projects and places, City Paper is the perfect addition the GA/GI Team.

"GA/GI will bring green technology to the grassroots community and will make robotics tangible for children," said Gina Mignona, Marketing & Promotions Director for Pittsburgh City Paper. "This event is just what Pittsburgh needs!"

The festival will create a community interest in the green and technology fields, and what it means to the average family. To reach out to the community, the festival will host informative venues, exhibitions, demos and art activities that can connect innovation with everyday people. City Paper will utilize the Geek Art and Green Innovators festival as the kick-off point to a series of month long green events happening around the city including those focused around Earth Day, occurring a few weeks later on April 22.

For more info and news from City Paper, click here!

Pittsburgh Filmmakers Give GA/GI Reel Support

CEO Charlie Humphrey knows about collaboration. That's why he's the running (literally) CEO of Pittsburgh Filmmakers + The Pittsburgh Glass Center + The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. Said Humphrey of the GA/GI Project: "Willingness to work together on new events like this is what makes the Pittsburgh business and arts community so special. We're all very Amish. And this will be Pittsburgh's art and technology barn-raising."

We couldn't agree more. With Team GA/GI spanning Pittsburgh for the products that best showcase the technology and green industries, we're discovering wonderful people and projects daily! The Penn Avenue business district is gearing up, too with a hint that the Glass Lofts-- the newest real estate venture by Friendship Development Associates--could be open for viewing and host a few of the exhibitions. In addition to the galleries normally operating during Unblurred First Fridays, businesses along Penn Avenue with space will be opening their doors and offering their walls for additional demos, art, and exhibitions coming into the community---like film installations.

Humphrey added, "The Geek Art and Green Innovators Festival will take amazing things happening in Pittsburgh, and make them apparent to the general public. It will be like taking a painting and turning it into a relief. Just because people have heard of something, doesn't mean they've seen it or maybe they want to see it again."

Modern Formations Ramps up GA/GI with Electric Owl Studios and Most Wanted Fine Art Scouts the Air Waves

"Whether it’s on the intimate stage, live music, or artwork hung in the gallery space, the goal is to create an atmosphere conducive to bringing interaction and discussion about the arts," the Modern Formations mission states in part. ModernFormations exhibits a diverse range of art mediums including modern visual art, performance art, music, plays, films, and literary readings. This in addition to the cozy couches where you can slump while enjoying the whole experience. For GA/GI, gallery owner Jen Quinio is expanding her 6th annual Spring Salon, a juried group exhibition of local art and artists with gallery visitors voting for their favorite choices and offering exhibition opportunities and cash prizes. All local artists and non-artists are welcome to enter. Modern Formations will also be hosting Fred Gallart from Electric Owl Studios, creators of interactive toys for children. For more information visit the site.


A few doors down....Jason Sauer of Most Wanted Fine Art is looking for a few good airwaves. He's invited students down from his alma mater Edinboro University to share the the good GA/GI vibes, deck out the gallery walls and he's working on having his own radio station for the evening of GA/GI, so he can update people and they can hear bands that will be playing in the area. "I'll be working on a system that goes at least two or more blocks," says Sauer of his technology experiment. And he plans to build the broadcast system himself.

Images from Electric Owl website and Friendship Development

Deep Local Designs for GA/GI Over Waffles

If you've never been to one of Deep Local's Waffle Wednesdays you are in for a treat! Deep Local describes themselves as an "innovation studio that helps companies rapidly develop and implement new ideas and technology." And they make darn good waffles, too. They were certainly at the top of their game when we approached David Evans, their Chief Technology Officer with our wish list for the GA/GI Festival. As our newest participant they plan to help us make festival-goers into event photographers, by setting up a system for coordinating camera phone images. The photos will actually be broadcast during the festival onto a large centrally located screen. Before taking two bites into his waffle, Evans had it all figured out. It happened so fast, members of Team GA/GI started looking around to see if there was an Staples "easy" button somewhere we could smack. We know of no place else where a full belly and brilliance are so wonderfully matched. Welcome Deep Local! GA/GI is happy to have you aboard. (If you'd like to witness genius over breakfast, attend the next Waffle Wednesday session on December 16, 2009.

Chalkbot: How it Works from deeplocal on Vimeo.