The Empowerment Plan

http://www.empowermentplan.org/

Chip Thomas

http://jetsonorama.net

Bansky Rides Again

New work by Banksy spotted in South Brooklyn. - More info, pics, and video @ Gothamist

Rirkrit Tiravanija

Rirkrit Tiravanijja talks about his work: http://vimeo.com/30460475

Minding Others Business

Cardboard bed by Leaf Supply

Minding Others Business

Design Boom posted this temporary shelter by Japanese architect, Hidemi Nishida.

James Mollison

JAMES MOLLISON Where Children Sleep

See Slide Show

Waste Land

Filmed over nearly three years, WASTE LAND follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of "catadores" -- or self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz's initial objective was to "paint" the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both dignity and despair as the catadores begin to re-imagine their lives. Walker (Devil's Playground, Blindsight) has great access to the entire process and, in the end, offers stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit. View Trailer

Spontaneous Combustion

LA 1992 Riots

LA Riots news clips

LA Riots - a summary

Contagion

Rene Girard, Violence & the Sacred

Rene Girard, Memetic Desire

Laura's NOTE: Aftermath of the LA Riots

FLASH MOBS BEFORE THE INTERNET

I was in living in Los Angeles in 1992 and experienced the violence and mayhem of the Riots up close and personal. Buildings in my neighborhood went up in flames, caravans of looters broke into stores, mass law breaking and violence was constant, and at least 50 people were killed. The media aired the violence and destruction 24 hours a day for two straight days. Numerous video records of it all are easily findable on the net today. But what you won't find looking through videos on youtube, is any documentation about how people came together in South Central LA in the days following the riots to help clean up and help out. These flash mobs were driven purely by memetic contagion toward the good - and being part of them was among the most powerful experiences of my life. The question I had asked myself over and again in 1992 was, what might have happened if the media had aired these events in equal measure to the violence? That question remains with me today - unanswered.

Art & Action

Following are links to various artists, designers, & groups whose work engages community.

Tim Rollins - K.O.S. click here for details

Mel Chin - New Orleans Project

Mel Chin - Art21 Overview

Blog4change

Rebuilding Haiti

Harrel Fletcher website

• check out The Other America and Learning About the World at the Grocery Store

Rirkrit Tiravana

Born Into Brothels

Mobile Homeless Shelters

Inhabitat Design

MIT Students build homeless shelters

Dean Kamen on Cobert Nation
ANTI-BULLYING Flash Mob

Signs of Mending: Yad Vashem

Here are a few pictures from just two of the many deeply moving memorial monuments at YAD VASHEM in Israel, The Hall of Names & The Children's Museum .

People Matter

Last April, 99 works of bloggers, media personalities, and infolebrities will be given away to those in attendence. To learn how this project was organized visit the web site of NICK RAD.

People Matter: Art and the Gift Economy

Tim Rollins & K.O.S.

TIM ROLLINS and KOS (Kids of Survival) origins and early years.

Tim Rollins NOW - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myrQFli-9t0

Bradley McCallum

To see more of the art of BRADLEY McCALLUM
Bradley McCallum & Jacqueline Tarry