Creative Minds Out Loud

Episode 85: Innovation at the Edge

David Sun Kong is Director of MIT Media Lab’s Community Biotechnology Initiative; Founder and Board President of EMW Community Space, an art, technology, and community space in Cambridge, MA; a DJ and photographer.

He says there’s a disconnect between the life sciences sector and general public. His work at the intersection of art, science, design, and engineering seeks to “disrupt” our notions of science and the broader human experience of it.

He discusses his work introducing the human microbiome to the public through music and shares how community biology labs around the world are creating an infrastructure to support residents who are excited about science to learn about biotechnology, life sciences, and engage in wonderful hands-on experiences.

David Sun Kong is a Synthetic Biologist, community organizer, musician, and photographer based in Lexington, MA. He is the Director of the MIT Media Lab’s new Community Biotechnology Initiative. Our mission: empowering communities through biotechnology.

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Episode 84: Boston Ballet’s Business Plan Competition

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Max Hodges, Executive Director of the Boston Ballet, shares the story of a business plan competition (à la “Shark Tank”) for new revenue that engaged the Ballet’s entire organization of more than 500 people, including staff, dancers, musicians, and board members.

Meredith (Max) Hodges. Photo by Liza Voll; courtesy of Boston Ballet. Meredith Max Hodges—who goes by Max—joined Boston Ballet as Executive Director in 2014, and leads the company in partnership with Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen As an arts leader, Hodges has a passion for bringing a business approach to building audiences, broadening access, and supporting the creative process. Continue reading “Episode 84: Boston Ballet’s Business Plan Competition”

Episode 83: Engaging Diverse Artists

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Rosemary Tracy Woods, Executive Director of Art for the Soul Gallery in Springfield, MA, discusses how artists can plug into their local arts community and how a community’s efforts to engage local artists can be more inclusive, and ultimately more representative of all the people they serve.

Rosemary Tracy Woods, Executive Director of Art for the Soul Gallery, strives to embody the intersection of art and social justice. Growing up the only girl in a Philadelphia family with eight brothers, one of whom was the late R&B singer, Harold Melvin of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Woods was immersed in art from a young age. Continue reading “Episode 83: Engaging Diverse Artists”

Episode 82: The ART of Taking Risks

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The American Repertory Theater’s Diane Paulus and Diane Borger share how they think about risk, and what it means to have “high tolerance for disequilibrium” that permeates the entire culture of an organization. By experimenting with doing things differently, they say artists and arts organizations actually develop muscle and an ability to stay afloat in “risky water.”

Photos of A.R.T. Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus (r) and A.R.T. Executive Producer Diane Borger (l). Paulus' image by Susan Lapides. Diane Paulus is the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University. A.R.T. directing credits include ExtraOrdinary, Jagged Little Pill (beginning on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre in November 2019), The White Card, In the Body of the World, Waitress (currently on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, on US national tour, and in London’s West End), Crossing, Finding Neverland, Witness Uganda, Pippin (Tony Award, Best Revival and Best Director; opening June 2019 in Tokyo, Japan), The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess (Tony Award, Best Revival; NAACP Award, Best Direction), Prometheus Bound, Death and the Powers: The Robots’ Opera, Best of Both Worlds, and The Donkey Show. Continue reading “Episode 82: The ART of Taking Risks”

Episode 81: Adapting to Change, Not Just Fighting It

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Boston’s Fort Point is home to over 300 artists who produce work in a wide array of media. Jennifer Mecca, President of Fort Point Artist Community, discusses the huge changes this neighborhood has seen over the years. She shares how the artists’ community (one of New England’s largest) has evolved from being in “SOS” mode around artist space issues to becoming strategic and proactive in creating partnerships and projects to increase artist visibility and influence.

Jennifer Mecca is President of the Fort Point Artists Community. Her textile art has been recognized by the Mass Cultural Council, and has been shown nationally, and at local venues including the Fuller Craft Museum and the Providence Art Club. Since moving to the neighborhood in 2003, Jennifer has been a strong advocate for preserving Fort Point’s artist studios and for the role of the arts community and the creative economy in the growing Fort Point/ Seaport area. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Midway Artist Collective, Boston’s largest artist live-work studio building.

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