On May 20 I attended a conference, “Listening to the City: Engagement, Exploration + Intervention through Sound,” hosted by the MIT Community Innovators Lab (CoLab), LA Listens, and the Design Studio for Social Intervention.
Bio:
I'm a long-time resident of our fair city of Cambridge, MA, which I love dearly. Prior to becoming a NeighborMedia correspondent in 2009, I was already active in the arts community, participating in Cambridge Open Studios and in my local neighborhood arts association.
In my role as a citizen journalist, I've had the opportunity to inform the community about opportunities to participate in the rich arts opportunities offered by our city, through the Cambridge Arts Council and other organizations. This includes informing the community of upcoming deadlines for sharing artistic work - and encouraging ALL creative people, even those who may not think of themselves as artists, to participate in the yearly Cambridge Open Studios. My goal with these interviews/stories is to encourage Cambridge residents to expand their view of what art is and who is an artist, which hopefully increases participation in the arts.
In addition to increasing awareness of upcoming arts opportunities and events, I share stories about a wide range of artistic happenings including music, theatre, dance, visual arts, comics/graphic novels, and writing. My goal is to expand awareness of and interest in these artistic forms/events. For ongoing events - such as the week-long Together Electronic Music Festival - I both cover individual events and let people know about upcoming events, using Twitter and Storify, along with the NeighborMedia website and Facebook, to get more people to attend these events.
By constantly being on the lookout for interesting stories about our city, I've discovered, explored, and brought the community on my journeys along the African-American Heritage Trail and Women's History Walks. These journeys increase public awareness of the rich heritage of Cambridge.
