Recently when speaking with Washington decision makers, Google's statements (unintentionally) framed the relevance of "Cultural Fusion - art as philosophy" that will be moving forward with "Hotel Infinity phase1" (i will post an update on this in the forum for comment) to officially launch on the UNInternational Day of Peace Sept. 21, 2007. This will premier the first step(s) in the artwork to benefit Foot Steps for Life, the start of my quest to automate global social responsibility as a CRM Strategy. When Eric Schmidt talks, people listen and what he's saying needs to get your attention. Anyone who knows the value of art in society and everyone who doubts this to be true needs to pay attention.

Real World Issues:

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What is Cultural Fusion?

Cultural Fusion is an Art:Movement, an Art:Series and a Project:Gallery emerging from multiple encounters that include Attention:Dialogues, Source:Collaborations, and Business:Sponsorships as part of an inquiry into interdisciplinary models that engage all key stakeholders.

The Antiphon

Cultural Fusion is an Art:Series in response the Attention:Question,

"what can i do?" Inspired by the the Millenium Campaign

The demonstration project described is being used to develop a global resource specifically suited for the needs of a regional geographic approach to community development ICT that links online and offline events. The phrase "art as philosophy" is meant to inspire a move towards the humanities as the soul of community development. Of special interest are grassroots empowerment initiatives that facilitate non-traditional partnerships.

Furthermore this resource will have at the cornerstone community building tools expanding on existing CRM technology to increase the number of social entrepreneurs and populations actively engaged in the humanities and benefiting/learning from FOSS inspired models.

We start with art as a high value boutique market that is under served. This project also seeks to explore the role that social capital can play in enriching economic development. 

Global Social Responsibility 

The projects here are planned to benefit these core Organizations:

• Foot Steps for Life- a UK based charity that helps HIV/AIDS orphans in Africa specifically and impoverished children in general. I have worked with one of their board members Humanity:Bonny_Umeadi and we have discussed a long term connection between the organization, whose purpose is fund raising to support the projects. I am interested in developing the Cultural Fusion projects as a revenue stream for funding to support vital grassroots work.

• Empowerment Works- a U.S. based charity it provides the broad program synergy for the Cultural Fusion projects/mission. The Executive Director Humanity:Melanie_St_James is a kindred spirit in terms of her vision and their current work and programs seem to almost dovetail with Cultural Fusion community renewal project models that support awareness of the ecosystems in which businesses and communities have to thrive.

Empowerment Works (EW) is an international non-profit think-tank and implementing organization dedicated to advancing a collaborative, multi-sector model of sustainable economic development.

• iFOSSF (International Free & Open Source Software Foundation)- The purposes for which iFOSSF is organized are: apply thought leadership in support of innovation and creativity in development of Free and Open Source Software solutions for the benefit of the global community. Cultural Fusion seeks to develop cutting edge art projects that will beneficially engage FOSS technology in systems that will support automating global social responsibility as environmental/community renewal and economic development are integrated to build open source inspired models.

• Help2Read a literacy organization working in South Africa and seeking to establish new operations around the globe. The organization was founded in part by collaborating artist and founder of Passionism Humanity:Cat_Moss. At help2read we believe that education is the cornerstone of every nation, and reading is the cornerstone of every education. Established in South Africa in October 2005, help2read’s Cape Town office is run by Marielle Moss, Director of Operations of the UK based Moss Educational Foundation (MEF), which has been financing help2read in it's entirety. help2read is a South African charity based on the methods developed over the last 30 years by UK charity Volunteer Reading Help (VRH: www.vrh.org.uk).

The plan is that at least 35% of each project will benefit the above partnering organizations according the attention paid and direct assistance with any given event or project. For example at the close of an event the individual works of art can be auctioned off and the ongoing projects will generate sustainable revenue streams to support important work that is distributed among the beneficiaries according to the quality of attention paid to the projects success.

The Art 

This art series first and foremost seeks to encourage you to participate in a collaborative work of art that is evolving to create real world value founded on the idea of free art based on the concepts and questions explored using the projects outlined or highlighted in the Comfusion pbwiki site and here. One way that this project is inspired by the FOSS model is that the whole, the system can not be owned by anyone because it is the community that creates the greatest value for the end product(s).. it is, as the most valued art will be, a gift to humanity based on a core set of values and principles explored and tested in the context of artwork that is freely available to the global community, radically inclusive...inviting inquiry into ideas such as: what does a quantum leap in social technology look like? My guess is that Pras' work the social computer and Ron's with Attention, supported by Cultural Fusion Source art to provide context with the research and development support/guidance of iFOSSF.

How can you translate that technologically? That's what we're asking you, the iFOSSF members to help us question.

Model for Regional Approach

Using history and art, this project will offer a flexible regional ICT infrastructure for collaborative projects which will assist in digital transfer/upgrade of existing and expanded collections. Using diverse oral history sources as the focus, this project will increase awareness and training in the standards for collecting oral history according to the Oral History Association. In addition beyond merely archiving collections it will encourage and support their (digital) use in works of art.

The text in this post will help develop project grant proposals as well content in works of art that will include software. 

In researching this latest installment in the evolution of “what is peace?” i've noticed that information that should be a matter of public record is channeled to restrict/limit access in subtle ways. Is this intentional? What is public information? For example, try finding a list of the South Carolina state representatives of African decent during Reconstruction.

This has increased my interest in exploring exactly what (American) heritage actually is and the cultures that have emerged in the context created by and beyond it.The new question bubbling in my mind is….

Event Two:Oral Tradition Integration

Update July 2007:

During the weeks of July 16th-27th 2007 we are volunteering at the history museum to assist to research and develop a contextual understanding for the history of Fairfield County. We are working on the oral history project being developed by my Aunt Yvette, which will seek to accurately include the history of those of African descent for the first time in this county. So far (6/22/07) we've (my children and i) worked along side my Aunt Yvette, history museum intern Markita Minger, and a talented artist, Michaela Brown, to install video/audio editing software, start to digitized the audio and image collections for the project, transferred the video to DVD, designed the brochure for the upcoming Catawba Native American exhibit, and assisted with some interviews. Collecting oral histories is no easy tasks as most of the people we've asked have declined. i can only wonder why.

Blog note:

Something as seemingly benign as an exhbition brochure had a much broader context. I became involved because it seemed that those planning the event were completely oblivious to the tramautic and negative imact that the way the railroad expansion happened had on Native American people. The proposal had been for “whistle stop weekend” which felt like it trivialized the devastation this “fun passtime” and striking technological/economic advance had on tribes like the Catawba. And it was a collector of Catwaba pottery rather than the Catawba themselves who would be speaking about their pottery. After pointing out the insensitivity of this approach my suggestion of “Once upon a time in Fairfield…” was accepted because it provided a more honest framing of the exhibition. i would have loved to see a more inclusive voice and tone to the affair but that was not the approach the committee opted to pursue.

Update Continued…

This represents a firm start towards the online repository envisioned for this project. I envision it as an artistic collaboration to create a digital resource for the global community to study, analyze, contribute to and be enriched by.

July 27

I have some mixed media work in development that has been inspired by this recent trip. It will be included in the exhibition that accompanies the perform piece below. It is the basis of the installation that will provide the context for the piece below that includes the performance and ICT as part of the artwork.

Event_Three: Performance Peace- The Story

Creation and Performance of a piece inspired by my family's history in South Carolina. I have posted the start of this on the pbwiki page

See What-is-peace?