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The Twin Cities is host to a variety of local people and local projects that are changing the future for the better. Below are those individuals and organizations that have participated in our past events and continue to be a part of the Solutions community.
Amanda Luker - Twin Cities Open CircuitTwin Cities Open Circuit is a technology skill-sharing organization founded in 2007 with the mission of spreading the free and open source software movement. Free Geek is their newest program designed to help close the technology gap in the Twin Cities. Currently in the works, it will offer computers, education, internet access and job skills training to those in need in exchange for community service. Participants will help recycle and refurbish used technology, learning valuable skills along the way. The program is following in the successful footsteps of Free Geek chapters in Portland, Chicago, Vancouver and other cities across the nation.
Solutions v3
Ananya Chatterjea - Ananya Dance TheatreThe mission of Ananya Dance Theatre is to create and stage original works inspired by the lives and work of women around the world. The work of the company has evolved around two intertwined goals: artistic excellence and community building, which are accomplished through year-round training programs. Every project is built around the themes of social justice and the belief in beauty as a philosophical force, which generates well-being and healing. The company has so far produced seven concert seasons in the Twin Cities - No Downtime!! in 2000, A Wife's Letter, Dancing from Shadows, Bandh, Duurbaar, Pipaashaa, and Daak in 2008 - which have all run to full houses here and subsequently toured across the country.
Innovation 2008 Keynote Event
Andy Richter - Photographer In an attempt to open people's eyes to new cultures and ways of life, Andy has traveled as far as India, Thailand, and Venezuela. He has recently returned from a series of assignments in Africa, where he documented the impact HIV and AIDS are having on communities living along main trucking routes, as well as the community based solutions being developed there. His experiences provide a unique look into the roles artists can take in bringing humanitarian issues to light.
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Ann Klefstad - mnartists.orgmnartists.org is a thriving online arts community. It connects artists to each other and to art lovers statewide. With no other sites of its kind, mnartists.org is able to constantly push boundaries and explore new ways of strengthening the arts community in Minnesota. Believing that value in art is derived from the energy others put in to understanding it, mnartists.org is open and accepting to everyone. No jury and no censorship. With this approach the site and its editors are interjecting new ideas about creativity into not just the art world, but into the day to day world as well.
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Anne-Marie Hendrickson - Compatible Technology International
CTI's vision is a world in which everyone has adequate nutrition and clean water. Now in their twenty-seventh year, they have been working toward that vision by engineering, designing, and distributing culturally appropriate equipment and shared knowledge aimed at improving post-harvest food processing for small land holders in developing countries. Thousands of people's lives have been improved by the introduction of simple devices like burr grinders, driers, and even storage facilities. Our Strategic Planning is leading us towards an even greater in-country presence with locally sustainable manufacturing and distribution centers, employing people in developing countries to work on the solutions to their own crop processing opportunities.
Solutions for the Other 90%
Antonio Rosell - Community Design GroupCommunity Design Group is an urban planning firm specializing in bicycle and pedestrian planning, placemaking and urban design, and community engagement. They work with communities of all sizes to develop people-centered, asset-based and sustainable approaches to mobility and place. Antonio Rosell, director and founder, says that the purpose of the firm's work is to support the creation of humane, interesting, thriving and sustainable environments that allow our communities to grow and prosper economically, socially, artistically and ethically.
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Architecture for Humanity - Iowa Organizing under the name Architecture for Humanity - Iowa, a select group of students from Iowa State University in Ames are breaking from their traditional architectural education and tackling humanitarian and sustainable issues head on. Taking a look at past projects as well as projecting into the future, these students are looking to make a difference and bring awareness to important issues throughout Iowa and abroad, all the while challenging their faculty and the often conventional Iowa population.
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Arlene Birt - Background Stories
As the history of a food product becomes as important as how it tastes, how do we tell this story? Arlene Birt’s fascination in the complex and often hidden backstories of everyday products turned into a thesis project called Background Stories. This visual language daylights a product's life history in easy to understand, brand aligned, graphics - from raw material to store shelf. Going beyond trendy eco-labels that only tell part of the story, Arlene opts for full disclosure. By making this kind of transparency marketable, she is pushing for a whole new type of producer/ consumer relationship.
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Bruce Braun - Oil and the "Technological Unconscious"Scientific facts and moral appeals are insufficient to solve climate change because we fail to realize how thoroughly our machines remake who we are and what we love. Through video of Al Gore and others driving cars and insights from the neurological sciences we can begin to see that the act of driving transforms what our bodies are, what they can do, and the pleasures they experience. Bruce writes and teaches on the environment, technology and culture at the University of Minesota. He loves driving, even though he knows better.
Oil: A Love Story
Bryan Kennedy - Science Museum of MinnesotaBryan started off doing science, archean geochemistry to be exact, but quickly realized he had more fun picking colors for charts and maps then creating them. He snuck his way into a science museum where he taught kids how to program robots, design computer games, and model anything, as long as it wasn't a gun, in 3D. Always a computer nerd, he figured out how to make websites and then figured out how to program all kinds of other computer stuff to make interesting exhibits about current issues in science for the museum's galleries. Up next for Bryan: laser cutters, data visualization, and 3D multi-touch displays.
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Solutions v3
Cassie Neu - Architecture for Humanity: MinnesotaArchitecture for Humanity: Minnesota was founded in 2005 with inspiration from Cameron Sinclair's message that architecture and design could offer "solutions to global, social, and humanitarian crisis." With projects in Sri Lanka, the Congo, New Orleans, and Minneapolis, AFH:MN has been putting that message into practice on a variety of scales. Along the way, they have become a simultaneous bridge between design professionals, students, and communities in need.
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Cathy ten Broeke - Coordinator on Homelessness for Minneapolis and Hennepin County Cathy has spent the majority of her adult life engulfed in issues of homelessness. After researching effective strategies for ending homelessness around the country, she has come to the Twin Cities to head up Hennepin County’s Commission to End Homelessness where she has lead the development of great projects such as Project Homeless Connect, and Heading Home Hennepin, a ten year plan to end homelessness in Hennepin County. Cathy lends an important perspective on positive humanitarian efforts by our local city and county government.
Solutions v1
Chris Harrison - Cross References in the Bible & Biblical People and Places - digital prints
W(e are )here
Chris Wegscheid & Corrie Zoll - RoofBloom Instead of waiting for green roofs to come to the Twin Cities as a product for mass consumption, RoofBloom was created to empower individuals with the knowledge and materials needed to install green roofs themselves. A collaboration between the Minnesota Green Roof Council and the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, RoofBloom is taking action at a grass roots level, while focusing on improving the sustainability and effectiveness of green roof construction.
Solutions v1
Christian Trifilio & Jacqui Belleau - Worrell, Inc.Local industrial design firm Worrell, Inc. believes that at the heart of every problem lies an opportunity. A firm of creative problem solvers, they have recently collaborated with FilmAid International, an organization that brings entertainment and education to refugees in Africa, to develop a mobile movie theater. The Worrell/ FilmAid project was facilitated by NEED Magazine, after Worrell asked NEED if they knew of any humanitarian groups in need of design services. This 3 way collaboration is the perfect example of future positive creativity in action.
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Christopher Baker - Urban EchoUrban Echo is an ongoing series of interactive sound and video installations. Urban Echo seeks to establish an arena for creative public dialogue by collecting and creatively representing the questions, thoughts and imaginings of city-dwellers. In each installation, the public is invited to send their thoughts and questions via text messaging. The responses are the then projected and added to a dynamic spatialized audio composition.
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Chuck Olsen - theUpTake.org
Chuck is one of our most influential agents of change in the new media landscape. Creator of Minnesota Stories, director of the film Blogumentary, and correspondant for the popular Rocketboom videocast, he continually pushes the Twin Cities towards new forms of sharing the information and stories that are important to us. The UpTake, his most ambitious project yet, plans to nurture the growing corps of video focused citizen journalists forming across the country. When The UpTake asks "Will journalism be done by you or done to you?" it becomes increasingly clear that they plan to provide a pro-active alternative to the out-dated and out-moded big media dinosaurs.
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Dana Roskey - TESFA FoundationDana Roskey founded the Tesfa Foundation in 2004 with inspiration from his fiance Leeza Woubshet. A Minnesotan Ethiopian, Leeza died in 2003 in an auto accident before she could realize her dream of going back to Ethiopia to open a school for children. Because Ethiopia has no publicly funded options for pre-school or kindergarten, Tesfa has specialized in early childhood education. To date, Tesfa has founded five schools serving 800 children and has recently established a program in Addis Ababa for at risk teenage girls. As the organization develops, they hope to continue offering education and opportunity to children throughout Ethiopia and spread to its neighboring countries.
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David Boehnke - EXCOEXCO is a school based on the principals that everyone can be a teacher, everyone can be a student, education should be linked to social-movement, and that education should be free. Started in Fall 2006 as a response to a discriminatory admissions policy at a local College, EXCO strives to offer Twin Cities communities the opportunity to share and learn all types of knowledge. Moreover, they seek to support social change by providing an infrastructure through which movements can expand and people can educate themselves on the issues that matter most to them.
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David GoldesDavid Goldes is a visual artist and faculty member at MCAD. His photographs, often based on examinations of simple physical phenomena, are in many public collections including the MOMA in New York, the Walker Art Center, Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, and the Art Institute of Chicago, amongst others. He is the recipient of fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, Bush Foundation and McKnight Foundation. Educated in the sciences and arts he has a BA in Chemistry and Biology, a MA from Harvard University in Molecular Genetics and and MFA from SUNY Buffalo in Photography. This past summer he participated in the 9th Shanghai International Photographic Art Exhibition.
Innovation 2008 Keynote Event
Deanna & Roger Cummings - Juxtaposition Arts
Formed in 1995 and located off West Broadway Avenue in North Minneapolis, Juxtaposition Arts is a non profit whose mission is “to empower youth and community to use the arts to actualize their full potential.” As Executive and Artistic directors, Deanna and Roger Cummings have taken an interdisciplinary approach to creativity that channels design, art, textiles, and performance through hip-hop culture - broadening the spectrum of potential for urban youth and the community beyond. Juxtaposition's many projects, workshops, and events all work towards creating a positive street culture that isn't afraid to assert itself politically or socially, enhancing the vibrancy of our community and enriching all of our lives.
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Doug McGill - The McGill Report
In December of 2003 Doug McGill broke the story of genocide in Ethiopia, which he learned about from immigrant neighbors in his hometown of Rochester, Minnesota. This is just one example of glocalization, the tangible ways in which we can - if willing - span the bridge between local and global. Doug, a former reporter for The New York Times, is a glocal journalist, tackling the local effects of globalization and the global effects of local action in his freelance writing and new book, “Here: A Global Citizen’s Journey”. With a mix of “Heavyweight journalism, grownup political conscience, and wry Zen consciousness” Doug shares with us all what it means to be a true global citizen.
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Emily Pilloton - Project H
Project H Design is a charitable organization that supports, inspires, and delivers life-improving humanitarian product design solutions. It champions industrial design as a tool to address social issues, a vehicle for global life improvement, and a catalyst for individual and community empowerment and it encourages the reorientation of the design industry towards a more socially-impactful and humanitarian entity through a variety of Initiatives that include design thinking, production and distribution, funding, design academics, and local chapter projects. The "H" in Project H stands for Humanity, Habitats, Health, and Happiness.
Solutions for the Other 90%
Gabriel Cheifietz - 612 Authentic
612 Authentic produces media to connect people more strongly to each other and to where they live. Their short documentaries have won awards in 2005 and 2006 at the Media That Matters festival in New York, and have been featured in the Ironweed Festival, the Journal of Short Film and the L.A. Shorts Festival. Founded in 2005 by Gabriel Cheifetz, its creative director, 612 Authentic's three-person team serves local and national clients, including MinnPost.com and Current TV.
Solutions for the Other 90%
George Henderson - “Oil Science Theater”We begin with highlights from the oil-promotional films of the 1950s. They’re fun to watch and easy to laugh at. They’re also terribly close to home. (Hey, what’s that in your popcorn?) To see these films now is to look back and watch a habit forming. And not only that: it’s to viscerally grasp the early chapters of peculiarly enduring love story, the long-term partnership between oil consumption and the very idea of “Americanness.” George has been teaching in the Geography Department at the University of Minnesota since 2001. In 2006, curious about—and fed up with—his ignorance of oil, he began teaching a course on the subject.
Oil: A Love Story
Harvey Sarles - Anthropologist of the OrdinaryHarvey is much more than a professor of Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature at the University of Minnesota. Displaced early in his academic career following the invocation of Descartes' ideas about the human – "I think, therefore I am" – he began to read to the foundations of thought. The power of ideas continues to astonish him. In his most recent book, "Next Places," Harvey explores points of change throughout life and "helps readers seek and define guideposts within their own experience, rather than seeking their soul or destiny in places outside of themselves." Trying to touch and inspire the future, he engages in dialogue with his students and all those interested in being and engaging the world.
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Jack Becker - Forecast Public ArtJack Becker is co-founder and executive director of Forecast Public Art, an organization that specializes in projects that connect the ideas and energies of artists with the needs and opportunities of communities. Their "gallery" has always been the city as a whole: parks, libraries, billboards, squares, and every other public space conceivable. Forecast has organized dozens of exhibitions and events, produced numerous publications – including the nationally published Public Art Review - and has established an annual grant program for emerging Minnesota artists. Though often behind the scenes, Forecast plays a crucial role in creating the rich and vibrant cultural life that the Twin Cities is so well known for. Celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, Forecast continues to "Make Public Art Happen."
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James Wheeler - Gulf Coast Community Design Studio
In the absence of a competent government response to Hurricane Katrina, reconstruction has hinged on the amazing energy and dedication of hundreds of individuals and organizations. James Wheeler split much of the last two years traveling between Minnesota and the Gulf Coast, finishing a graduate degree in architecture and aiding recovery efforts, respectively. He recently made a more permanent move to Biloxi to take a position at The Gulf Coast Community Design Studio who provides design assistance to low-income individuals and families that need help rebuilding. They strive to rebuild diverse communities while preserving the dignity of those faced with unimaginable hardships.
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Jeffrey Kahn - Director, University of Minnesota's Center for BioethicsJeffrey Kahn is Professor and Director in the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota. His additional faculty appointments are in the University's Medical School, School of Public Health, Law School, and Department of Philosophy. Dr. Kahn works in a variety of areas of bioethics, exploring the intersection of ethics and public health policy, including research ethics, ethics and genetics, and ethical issues in public health, with focus on both domestic and international settings. Widely published, Dr. Kahn also serves on numerous state and federal advisory panels, and speaks nationally and internationally on a range of bioethics topics. From 1998-2002 he also wrote the bi-weekly column "Ethics Matters" on CNN.com.
Innovation 2008 Keynote Event
Jeffrey Swainhart & Alissa Kingsly - AFH:MN
Founded by seven individuals with varying design backgrounds and driven by shared passion and dedication, the Minnesota Chapter of Architecture for Humanity exists to promote architectural and design solutions to global, social and humanitarian crises. They have found that when compassionate designers come together to promote humanitarian design, good things will happen. They have worked on projects as far away as Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka, and as close to home as North Minneapolis. Their mission: find great projects, unearth ways to raise money to make them a reality, and always "design like you give a damn."
Solutions for the Other 90%
Jessica Giordani & Jennifer Pritchett - Smitten Kitten
Valuing "human dignity and the creative expression of gender, identity and desire," the Smitten Kitten is more than a sex toy boutique; it is an open source for information on issues of sexuality, sexual health, and feminism. Through workshops, lectures, and their storefront on Lyndale Avenue, owners Jennifer Pritchett and Jessica Giordani have created a welcoming environment where no topic is taboo and there are no stupid questions. Having also founded the Coalition Against Toxic Toys, Jennifer and Jessica are leading the way to a healthier and more socially responsible sex toy industry, proving that sexuality can be sustainable too.
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Jimmy Longoria – "Urban Camouflage"
Jimmy has been an urban muralist for over 3 decades. His art tackles issues of hybrid cultures, racism, and the future of American society and its place in the rapidly changing world. No stranger to engaging the public through his art, Jimmy has realized a new project on Lake Street in South Minneapolis that makes use of something he calls urban camouflage. This is art that elegantly beautifies the public realm while reclaiming contentious gang territories by utilizing rival gang colors and a technique that mirrors modern street graffiti. Jimmy’s murals absorb and displace violent street culture and transform it into community declarations of peace.
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Joel Hodroff - Dual Currency SystemsJoel has been on the leading edge of new money design and development for over a decade. His dual currency system, currently beta testing in Minneapolis, is one of the first of its kind and seeks to offer monetary rewards for volunteerism and healthy living in a similar way to how you can earn frequent flier miles or reward points on a credit card.
Solutions v1
John Dwyer - Shelter Architecture
John is the founder of Shelter Architecture, a sustainable residential design studio in Minneapolis, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota - College of Design. As a design fellow for Architecture for Humanity, John established the Design Studio at NENA in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans in the summer of 2007 which provides pro-bono architectural services to returning residents. John is the 2008 recipient of the AIA Minnesota Young Architects Award and the 2008 National AIAS Emerging Practice Award.
Solutions for the Other 90%
John Dwyer & Tom Westbrook - Studio 4284 With nearly one third of the world’s population living in slums, one humble section of Studio 4284 in the University of Minnesota's College of Design is seeking to create a critical role for the designer in slum upgrading. By researching every corner of the world, the studio has revealed some distinct commonalities to this global phenomenon as well as some creative solutions.
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Students of Tom Westbrook and Paul Neseth
Justin Merkovich and Catherine Sandlund: In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Justin, Catherine, and 7 other students spent 3 weeks helping to rebuild and transform John Henry Beck Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. The studio was led by Paul Neseth and Wynne Yelland, founding partners of Locus Architecture in Minneapolis. Kyle Skar and Christine Warnert: Kyle and Christine traveled to the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans as part of a studio that examined improving both quality of life and access to quality foods. The studio was led by local architect and teacher Tom Westbrook.
Solutions for the Other 90%
Karl Frankowski - 24 Hours in 24 Hour News - inkjet print
W(e are )here
Lance Neckar - Metropolitan Design Center
Is it design or is it politics? The Interstate-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis captured the world’s attention and highlighted the nation’s neglected and failing transit infrastructure. As we assess the damage and plan for a new bridge, can we learn from this catastrophe and design a sustainable American infrastructure that enhances what already exists? If so, what are the political roadblocks that might stand in our way? One person who can begin to shed some light on the subject is Lance Neckar, a professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Minnesota, a Faculty Scholar at the Center for Transportation Studies, and the Interim Director at the Metropolitan Design Center.
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Larry Rudnick - Minnesota Planetarium & Space Discovery CenterThe Minnesota Planetarium Society's mission is to inspire enthusiasm for science among children, families and all visitors, and to help them explore our universe, understand our planet's place within it and to imagine a better future. The Society uses dramatic, technologically advanced visual programming, hands-on learning, and outreach education. Minnesota is currently the only state without a major permanent, modern planetarium, and the Society is mounting a capital campaign to build the Minnesota Planetarium and Space Discovery Center as the fifth and sixth floors of the new Hennepin County Central Library in Minneapolis.
Innovation 2008 Keynote Event
Lisa McDonald & Neil Cunningham - Urban Earth Flower and Garden Co-opThe newly organized Urban Earth Flower & Garden Co-op was established by members of a South Minneapolis community who were disappointed to see their local flower shop leaving the neighborhood. 108 individuals organized themselves, and with $150 each, saved the shop. Becoming one of the only non food based cooperatives in the country, Urban Earth has provided a valuable model for how people can have a stake in the development of their own neighborhoods. More then just retain the shop as a community gardening resource, they have set out to run a successful business and prove that sustainable ethics and profitability can co-exist quite happily.
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Marc Swackhamer - HouMinn Practice
Marc Swackhamer and Blair Satterfield founded HouMinn (pronounced "human") Practice (formerly slvDESIGN) in 1998. HouMinn, an acronym combining Blair's hometown, Houston, with Marc's, Minneapolis, is an interdisciplinary design collaborative focused on advanced materials, digital fabrication, responsive systems, and low-cost housing. Much of HouMinn's work involves full-scale prototyping of alternative building assemblies. Advancements emerge through a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that infiltrates every project. Over the years, Houminn has worked with a computer scientist, an electrical engineer, a team of mechanical engineering students, an aerospace engineer, a bio-medical researcher, a product designer, and many other practitioners, academics, and students.
Solutions for the Other 90%
Mark Kuhn - Finnegans Irish Amber In 1999, Jacquie Berglund had a big idea - create a tasty, locally brewed beer that gives 100% of the profits to local charities. Early in the process she decided that operating a successful business is the best way to fund life-changing opportunities for those affected by the cycle of poverty. Now with the help of inspired volunteers like Mark Kuhn, Finnegans Irish Amber is enjoyed across Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota, in bars, pubs, restaurants and liquor stores, and is doing their bit to make social change and inspire others to get involved.
Solutions v3
Matthew Schneider-Mayerson - Peak Oil: Imagining and Planning the Post-Carbon WorldOver the last decade, a community of individuals concerned about oil scarcity has coalesced into the peak oil movement, a broad-based subculture obsessed with the the inevitability of oil scarcity leading to societal collapse. Although a marginal group comprised of oil industry workers, apocalyptic "doomers,"and communal optimists, peak oilers actively prepare for a world without oil, and thus offer a number of possibilities for a post-carbon, low-energy future. Through a glimpse into a thriving subculture, we begin to search for "transitions" from our national and personal dependence on petroleum. Matthew is a graduate student in the Department of American Studies at the University of Minnesota.
Oil: A Love Story
Matt Huber - Oil As a Way of LifeOil is a source of power central to cultural notions of 'the American way of life.' Propelling the dispersed flow of bodies throughout suburban landscapes, oil powers American values such of freedom, mobility and domesticity. Yet, oil also makes possible a form of privatized life, and enables a politics of privatism expressed in disdain for notions of 'the public', e.g. government, taxes, socials spending. Matt is a visiting Quadrant Fellow at the University of Minnesota. He recently finished his dissertation on oil and the history of American capitalism.
Oil: A Love Story
Neil Olszewski - University of Minnesota's Department of Plant BiologyNeil is a Professor of Plant Biology and co-director of the Microbial & Plant Genomics Institute. His research investigates the molecular mechanisms regulating plant growth and the molecular biology of plant viruses. Recently, he has become interested in using bio art in education and to stimulate productive discussion of controversial topics such as the use of genetically modified crops. He is producing transgenic plants that will be used by Eduardo Kac in an upcoming exhibition.
Innovation 2008 Keynote Event
Paul Creager & Jessica Pieklo - "Resonance"Using a story from the past to offer solutions for the conflicts of today, Resonance is an in-progress documentary film project that chronicles Japanese and American post-war reconciliation efforts through the stories of two sacred Buddhist temple bells that survived the scrap metal drives of WWII only to be taken by the US Navy as war trophies. One bell ended up in Duluth, Minnesota and another in Topeka, Kansas. In the decades following the war, the difficult process required to return these two bells reconnected two nations that had been torn apart by war. Resonance is being directed by local filmmaker Paul Creager and produced by Tallgrass Tales.
Solutions v3
Peter Rich - Microfinance Alliance
Peter Rich is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management where he wondered about the ideas of more mindful businesses, social enterprise, and microfinance. He is a co-founder of the Microfinance Alliance, which aspires to educate and raise awareness of the importance of microfinance as a tool for poverty alleviation and bottom-up community development. By engaging the public and university community, the group has created a forum for dialogue, opportunities for action, and greater support for microfinance.
Solutions for the Other 90%
Rachel Breen - Invigorate the Common WellRachel Breen is an artist, a teacher and an associate of On the Commons, a network of citizens and organizations that champion the commons on many fronts. A commons-based society recognizes that some forms of wealth belong to all of us, and that these community resources must be actively protected and managed for the common good. Exploring ways to make the commons more visible, Rachel has been involved in a strategic partnership with In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater in Minneapolis. This has resulted in theatre performances and a water festival that celebrate water as a commons.
Innovation 2008 Keynote Event
Ramy Selim - Sunny Day Earth Solutions
Combining cutting edge technology with old-fashioned elbow grease, Ramy Selim is at the forefront of a growing "Do It Yourself" movement towards more sustainable living. Thankfully for those of us who aren't quite so hands on, Ramy has decided to put his life long passion into a business plan and open a storefront on Como Avenue called Sunny Day Earth Solutions. Whether it's converting your car to run on used vegetable oil or installing photovoltaic panels or solar water heaters on your roof, the Twin Cities will finally have a place to get the inside dirt on how to "DIY" green up your life.
Solutions v2
Scott Ervin - Alchemy ArchitectsIdeas of pre-fabricated housing have seen a recent resurgence in popularity, but with the weeHouse, Alchemy Architects has created a formula that is providing some of the only successful real world results in the country. By utilizing existing building systems in new and innovative ways, Alchemy Architects focuses on creating simple and efficient pre-fabricated housing that brings modern design to the broadest possible audience. Thinking forward, they are discovering vast new potentials for prefabricated housing on a not so wee scale.
Solutions v1
Shannon Sandelands - Give Us WingsGive us Wings is a humanitarian organization that focuses its work in Uganda and Kenya. Realizing that not all strong communities are built on charity, this non-religious organization creates sustainable solutions to social, economical, and environmental problems. With three offices in Africa and one in St. Paul, the organization is primarily volunteer driven; an impressive 87% of all donations go directly to projects on the ground.
Solutions v1
Stamen Design - Eric Rodenbeck & Tom Carden, Twin Cities Trulia Hindsight Visualization - digital media
W(e are )here
Stephanie & Kelly Kinnunnen - NEED magazine
NEED magazine is an artistic, hope-filled publication focusing on humanitarian efforts both around the world and domestically. NEED offers an innovative and dynamic approach to building awareness and increasing support for featured humanitarian organizations through photography, design and storytelling. The creators of NEED magazine believe that in order to motivate people to act on their own humanitarian intentions they should be inspired by the possibilities of their actions. NEED shows the world that positive change is not only possible, but that it is happening all around us.
Solutions for the Other 90%
Stephanie Kinnunen - NEED Magazine“We are not out to save the world, but to tell the stories of, and assist, those who are.” Just over 2 years ago Stephanie and Kelly Kinnunen sold all of their possessions and embarked upon a journey across the US that would eventually lead to the creation of NEED Magazine. With smart design and beautiful photography, NEED Magazine showcases the work of humanitarian organizations around the world and provides readers with the information needed to get involved and make a difference.
Solutions v1
Steve Jevning - Leonardo's BasementLeonardo's Basement is a design/ build program that intentionally mixes art, science and technology to encourage creative problem solving. Student-directed projects afford children, teens and adults the opportunity to build and invent from their imagination. Programs value process over product and encourage participants to take risks, make, and learn from mistakes. Working from its well-equipped workshop in south Minneapolis, Leonardo's Basement encourages students to be curious and creative learners while acquiring technical, communication and interpersonal skills. Teachers and students learn from each other in a decidedly informal environment that makes learning fun.
Innovation 2008 Keynote Event
Susan Hubbard & Tim Brownell - Eureka RecyclingFounded by co-presidents Susan & Tim, Eureka Recycling is one of the largest nonprofit recyclers in the United States and a leader in demonstrating the best waste reduction and recycling practices not only for the Twin Cities metro area, but for the nation. For over 15 years, Eureka Recycling has been Saint Paul's nonprofit recycler. Under a long-term contract with the city, Eureka Recycling provides recycling services to Saint Paul's homes and apartments. In addition, Eureka Recycling is a leader in waste reduction education and advocacy and is a firm believer that waste is only a matter of perception.
Solutions v3
Tom Fisher - Dean of the University of Minnesota's College of Design
Thomas Fisher is a Professor and Dean of the College of Design at the University of Minnesota. Educated at Cornell University in architecture and Case Western Reserve University in intellectual history, he previously served as the Editorial Director of Progressive Architecture magazine in Stamford, Connecticut. He has lectured or juried at many schools and professional societies, and has published over two dozen book chapters and over 250 articles. He has also published four books: In the Scheme of Things, Alternative Thinking on the Practice of Architecture; Salmela Architect; Lake/Flato Buildings and Landscapes; and most recently, Architectural Design and Ethics: Tools for Survival.
Solutions for the Other 90%
Vonda Vaden - Northland Bioneers Conference
"It's All Alive, It's All Intelligent, It's All Connected." The Bioneers Conference is a unique, affordable community event that brings together every day people from all walks of life committed to managing environmental and social dilemmas through a reciprocal partnership with nature. A satellite of the national group, Northland Bioneers Conference joins 18 other US cities this fall in spreading that discussion nationally. That conference, held in St. Paul from November 2nd to 4th, is expected to draw over 500 people from our 5 state region. Inspired by nature’s code, many will use what they've learned to influence systemic changes that increase the vitality of their communities, homes and workplaces.
Solutions v2
A Walker Arts Center/ Solutions Twin Cities Collaboration - "Move Your World"
On Saturday, October 6th the Walker Art Center and Solutions Twin Cities curated a very special Free First Saturday around the idea that you're never to young to begin making change. A Solutions style family forum focused on ways that young people can actively shape their future while guest artists Judy Gallas and Mary Legris led an art project in which the creation of a new world was documented and compressed into a short video to be unveiled at Solutions Volume 2. Collaborative events like this highlight new ways of communicating to youth about important issues affecting them today and into the future.
Solutions v2
Wynne Yelland & Paul Neseth - Locus Architecture
The word locus is defined as "the center or focus of great activity or intense concentration, a locality, a place." Taking inspiration from this, Locus Architecture, located in NE Minneapolis, weaves artistic expression with sustainable design to create bold places and spaces that are always unique to the individual client. In projects ranging from sustainable urban workplaces like The Red Square to civic centers like the Hastings River Flats Interpretive Center, they infuse the smallest architectural details with creativity and craftsmanship. While a standardization of the building process currently informs and dominates the modern aesthetic, Locus maintains that architecture should be a truly personal experience.
Solutions v2
zAmya Theater Project
"Stop staring. Start seeing." Their tag line says it all. zAmya Theater Project is a performance arts organization open to both homeless and housed actors in the Twin Cities. Their performances stem organically from workshops and improvisation, with scripts that often mirror the trials, tribulations, joys, and experiences of those involved. This type of experiemental meta-theater not only enlightens and entertains the audience, it provides a much needed creative outlet for those without and helps to form relationships and foster understanding between people both housed and homeless.
Solutions v2