Urban renewal is a hot topic and the Awesome Foundation is big into supporting into creative minded people who focus on harnessing a community’s energy to complement larger scale bricks and mortar development.  The Boston Chapter awarded it’s February grant to artist and basketball enthusiast Maria Molteni in support of her mission to restore use of local abandoned b-ball courts by crafting DIY nets. This project harnesses the power of shared activity and public space in fostering a bond of trust between artists, athletes, and neighbors. The nets are designed to be colorful, vibrant additions to public spaces that go beyond being strictly functional. Installing unique hand-crafted products sets the stage for individual expression. The MOLTENi NET WORKS project is well underway with a recent exhibit at Cambridge’s MEME Gallery in Central Square that also included workshops where participants were able to hand-crochet basketball nets to be installed on bare hoops. Efforts have begun locally in Allston, MA and there are several local organizations (Boston include Artists for Humanity, Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, Design Studio for Social Intervention, and Massart’s Fibers Department) interested in putting on more workshops. If you’d like to get pitch in, there are a… read more →

There’s some new* blood in the Boston Chapter of The Awesome Foundation. Christina Xu 2nd Tim Hwang** Chair for Higher Awesome Studies (July 2010) In addition to being the Multitasker at Breadpig, Christina is the co-founder of ROFLCon, one of the proprietors of a coworking space in Cambridge called p.irateship, and a DJ for a weekly radio show called Global Frequency. She tweets about all of these things and more here. Doc Searls 3rd Matt Blake** Chair for Higher Awesome Studies (September 2010) Doc is Senior Editor of Linux Journal, co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto, an alumnus fellow with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, a fellow with the Center for Information Technology and Society (CITS) at the University of California, Santa Barbara, one of the world’s most quoted bloggers, and a photographer committed to enlarging the sum of images in the public domain. Chris Marstall 2nd Emily Daniels** Chair for Higher Awesome Studies (October 2010) Chris is a programmer and creator of the concert alert service tourfilter.com. He’s the Creative Technologist at The Boston Globe charged with establishing their Media Lab, and a fixture on the local music technology scene to boot. Word on the… read more →

You’ve heard of Christmas in July? This is the reverse: Gardeners in February. The Boston Chapter of the Awesome Foundation is psyched to be celebrating two grants made in 2010 that support different facets of the community gardening movement on Friday, February 11, 2011. Pick-a-Pocket Gardeners – Nov ’10 Fellow: They are a stealthy bunch of civic-oriented gardeners who have mind melded with the Cambridge/Somerville Departments of Public Works to make neglected urban spaces purdy. We gave them the big green thumbs-up for uniforms, decoder rings, garden tools: whatever they need to make the magic happen. We’re hoping for capes too, but that’s up to them. Ripley’s Garden for Others – July ’10 Fellow: Thomas & Dawn Ripley started off with a 1,300 sq/ft garden. It didn’t take long for the produce to overwhelm their freezer’s capacity. They canned a bunch, ran out of storage space, and started donating the overflow to their local food pantry in Caldwell, ID. It was the only fresh produce the families and pensioners who rely on that organization got. Inspired by the warm fuzzy feeling that comes from giving, Thomas wrote to us with a proposition. “If I can feed a few, I can feed… read more →

There’s a lot of awesome brewing here in Beantown. We can barely keep track. Upcoming Event: Ignite Craft – Friday, 1/14/11 We are really excited to be partnering with the Common Cod Fiber Guild to announce our December ’11 Fellow (Will Macfarlane of ‘Parts & Crafts’) at the ‘Ignite: Craft’ event. The Big Giant Check is getting giddy just thinking about it. The main event is currently at capacity (it’s that awesome), but we encourage you to get on the waitlist (just in case) and plan to meet us out afterward at The Friendly Toast around 9pm. 2nd David Nunez Chair of Awesome Studies If you want to be considered for the open seat at the round table, the deadline is Saturday, 1/15/11 @ 11:59pm. Calling all >>AWESOME>> in Boston (…and beyond) We will be deliberating next week for our January ’11 Fellowship. Submit your application by Saturday, 1/15/11 @ 11:59pm. There is a lot more in the works too: Radio Boston, Stealthy Gardeners, Invisible Instruments. (OH MAI!) In the meantime, we’ve uploaded oodles of goodies in the way of pics and videos on Facebook Page. That ought to keep you busy.

We noticed you’re pretty awesome; we’re pretty awesome ourselves. Do you have a passion for encouraging creativity and inciting revolutions? Are you excited about awesome projects, whatever your definition of that might be? If so, you might have what it takes to be the 2nd David Nunez Chair for Higher Awesome Studies. The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences is an ever-growing, worldwide network of people devoted to forwarding the interest of awesomeness in the universe, and we, the Boston chapter, are looking for a new trustee to join our ranks. We are particularly interested in someone who is well-connected in communities outside of the tech/startup world to help diversify our group: artists, musicians, makers, chefs, nonprofit organizers, educators, mad scientists, etc. are all encouraged to apply. Your responsibilities would include: * Reviewing and selecting an Awesome Project each month. This means reviewing the month’s submissions, identifying your favorites, and championing them during a monthly 2 hour long deliberation session (low conflict, beer and pizza to help the process along). * Contributing $100 towards each monthly award * Attending the events held in honor of the winners * In the event of your resignation, helping to find a successor… read more →