Over at AF-San Francisco, we’ve been a little bit obsessed lately by the “X a day” category of Foundation applications. They’re discrete, highly do-able, and result in a ton of awesome products being released into the universe. We had such a great time seeing Meredith Scheff’s Scarf-A-Day project take shape last month that we decided to follow up that grant with another project that takes the model in a entirely new and great direction. To that end, thrilled to announce that our March Awesome Fellowship goes out to the endlessly wonderful Bay Area artist Adam Davis, who is embarking on a mission to paint one hundred bite-sized (around 4” x 4”) and big sized (yet to come!) paintings of dinosaurs over the next month or so. He will then engage in a worldwide hide-and-seek game, caching the dinosaurs in secret locations and releasing clues (some clues leading to yet more clues) to their location on his project blog. Once the dinosaurs are located, they are yours to keep. Four have been located so far around the Bay Area (including this crazy story and the first dinosaur being hidden at the weird and wonderful Jejune Institute), and there’s many more on… read more →
Come one, come all to our 2nd ever Awesome Foundation Los Angeles party to celebrate our new grant recipient, Jail Door Guitars! We definitely had a lot of fun last time (incriminating pics here). Details about the Fresh Bruises party can be found here and make sure you RSVP here. The $5 cover goes straight to the bands performing and will get you in for an open bar all night long! The fun night is hosted by our friends at Family Industries and sponsored by Brand X, Indigenous, and FILTER magazine. In addition to a ton of awesome live bands playing (Tape Deck Mountain, Handshakes), there will be live screenprinting, an art gallery, Grill Em All food truck, AND (everyone’s favorite) a hosted bar with drinks all night long from PBR, Red Bull, Alexander Valley Vineyards, and Jarritos! We love seeing ya’ll out there so please join us for this awesome event!
Drumroll please…Awesome LA has decided to award our 2nd grant to Jail Guitar Doors! Jail Guitar Doors USA is a non-profit that believes in providing new solutions for prisoner rehabilitation. They provide musical instruments, public concerts, and outreach programs to inspire hope and creativity in prisoners who have taken an oath of non-violence. In just 18 months, they have delivered over 30 guitars and various amps into 6 different prisons in California, Texas and New York state! Here’s how it all began (according to the Jail Guitar Doors website): In 1978, The Clash released the song, “Jail Guitar Doors.” The song tells the story of the imprisonment of their fellow musician Wayne Kramer. In 2007, to honor the life of Clash founder, Joe Strummer, Billy Bragg launches an initiative in England to provide musical equipment used to rehabilitate inmates serving time in Her Majesty’s Prisons in the United Kingdom. His initiative is named for that very same song, “Jail Guitar Doors.” In 2009, Wayne Kramer partners with Billy Bragg to found Jail Guitar Doors USA. Together, their combined effort continues the mission for prisoners in America. The circle is unbroken. This Awesome grant will go towards their next visit to the… read more →
Awesome Foundation Melbourne is excited to announce the second grant recipient of 2011, aMoment. aMoment’s project spreads awesome across our special city through art; leaving small reminders – teacups, baby hammocks, all with their own message – in the nooks and laneways of Melbourne, for locals and visitors to stumble upon. The message is simple – a reminder to take a moment and slow down, in a frenetic urban environment that can sometimes sweep us away. We’re looking forward to the next ‘drop’, a suprise for Melburnians and visitors around Easter. Read aMoment’s application below: Hello, I am aMoment. I am the street art name for a creative lady who doesn’t usually do street art. You see, I think we all get a little too busy too often. You know, walk around with blinkers on and such. You see, when things get too fast, I think we lose perspective a bit. We get flustered, make bad decisions, get our priorities a little mixed up. This makes me upset So. I wanted to do something to make people to stop for “aMoment”, take a breath and give their day just a little bit of space. And this was how aMoment came… read more →
It’s with awesome pleasure that we can announce the founding board of micro-trustees for the Awesome Foundation Sydney! As you all know, the Awesome Foundation has been spreading it’s seeds across the planet these last 12 months and it’s exciting to see chapters opening up in places like Sydney, Melbourne, Toronto, LA and many more! The Awesome Foundation Sydney has been brought together by founding members, Bruno Mattarollo and Steve Hopkins. Like all other chapters, it will provide a $1000 no-strings-attached grant once a month to a project which the board deems suitably awesome. The founding board for AF Sydney is: Bruno Mattarollo: Proud Dad of one amazing boy. Has a love of the web and sustainability. Interests include human rights and social innovation. Steve Hopkins: @trampolineday founder and coffee drinker. Working with an ecosystems approach to make good stuff happen. Jess Nichols: Cocktail-obsessed social media tragic who works on the web at @deloitteonline (part of @green_dot). James Martin: Generalising technologist and asker of questions. Greg Turner: Interaction designer and djangohead. Greg is an interaction designer and computer scientist who specialises in emerging forms of interaction, online and otherwise. Alan Rogers: Thingmaker. Suzie Graham: India, Vedic philosophy, Reiki II, Philanthropy, Indigenous… read more →