Categories for Community Foundations
July 15, 2018 2:00 am
Published by Michael
New program to let Crystal Bridges museum art ‘speak’ to viewers
Shane Richey creative director of experimentation and development at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art sits, Friday July, 13, 2018 in one of the main galleries at the museum. Richey is developing ideas on augmented reality audio programs for the museum where visitors will have the ability to walk up to a pieces of art and listen to an audio about the art using their phones or other devices.
BENTONVILLE — Don’t be surprised if George Washington starts talking to you some day at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
Shane Richey, creative director of experimentation and development at the Bentonville museum, is working on a new “immersive technology” audio program that will help bring Charles Willson Peale’s painting of Washington to life, along with other subjects of art in the galleries.
“The experience will be as if the frame of the painting were a window,” Richey said. That way, museum-goers can still hear what’s going on around them.
The headphones will work in conjunction with a pocketable device that can be picked up in the museum lobby.
The paintings will know when a viewer with the device gets close, and that will cue the audio.
“You walk into this space and the works of art beckon to you audibly,” Richey said.
It’s just an idea for now, but it caught the attention of the John S. Knight Foundation, which announced Thursday that Crystal Bridges is one of a dozen recipients of $50,000 awards to help connect people with art through technology.
“The projects will receive $50,000 each to uncover new, potentially-replicable strategies for cultural organizations to adapt to and thrive in the digital era,” according to a news release from the foundation.
It’s the replicable part that Richey emphasizes. This isn’t just a new technology for Crystal Bridges.
“The end result is that this will be a repeatable project for other museums to pick up and expand upon or just use as it is,” he said.
Richey said Samantha Sigmon, interpretation manager at Crystal Bridges, is working with him on the project. There’s also an internal advisory board of four people.
“This is an entirely new approach to delivering audio in the gallery, and while I have some assumptions on how it’s going to work, it’s very possible that when we actually start testing it every one of those assumptions will go out the window,” Richey said.
The grants give recipients freedom to take risks and do some experimenting, said Chris Barr, director of arts and technology innovation for the Knight Foundation in Miami.
“Museums were shy about technology at first, but they’re starting to realize that a good chunk of our visitors really get something out of it,” Barr said. How can we help cultural institutions remain relevant in the digital age?”
While there is a definite digital component to the Crystal Bridges proposal, they’re looking at doing it in a way that allows the museum visitor to go sort of on auto-pilot, Barr said.
“It’s an approach to technology that keeps your phone in your pocket,” he said.
“There will be a soundscape throughout the museum,” Barr said. If visitors don’t have an Apple or Android smartphone, they can pick up a device at the museum that already has the app downloaded onto it.
Richey said the app provides traditional interpretive information about the artwork.
The new program will be a much more immersive experience than the current technology, he said.
The audio will be done in a way that’s relaxing rather than distracting, Richey said.
The proposed audio system would allow people to move at their own pace, to linger or go where the art draws them, Barr said.
“There is this sort of wandering element,” he said. A final report will be provided to the Knight Foundation in April.
Other recipients of the Knight Foundation grants include Wikimedia, the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia; Alley Interactive, a digital consultancy; and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Art, Science & Technology.
Knight Foundation launched the open call for ideas in February 2017, through the Knight Prototype Fund, which supports the quick development and testing of early stage, innovative ideas, according to the release.
Metro on 07/15/2018
Print Headline: New program to let museum’s art ‘speak’ to viewers
Comments on: New program to let Crystal Bridges museum art ‘speak’ to viewers
July 15, 2018 2:00 am
Published by Michael
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Aveonah Jones, 10, reaches for a rope as she navigates an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Aveonah Jones, 10, reaches for a rope as she navigates an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Keondre Dawson navigates an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Allie Jackson, 9, makes her way through an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Elizabeth Lindsay, 9, makes her way through an obstacle at an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Keondre Dawson, 11, makes his way along a tightrope course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Aveonah Jones, 10, right, high fives Megan Bond, left, after completing the aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Hayden Severs, 10, reaches for the next rope at an aerial adventure park at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Emma Duncan, 9, practices on a tightrope lower to the ground at an aerial adventure park at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: A view from the start of the aerial adventure park at the Bedford YMCA, pictured on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
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BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Aveonah Jones, 10, reaches for a rope as she navigates an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Aveonah Jones, 10, reaches for a rope as she navigates an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Keondre Dawson navigates an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Allie Jackson, 9, makes her way through an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Elizabeth Lindsay, 9, makes her way through an obstacle at an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Keondre Dawson, 11, makes his way along a tightrope course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Aveonah Jones, 10, right, high fives Megan Bond, left, after completing the aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Hayden Severs, 10, reaches for the next rope at an aerial adventure park at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Emma Duncan, 9, practices on a tightrope lower to the ground at an aerial adventure park at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: A view from the start of the aerial adventure park at the Bedford YMCA, pictured on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD a Completing the newly opened Bedford Area Family YMCAas Aerial Adventure Park was a big deal for 10-year-old Hayden Severs this past Thursday.
aAt the age of three he fell from a tree stand and had a brain injury,a his mother, Kathy Severs, said. aNext time I want to do something taller and longer.a
Hayden was one of about 40 kids from the Power Scholars Academy in Bedford, a summer school, who came to the complete the course Thursday afternoon.
The new aerial park, completed in June, is open to members and non-members of all ages for team-building, birthday parties, and just all around outdoor fun for a nominal fee.
The YMCA chose to invest in an aerial park rather than high-tech fitness equipment because it wanted members, kids and the public to experience a unique experience outdoors.
On Thursday Dwayne Abbott, sports and outdoor adventure director at the Bedford YMCA, along with three other staff members, aided kids ages 7 to 12 through the course and helped them strap into their harnesses and hook into the belay system. In the woods below, there are 11 more team-building elements.
aEach element will pose a problem to the group and they have to work together to solve the problem,a Abbott said.
Mary Jo Boone, CEO of the Bedford Area Family YMCA, said the course cost $40,000 to construct which was covered in part by a $10,000 grant from the Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation, $5,000 from the Bedford Community Health Foundation, funding from the Virginia Department of Educationas 21st Century grant and other raised funds.
Although there is a challenge course at Lynchburg College, a ropes course in Roanoke and an aerial park located in Virginia Beach Boone said the new course is unlike any other in the country because the YMCA was able to pick and choose what kind of obstacles it wanted to offer.
The YMCA, which sits on 36 acres off U.S 460, is an asset many donat realize is available to the small community, Boone said.
Abbott said he encourages each kid to at least try a portion of the course.
aWe urge every kid to try it and a big selling point is, aHey when is the next time youall get to do it?aa he said.
Gracie Ewing, 9, was completely fearless hitting the aerial park Thursday afternoon.
She said she has done this kind of thing before and loves heights.
Her favorite part was crawling through the culvert tube but said the chaplin rings were the hardest.
Boone hopes the new course, along with all of the other programs the YMCA offers will push kids out of their comfort zone and away from their electronic screens to grow physically and mentally.
aWe try to get unique and creative,a she said.
July 15, 2018 2:00 am
Published by Michael
It might not be a stretch to say that bridge – one of the world’s most popular card games – is in Ms Wang Yuanluo’s blood.
An accomplished bridge enthusiast, the chairman of Singapore Exchange-listed China Jinjiang Environment Holding hones her management skills by playing the tactical game, which involves partnerships, auctions and contracts.
Ms Wang, 60, is one of the pioneering executives who built up Jinjiang Environment. Before joining Jinjiang Environment in 2004 as a director, she was involved in the management of Hangzhou Jinjiang Group’s green energy business, and has chalked up over 20 years of industry experience.
Last year, Ms Wang clinched the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 China Award in the clean technology category.
SENSE OF MISSION
“When I first entered the waste treatment industry, I approached it like any other enterprise.
Jinjiang Environment, a forerunner in China’s waste-to-energy (WTE) industry, is one of the country’s largest private operators in terms of waste treatment capacity.
Listed on the Singapore Exchange mainboard in August 2016, the group runs 21 WTE facilities in 12 provinces, autonomous regions and centrally administered municipalities in China, with a current waste treatment capacity of 30,980 tonnes per day.
The WTE business involves the construction, operation and/or ownership of plants that treat municipal solid waste. Gross profit margin has averaged 40.9 per cent over this period.
Looking ahead, Jinjiang Environment aims to boost its leadership position in China by broadening its domestic footprint and upgrading its technology offerings, Ms Wang said.
Apart from the 21 WTE facilities that are currently operating, the group has two plants under construction and expansion, and another 21 in the preparation stage. The majority of the facilities are on a build-own-operate model, with the rest on a build-operate-transfer model.
It plans to accelerate the pace of technical upgrading by introducing advanced pre-treatment technology from Europe, and combining it with its own independent research and development.
“We’re integrating advanced technologies from Germany and Finland with our existing solutions, so the group can offer the best of European know-how through customised offerings, but at a much lower cost,” Ms Wang said.
Last March, it partnered Zhejiang University to set up the National Engineering Laboratory for Waste Incineration Technology and Equipment – an important base that integrates innovation resources, boosts technology development efforts, and grooms talent.
‘ENGULFED IN WASTE’
The Chinese government has also prioritised the issue of waste treatment, given the country’s rapid urbanisation.
Last year, China’s urban waste collection was more than 200 million tonnes, highlighting the phenomenon of “cities engulfed in waste”, Ms Wang said.
Beyond China, Jinjiang Environment has set its sights on overseas markets along the One Belt, One Road zone.
It will focus, in particular, on South-east Asian countries – including Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore – that have waste characteristics similar to those of China.
Last year, the group made its successful entry into Singapore’s waste disposal market with the planned construction and operation of a mechanical biological treatment project. This facility will have a service concession period of 20 years and daily waste treatment capacity of 500 tonnes per day.
Jinjiang Environment also secured three WTE projects in India last year, which will begin construction this year. In April, it made its first foray into the Latin American market, following an agreement to acquire a 51 per cent stake in a Brazilian WTE company.
UNITY IS KEY
When Jinjiang Environment’s operating projects, as well as those under construction and in preparatory stages – both at home and abroad – are fully completed, its total waste treatment capacity is expected to rise to 66,086 tonnes per day.
July 15, 2018 1:37 am
Published by Michael
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Grants totaling nearly $5 million were awarded to Maryland nonprofits, local jurisdictions and heritage tourism organizations by the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA), according to a news release from the Maryland Department of Planning.
The grants are intended to support heritage tourism projects that draw visitors and benefit the state by increasing economic development and creating tourism-related jobs.
Two organizations based in Washington County were among those that received funding. The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts received a grant of $50,850 and the Save Historic Antietam Foundation received a grant of $17,500.
The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts is in Hagerstown’s City Park, and its mission is to “preserve, exhibit and interpret art of lasting quality for the citizens of Hagerstown, Washington County and the surrounding region,” according to its website.
July 15, 2018 1:37 am
Published by Michael
National Institutes of Health grant to help AU study on how blood pressure impacts cognition – News – The Augusta Chronicle – Augusta, GA Filosa, a neurovascular physiologist in the Department of Physiology at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, recently received a $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how blood pressure can impact cognition, according to a news release from AU.
High blood pressure puts a squeeze on blood vessels in the brain that can disrupt a protective process that works to balance blood flow to the brain with the activity of resting neurons. When blood flow decreases due to hypertension, astrocytes – neuron-nurturing brain cells – may instead tell neurons to increase their activity, Filosa said.
The miscommunication between the brain blood vessels, astrocytes and neurons could be an early factor in how high blood pressure can impair cognitive function, according to Filosa.
“Untreated hypertension can lead to cognitive impairment but exactly how it happens, we don’t really know,” she said. By the time patients are symptomatic, a lot of the physiology of the vasculature has deteriorated so the question is: How can we diagnose impairments in vascular function way before that, years before cognitive impairments are established and become symptomatic.”
Filosa is hoping the grant will help her to find answers.
Regulation of blood flow is a normal body function, especially in the brain which doesn’t like extreme changes in blood flow. For example, large increases in flow can result in swelling, especially if blood pressure also rises. Lower pressure and decreased blood flow mean less energy for neurons which require a continuous stream of oxygen and nutrients found in blood to function.
“Neurons don’t have energy reserves so their activity is dependent on continuous blood flow,” said Filosa.
This is why brain cells can die quickly in the event of a stroke or head trauma, and why they likely do not function well with chronic hypertension.
High blood pressure also causes the parenchymal arterioles that carry blood for neurons constrict, so less blood is carried. They will look at what happens to calcium levels in astrocytes in response to various blood pressure levels in the brains of booth normal mice and those that have impaired blood flow, and what mediates any change.
July 15, 2018 1:35 am
Published by Michael
July 15, 2018 1:15 am
Published by Michael
Siaw Agyepong’s waste management facilities in Ghana | Opinions 2018-07-15 To augment my knowledge of social innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa, I took a class, this past spring, on “Entrepreneurship in Africa” at Harvard University. In this class, we delved into the nitty-gritty of social entrepreneurship as a conduit to overcoming Africa’s social, economic and environmental challenges. Despite bringing in its wake some successful projects on the African continent, the Chinese invasion has had its fair share of criticisms viz., human rights abuses, lack of respect for environmental safety, and, in many cases a preference for Chinese labour force over their African counterparts on projects being undertaken on African soil. Siaw Agyepong’s inventions gives credence, no less doubtfully, to the monumental importance he assigns to subverting this narrative and to make a social impact, finding solutions to environmental problems, creating jobs, contributing to economic growth and, over the long pull, playing a part in achieving the SDGs.
If I have the pluck to chime in with thoughts, which might put a few noses out of joint, I must say that the work he is doing is so important that anyone with a fraction of understanding of how central this is to overcoming Ghana’s sanitation challenges, environmental pollution, job creation, achieving the SDGs, etc., will have no grumbles.
This anchorage to social entrepreneurship as a solution to social and environmental challenges is, certainly, par for the course and, knitting things together, recasts the legacy he is creating and, for once, not someone just paying mere lip service to Mead’s wisdom. Siaw Agyepong’s waste management facilities in Ghana To augment my knowledge of social innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa, I took a class, this past spring, on “Entrepreneurship in Africa” at Harvard University. In this class, we delved into the nitty-gritty of social entrepreneurship as a conduit to overcoming Africa’s social, economic and environmental challenges. Despite bringing in its wake some successful projects on the African continent, the Chinese invasion has had its fair share of criticisms viz., human rights abuses, lack of respect for environmental safety, and, in many cases a preference for Chinese labour force over their African counterparts on projects being undertaken on African soil. Siaw Agyepong’s inventions gives credence, no less doubtfully, to the monumental importance he assigns to subverting this narrative and to make a social impact, finding solutions to environmental problems, creating jobs, contributing to economic growth and, over the long pull, playing a part in achieving the SDGs. If I have the pluck to chime in with thoughts, which might put a few noses out of joint, I must say that the work he is doing is so important that anyone with a fraction of understanding of how central this is to overcoming Ghana’s sanitation challenges, environmental pollution, job creation, achieving the SDGs, etc., will have no grumbles. The foregoing discussion doesn’t even exhaust the length and breadth of the impact of his work on Ghana’s waste and sanitation challenges. This anchorage to social entrepreneurship as a solution to social and environmental challenges is, certainly, par for the course and, knitting things together, recasts the legacy he is creating and, for once, not someone just paying mere lip service to Mead’s wisdom. To augment my knowledge of social innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa, I took a class, this past spring, on “Entrepreneurship in Africa” at Harvard University. In this class, we delved into the nitty-gritty of social entrepreneurship as a conduit to overcoming Africa’s social, economic and environmental challenges. Despite bringing in its wake some successful projects on the African continent, the Chinese invasion has had its fair share of criticisms viz., human rights abuses, lack of respect for environmental safety, and, in many cases a preference for Chinese labour force over their African counterparts on projects being undertaken on African soil. Siaw Agyepong’s inventions gives credence, no less doubtfully, to the monumental importance he assigns to subverting this narrative and to make a social impact, finding solutions to environmental problems, creating jobs, contributing to economic growth and, over the long pull, playing a part in achieving the SDGs. If I have the pluck to chime in with thoughts, which might put a few noses out of joint, I must say that the work he is doing is so important that anyone with a fraction of understanding of how central this is to overcoming Ghana’s sanitation challenges, environmental pollution, job creation, achieving the SDGs, etc., will have no grumbles. This anchorage to social entrepreneurship as a solution to social and environmental challenges is, certainly, par for the course and, knitting things together, recasts the legacy he is creating and, for once, not someone just paying mere lip service to Mead’s wisdom.
July 15, 2018 1:03 am
Published by Michael
July 15, 2018 1:03 am
Published by Michael
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Milford aPetea Nodlinski turned 100 years old last December, and he is still working on the family farm northwest of Grant.
Wheat harvest is underway and he drives a grain cart, used for transferring wheat from the combine to the trucks.
When heas asked what has changed about farming over the years, Nodlinski says, aYou name it.a
Nodlinski was born in St.
July 15, 2018 12:52 am
Published by Michael
The Napa Valley Register publishes business news items in our Biz Buzz feature in the Business section.A
Here are some of the latest Biz Buzz items featured in the Napa Valley Register, in case you missed them.
WineDirect and Tock announced a partnership to integrate software systems “to improve hospitality and sales at wineries throughout North America.”
Tockas reservation system and WineDirectas direct-to- consumer software will combine “to provide better hospitality to millions of wine drinkers, whether on a visit to their favorite vineyard for tastings and tours, or making a purchase from home,” said a news release.A
aTockas focus on facilitating high-quality hospitality and customer experiences align closely with WineDirectas philosophy and made them the obvious partnership choice,” said Joe Waechter, president and CEO of WineDirect.
The integration between Tock and WineDirect will enable clients to “leverage deeper customer insights, improve efficiencies in the tasting room, reduce no-shows and increase direct-to-consumer sales,” said the release.A
Info: winedirect.com
Triangle Wine Experience and Vinventions announced the donation of $100,000 to the community foundations of Napa Valley and Sonoma County in support of California wildfire relief.
After watching the devastating fall 2017 fires overtake the vineyards and homes of close friends, Vinventions, a provider of bottle closures for the wine industry, and Triangle Wine Experience, a fundraiser for Frankie Lemmon School & Development Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, made a commitment to help, said a news release.A
On June 15, the two companies hosted the Raleigh, North Carolina-based aCue for Cali fundraiser,A drawing a crowd of more than 300 people and raising just over $100,000.A
The donations were presented this week to the Napa Valley Community Foundation and the Community Foundation of Sonoma County by representatives of Vinventions and Triangle Wine Experience.
“We wanted to send a very clear message to all of Napa, Sonoma and the other areas affected, that we are with them,” saidA Malcolm Thompson, Vinventionsa chief innovation officer and president, Americas.
Info: vinventions.com
Biz Buzz: Ami leaving job as CEO of OLE Health Foundation
Tanir Ami, the CEO of theA OLE Health Foundation, will leave her job at the nonprofit on July 11.A
Ami was formerly the CEO of OLE Health itself.A
In 2017, the OLE Health board of directors announced that Ami would transition out of her role as CEO, into a part-time role as CEO of the organizationas fundraising arm, the OLE Health Foundation.
The current CEO of OLE Health isA Alicia Hardy.A
Ami’s decision to leave the OLE Health Foundation, “was expected since Tanir was part-time in her role and she will be launching her own independent consulting moving forward,” said Fernando Diaz, OLE Health spokesperson.A
“The past eight years have been the most rewarding professional years of my life,” said Ami. “Every day, regardless of the size of the challenge, has been a blessing.”A
The nonprofit will begin a search for a full-time replacement for CEO of the OLE Health Foundation, said Diaz.A
Ami said her next step was “to launch myself entirely into executive coaching, which has become a new passion of mine.”A
Biz Buzz: Klendworth appointed Morgan Stanley wealth management branch manager Klendworth as branch manager of the firmas wealth management office in Napa at 700 Main St.
In this role, Klendworth is responsible for supervising 18 financial advisers and assisting them in delivering wealth management services.
Klendworth, who has been with Morgan Stanley Wealth Management since 2002, holds a bacheloras degree from the University of California, San Diego in economics.
Info: morganstanley.com,A 707-254-4408
team at Keller Williams Realty.
For nearly two decades, Fowler has specialized in recruiting and relocating physicians and healthcare providers to Napa Valley.
Fowler provides “months, and even years, of both before-sale and beyond-the-sale concierge-style follow-up attention and services,” to his clients, said a news release.A
Info: 707-225-1441, AmyBurnside.com
Biz Buzz: McCuen of Napa Wealth Management earns designation
George McCuen CFP, of Napa Wealth Management, recently earned the Certified Private Wealth Advisor designation (CPWA).
The CPWA is an advanced education and certification program for financial advisers who work with high-net-worth clients on the life-cycle of wealth: accumulation, preservation and distribution.
As of 2018, there were fewer than 1,500 CPWA designees worldwide, said a news release.
aThis designation puts George in an elite group of advisors,a said the release.
Napa Wealth Management has been serving affluent clients since 1997 as their personal chief financial officer.
In addition, Napa Wealth Management is the portfolio manager for the James Alpha Momentum Fund, formerly the NWM Momentum Fund.
Napa Wealth Management is located at 1836 Second St.
Info: 707-252-1343