Computer Science & The Arts

We're excited to invite you to our last community meetup of the school year, with a focus on computer science and the arts! Several organizations will share their creative and innovative work to integrate CS with various art forms. The event will include a panel of speakers followed by a showcase of different projects.

Participating organizations include:

>Beam Center (http://beamcenter.org)

Beam Center collaborates with schools and creators to make meaningful learning and work accessible to all NYC youth. Their programs integrate art, design, science and engineering with academic objectives to support student pathways to career and higher education. Aiming to close the achievement gap, Beam Center creates learning communities in and out of school for youth and educators with inspired, technology-integrated projects and workshops. Students learn skills in welding, physical computing, carpentry, ceramics, textiles, video, programming and design as well as problem-solving, persistence and communication. These programs help young people build their character, develop skills and prepare for a life of continual learning and meaningful work.

>Eyebeam (http://www.eyebeam.org)

Founded in 1997, Eyebeam is the leading arts organization for technology in the United States. The vision of technology at Eyebeam includes all processes, tools and strategies for navigating a complex world. The residency program provides people with space and time to develop their ideas into full projects. Drawing entirely on the community of residents and alums, Eyebeam then expands their work into exciting programs with lasting impact. These programs, which are based in social justice, creativity, and community engagement, include youth development like Playable Fashion, Rap Research Lab, and Our Net, as well as public programs like Radical Networks and Computational Fashion, that push the boundaries of technology to create something new.

>Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) (http://tisch.nyu.edu/itp)

ITP is a two-year graduate program located in the Tisch School of the Arts whose mission is to explore the imaginative use of communications technologies — how they might augment, improve, and bring delight and art into people's lives.

>Octavia Project (http://octaviaproject.org)

The Octavia Project uses science fiction to encourage girls to dream big and empower them with skills to design their own futures. Their free summer program gives teenage girls from Brooklyn the space to explore science and tech through art and writing, growing their confidence and building skills while dreaming new futures for themselves and their communities. Their inspiration and namesake is science fiction visionary and award-winning author Octavia E. Butler.

>School for Poetic Computation (http://sfpc.io)

The School for Poetic Computation (SFPC) is an artist run school in New York that was founded in 2013. A small group of students and faculty work closely to explore the intersections of code, design, hardware and theory — focusing especially on artistic intervention. It’s a hybrid of a school, residency and research group. The School for Poetic Computation is organized around exploring the creative and expressive nature of computational approaches to art and design. The school approaches writing code like creative writing — focusing on the mechanics of programming, the demystification of tools, and hacking the conventions of art-making with computation.

>STEM From Dance (http://stemfromdance.org)

STEM From Dance uses dance to equip girls of color with the skills, exposure, and confidence needed to thrive in STEM in college. The organization offers programs to schools and community centers that neatly integrate dance and STEM, designed to uncover the fun and awesomeness of STEM. STEM from Dance convinces girls that just as they can dance, they also can “do STEM.”

>Urban Arts Partnership (https://www.urbanarts.org)

Urban Arts Partnership advances the intellectual, social and artistic development of underserved public school students through arts-integrated education programs to close the achievement gap. Project Code is UAP's program for teaching computer science and game/app/animation design, with the goal of guiding students to the achievement of real-world success in these fields. Project Code implements a tiered model aimed at delivering accessible and engaging arts-based computer science to students in UAP schools during and after the school day.

>Vidcode (http://www.vidcode.io/)

Vidcode is an award-winning software that teaches teens computer programming through their favorite hobby: video-making. Users can upload mobile video, code effects, and share with friends. Built with teen girls in mind by female engineers, Vidcode is a social place for teens to learn programming in groups and share their interactive projects with each other. These projects include virtual reality, computer vision, and visual effects.