Social Media Week Edition: Social Media Art

Social media has proven to be a revolutionary innovation in the way we communicate, and it's only fitting that today's artists would push the limits of this new form of expression and discourse. Artists and creative professionals of all varieties are taking to social media platforms to speak in the medium of their day, be it tweet, status update or YouTube video. And they're tackling issues that bear more weight than a mere 140 characters might imply, taking on gender, race, socio-economics and social politics as urgently as these issues need addressing.

We'll hear from five creative professionals who each are using social media in different ways, thinking beyond the boundaries of this new medium for artistic expression.

We will also be live streaming this event on our new Ustream channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/artstech

Huge thanks to the folks from CultureHub (http://www.culturehub.org/) for running our stream for us!

Schedule:

7:00pm - Doors

7:30pm - Presentations, 10-15 min per speaker

8:15pm - Round table discussion

9-10pm - Drinks and snacks

We're very pleased to welcome Tumblr (http://www.tumblr.com) as the food and beverage sponsor for this meetup and to hear from their Art Outreach lead, Annie Werner, as part of the night's program!

Speakers:

Annie Werner is the Art Outreach lead for Tumblr (http://www.tumblr.com), where she has worked since August 2010. She began as Tumblr's inaugural intern until she decided she could be of more use helping artists and art institutions make the most of the platform, both individually and as a community. She is a graduate of NYU's Gallatin School with an intentionally vague degree in New Media and Public Discourse.

Shane Brennan spent four years on the curatorial and programming team at the interdisciplinary public art organization Creative Time (creativetime.org (http://creativetime.org/)) in New York. In this role, he facilitated the realization of numerous site-specific installations, exhibitions, conferences, events, online projects, and publications. In 2011, he left his post as Assistant Curator to pursue a PhD in Media, Culture, and Communication at NYU.

Amber Hawk Swanson (http://amberhawkswanson.com/), a native of Iowa, is a video and performance artist living and working in Brooklyn and Chicago. She has exhibited extensively in the United States and abroad, including New York, Miami, Atlanta and Estonia. She has also participated in a number of residencies and has been a visiting artist at McGill University and Hunter College, among other prestigious appointments. Her work is included in the permanent and MPP collections of the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago and has been profiled and reviewed extensively. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Ryder Ripps (http://ryder-ripps.com/) is a conceptual artist whose work deals with the Internet. In November 2009, Ripps co-founded the surfing club Dump.fm (http://dump.fm/) along with Tim Baker of Delicious and Scott Ostler. Ripps's subjects include Facebook and computer experience. He has shown work at Eyebeam Art and Technology Center, and in April 2011, he was listed at the top of L Magazine's "5 Art Stars You Need to Know," by Benjamin Sutton and Paddy Johnson. Ripps has collaborated with artist Ryan Trecartin and M.I.A. (artist). Ripps's most recent efforts have focused on viral marketing and other web-based commercial endeavors.

Jayson Musson (http://www.youtube.com/user/HennesyYoungman) (aka Hennesy Youngman) is an artist who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY and is best known for his internet-based ‘Art Thoughtz’ video series. Musson holds a BFA in Photography from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and an MFA in painting from the University of Pennsylvania. He has exhibited nationally and internationally, including Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA, West Galerie, Den Haag, The Netherlands, David Castillo Gallery, Miami, FL, Grimmuseum, Berlin, Germany, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA.