Interview: Peter Hirshberg and the Geek/Arts culture divide in San Francisco

[ZDNet]

Summary: Teaching geek stuff to artists and arts to geeks is a key goal for GAFFTA, an innovative startup focused on bridging the cultural divide in San Francisco…

– One of GAFFTA’s innovative programs in 2011 was the “Summer of Smart” — a series of hackathons and events that brought together city planners, software engineers, local residents, and artists to create applications for city living.

– The Summer of Smart managed to produce several interesting apps. It was a success in that it managed to involve a lot of city officials and staff. The hackathons showed city administrators what could be achieved from engaging the community to help solve problems.

– Singapore is very interested in the Summer of Smart and has invited Peter Hirshberg to visit and help set up similar hackathons. The top-down approach in Singapore could push through various apps and programs faster there than in San Francisco….

– GAFFTA’s mission is dedicated to furthering the use and advancement of creative technology for social good.

– GAFFTA has a strong commitment to education and runs weekend courses teaching anyone how to code and create apps through its Creative Technology Studies program. Participants are certified in four areas: Audio Emphasis – teaching cutting digital audio edge techniques; Visual Emphasis – teaching principles of generative art, data visualization, design and aesthetics; Web Emphasis – teaching critical thinking, user interface design and coding; Physical Interaction Emphasis – which includes principles of 3D art, prototyping, multitouch interfaces, and how to use conductive fabrics.

– GAFFTA budget is about $1 million a year. It held a very successful fund raiser in December. …

See the full story here: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/foremski/interview-peter-hirshberg-and-the-geekarts-culture-divide-in-san-francisco/2058