WALTER AMERIKA BLOGS

New York Pics

Been to NY in July, always inspiring, always good for some nice material...

The future of food

Anyone interested in evolutionary thinking and design (not in the religious way), should go and check out the Sources and Senses seminar the Design Academy Eindhoven is organizing on September 8 and 9. Can we still learn from mother nature or should we focus on biotechnology? The seminar is a first proof of a new interest in challenges faced by designers in our modern an d changing world. I'll be chairing a part on Wedsnesday afternoon, focusing on the future of food. Dennis Avery (former Hudson Institute fellow) will take us into a cultivated future. Forget Slow Food! Ouch! 

Wired Magazine had a really interesting article on it some time ago. 

Spearheading the Design Academy Eindhoven

Had a great meeting yesterday with colleague Heads of Departments and the Board of the Design Academy Eindhoven. All about startegy for the coming years. The institute is well renowned for its man central curriculum, but it can't afford to be slowed down by appraisal. There's too much going on in the world today, in which design can play an informative, inspiring and innovative role (here I go again, my business mantra so to speak). The academy has to re-invent itself, renew without loosing the current strength. In my point of view it has to develop from a House of Concepts (is also the title of the book that describes its 60 years history) to a Community of Content, Concept and Context. That trains for design thinking as well as design doing, for creating services as well as creating products.Former director Lidewij Edelkoort did a splendid job putting the academy on the world map, but it's now up to new directors Anne Mieke Eggenkamp and Alexander van Slobbe to put the students on the world map. Not only as cultural artists, but also as creative entrepreneurs and social thoughtleaders. Of course, with all the Heads of Departments to support them.

Getting depressed in Innsbruck

Reading the international newspapers during my stay in Innsbruck, where I attended the last General Meeting of the European Commission Custom Fit project (rapid manufacturing, 3D printing, etc), I got more and more depressed. Not by the fact that the economy is in a real downturn, but by the fact that I never ever read about how we are learning from this experience. Banking has to become traditional again, we have to focus on our national economies, etc etc. How about doing things differently for once?

Why not make choices per country on what your country can contribute to world progress, prosperity and happiness. To paraphrase John F. Kennedy: 'Do not as what the world can do for you, ask what you can do for the world'. I personally don't believe for a split second that money wil be the solution, no matter how much more we loan, inject or print. This thing is about trust. Trust in one another, trust in a new century, trust in what the future might bring, trust in other cultures, trust in nature, trust in young people.

Maybe it's the flu that's trying to get to me... Maybe it's the sauerkraut...anyway, got it off my chest now.

By the way, nothing wrong with Innsbruck in February.

Mothers Wings

Li Edelkoort said goodbye to the Design Academy Eindhoven. End of an era.  On a night full of song, dance, laughter and tears we listened to her trend analysis on future farming (or at least the influence of farming and rural culture on our everyday life). Being the heads of the design departments, me and my colleagues met with Li in the morning, where we got a preview of her presentation. It gave us enough time to go out afterwards and find here a beautiful chicken as a farewell present. 

For the Book of Friends I created a 'mothers wings' poster, in the house style (by Anthon Beeke) of the Academy, based on the typical dresses/gowns Li wears.

A remarkable woman, who will continue to influence the design world, in the coming years. One way or another. No doubt about it.

Amerika Chooses

 Talked about it on BNR radio

Two more books on creativity (in Dutch)

Many books have been written on creativity. Here are two more, in Dutch: 'Oh, wat zijn we creatief', based on research done by a Dutch financial paper and consultancy Trompenaars Hampden-Turner. About 850 people answered questions on corporate creativity. Outcome: most respondents saw themselves to be more creative than they are in reality: on a scale from 1 to 10, people ranked themselves a 7.3, while actually they only scored a 6.3 according to the researchers. Not a very positive outcome for Dutch Corporate Creativity, I would argue. Next to the research the book contains interviews with people on creative issues. Also with partner Adriaan Kukler and myself on our initiative to rate creative companies in order to make them more investor ready and to look into the possibilities of setting up a tailormade bank/financial institution for creativity.

Other book is called Art & Leadership by the Baak management centre. Also a series of interviews, essays and columns on creativity. Also with an article by myself on how Holland could become a true 'nation of creation'.

The art of trusting

My friend Aad Boon loves a fine piece of art. So, in the good tradition of Gaius Cilnius Maecenas, together with his wife Mirjam he commissioned Paul Dedden and Albert Keizer - better know as the Space Cowboys - to make him a sculputure. To be placed in his lovely garden. Now the basic thing of such an assignment seems to me to be trust. Trust by the artists involved that they will get the freedom to create along their ideas and standards of quality and at the same time trust by the commissioner that the artists will have a real interest in his individual esthetic likings and possibilities in time, space and money involved.

Concidering the happy faces of both Space Cowboys and Aad and Mirjam when the sculpture was revealed to family and friends last night, it seemed to me that the art of trusting worked out beautifully between the four of them.

The Power of Film

On May 10, 2008 — Pangea Day — sites in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked live to produce a program of 'powerful films, visionary speakers, and uplifting music'.

The program will be broadcast live to the world through the Internet, television, digital cinemas, and mobile phones. 24 short films have been selected from an international competition that generated more than 2,500 submissions from 100+ countries. They were chosen based on their ability to inspire, transform, and help us see the world through another person's eyes. The winning films will be announced in late April.

The 4-hour Pangea Day program will include visionary speakers and live music in addition to the featured films. Queen Noor of Jordan, CNN's Christiane Amanpour, musician/activist Bob Geldof and Iranian rock phenom Hypernova are among the presenters taking part.

Amsterdam hosts an event in Huize Frankendael and I would certainly would have attented, but I'm on a return flight from Athens. Anyway, have a look here.

Creative Cities Amsterdam Area

This morning elderwoman Gehrels from Amsterdam installed the Creative Board of a new hub for the creative industries, called Creative Cities Amsterdam Area. I was asked to chair this board which advices city on how to facilitate the creative industries in the Netherlands. Dutch creative icons from seven cities in the Amsterdam area are participating. Hopefully the board will be able to speed up decisions on housing, finance, education and diversity. It may be clear that the creative process has different dynamics compared to city government. A nice experiment to see whether the world of rules and regulations can be spiced up by the world of inspiration and innovation.