Pieces of MiND

Hey all! First, a big round of “thank yous” are in order. Thank you so much to everyone who visits our site, watches MiND on television, attends open houses, boot camps and community advisory board meetings, to our interns, and a huge thank you to our members who have submitted programs!

Check out what’s new! Each month, we will post on Pieces of MiND to tell you about the latest and greatest additions to the growing MiND library. This month be sure to check out:

Original productions from MiND Members

Toy Robot Museum by Ryan Ritchey
Join host Anna Steffen as she interviews Toy Robot Museum founder Joe Knedlhans about his unique collection in Adamstown, PA.

Glen Phillips: I Still Love You by Kathryn Morrison
This intimate live performance features the song “I Still Love You” from the third solo album from the lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket. Phillips also talks about the process of making the album and his inspiration for the song.

2007 Pew Fellow: King Britt - Music Composition by Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage
This program features King Britt, a renowned, innovative musician and DJ. Britt says he is on a journey exploring the patchwork of rhythmic textures from many urban dance music cultures: deep house, hip hop, broken beat, nu-jazz, funk, and afro-tech.

Kinofilm Project by Aby Rao
This program features the people working on the Kinofilm Project in Philadelphia to bring visibility to films of Eastern European influence, and to provide local Philadelphians with a more global view of the world.

Tony Lankford’s DOWNTOWN the Actor’s Lounge: Glynn Turman
Tony Lankford he interviews long-time actor Glynn Turman in this episode of his ongoing series.

And, also a couple of original productions from the MiND Studios…

Alison Bechdel - Reading From “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic”
Cartoonist and graphic novelist Alison Bechdel discusses her creative processes and explores aspects of her latest autobiographical book, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Watch MiND’s exclusive reading by the New York Times best-selling author.

Joe Sestak: Talks About Education and Business
In this program, Congressman Sestak discusses issues surrounding workforce development, including ways schools and businesses can better work together. Hear from your elected community leaders about their experience, perspectives on public policy and more. See also MiND’s programs with Congressman Dennis Kucinich.

Nice work everybody – keep them coming!

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News & Events

More than a year ago, I spotted newspaper coverage of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s (PEC) Philadelphia Sustainability Awards, an annual event highlighting the best examples of environmentally and economically sustainable practices in our region. The blurb in the paper pointed me to PEC’s website, where I learned about some of the amazing individuals and organizations honored at the event.

MiND TV was still a (mostly) conceptual entity at that point, with a place holder for a website and very little actual content to prove its existence. The Sustainability Awards served as an example of how little attention the media typically gives to these important stories. It also illustrated how MiND could serve as a venue for substantive, lasting coverage of such stories on television. A more sustainable form of programming, so to speak.

I took my thoughts about featuring the Sustainability Award winners on MiND to the 2nd Street Branch office of the PEC. Several months later, we received a grant from the Sustainable Development Fund to create the first four Sustainable Philadelphia television programs. There are now six programs in the series, five of which are airing regularly on MiND (the sixth is coming soon). We’d love to do a lot more of them.

The first program across the finish line was the story of Jackie O’Neil, a middle-aged woman who decided that she wanted to build a home which produces more energy than it uses, with sustainable materials, and at a comparable market rate to traditional construction. Jackie’s project caused her to become an unintentional spokesperson for sustainable building, and her home became a model as well as a really cool residence.

Last Wednesday night, PEC, MiND, and the 3 Point Production Group (producers of the programs) held a screening in the upstairs venue at Rembrandt’s Restaurant in Fairmount. Several of the people featured in the programs were in attendance, including Jackie. After her program screened, she kindly and thoroughly answered questions – lots of questions, grilling her about the process, the things she learned, and why she spends so much of her time advocating for others to build the same way.

The programs served as a catalyst for discussion, and a modestly-sized but highly engaged crowd peppered each featured guest with questions about water quality, wind energy, environmental education, and sustainability as an economic engine. The programs built interest and awareness in the subject matter, but it was the knowledge sharing that took place afterwards that made the event a success.

– EF, MiND TV

Special thanks to Rembrandt’s for hosting the event, to Spencer and Jessica from PEC for choosing to work with MiND at such an early stage (and following through with lots of energy for the project), and to the Sustainable Development Fund for making the collaboration possible.

This past weekend, about 1,500 people visited Philadelphia for a conference about the arts in America. The event was a first for MiND: we had a table in the trade show area, and we covered the conference with a pair of video crews. (The resulting programs will be edited this summer.)

In four days, we met hundreds of people who operated theater companies; exhibited public art in airports; ran schools for every income level; helped to arrange Federal and state grants; and more. These people are deeply engaged in changing the world, and it was wonderful to be among them. One favorite session: a group of theater professionals discussing the best ways to connect news and theater for increased relevance and for community impact.

For me, one of the most impressive parts of the weekend was a welcome speech by our own Mayor Michael Nutter. During the short time he has been our mayor, Mr. Nutter has doubled arts funding. More importantly, he has begun to instill a sense of connected agendas for the region. He connects arts to economic development, encourages the use of arts to tie the region to the city and the city to the region, he believes and speaks forcefully about the importance of arts education, and he has announced plans for a newly instituted office of arts and culture. These are the right directions for our city, and I suspect, they will become a model for other cities as well. He made me proud. His standing ovation, from arts leadership throughout the country, was well-deserved.

There is so much more to tell. Others from MiND also attended, and I’m sure they will add to my comments. And, a thank you also to the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance for being the local host for this event in Philadelphia.

HB, CEO, MiND