In case you were in doubt, Bushwick ideas indeed are worth spreading. The organizers of the upcoming conference
Patrycja Slawuta and Minda Aguhob definitely think so. “Bushwick has been on the map of all the great outlets for a while, and it’s really up-and-coming,” told us Patrycja Slawuta. “This neighborhood is rising not only in art, but also in science, technology, education and design– and that’s exactly what TED is about,” said Minda Aguhob, the mother of the idea to host a TEDx event in Bushwick.
are local, self-organized events in the license of TED, a global set of conferences under the slogan: “Ideas Worth Spreading.” TEDxBushwick will be held at a yet unconfirmed location in the neighborhood. The organizers are looking for a venue that can hold at least 100 people and has technical abilities and resources for video production as all the talks will be recorded.
TEDxBushwick will be held on the first day of spring– March 21, 2015. The topic of the talks is Translating Transformation and both organizers believe that it will truly put Bushwick on the map.
“We are looking to really organize a world-class event,” said Ms. Aguhob. “We are hoping that at least five talks from TEDxBushwick will be selected for the main TED.com website as not all TEDx talks are,” added Ms. Slawuta. Ms. Aguhob fell in love with the neighborhood while conducting a research at Bushwick’s Woodhull Hospital. “This hospital has Keith Haring art work hanging in the lobby thanks to their artist access program which allows artists to give art work in return of health insurance credits. There is an amazing level of innovation in Bushwick,” she added. Ms. Aguhob who splits her time between San Francisco (where she is part of a start up accelerator) and Bushwick, applied for a TEDx license already in December 2013. Ms. Slawuta then came on board as a co-organizer and a valuable team member who has been organizing similar series of talk events with her husband titled PED Talks. (“P as in Paddy and Ed is my husband,” Ms Slawuta explained laughing.) TEDxBushwick will have 13 speakers, out of which eight have been pre-selected as invited speakers. Additional five speakers will be filled on the basis of an open call. To apply to be a speaker at TEDxBushwick, fill out an application here, and most importantly hurry as the deadline is today, October 15, 2014 at midnight. UPDATE: Due to large interest, the organizers have decided to postpone the deadline to October 20, 2014. Send your application in, if you missed it yesterday! Earlier applicants can revise their applications to improve their chances. Simply email them to confirm.
The organizers told us that so far they have only one confirmed speaker. It is Jonathan Metzl, a professor from Vanderbilt University who specializes in race, ethnicity, social movements, politics, power, gender and sexuality. Other invited yet unconfirmed speakers include a leading experts from the fields of psychology and education. TEDxBushwick @ location TBD, on March 21, 2015. Apply to be a speaker by October 20, 2014 midnight. Follow them on Facebook for updates.
DNAinfo first reported about this story.
