BNV2013 – Creative Ecosystems

Let’s live beyond ourselves and our moment for this week. This week, let’s live for eachother… It’s not about your Egosystem. I’m telling you, it’s what Marc Bamuthi Joseph calls a creative ecosystem. – Hodari Davis, Youth Speaks

This was the first time I heard the term Creative Ecosystem, while working with Dimitri Moore as part of the Brave New Voices Online Crew. It stuck with me because it’s an idea that had been germinating in my brain as art permaculture, which isn’t nearly as catchy. I like this definition of the concept:

Creative Ecosystems – Application which is designed to use biological ecosystems to produce art – GitHub

Chicago’s become a creative ecosystem this weekend as EXPO Chicago, Edition and Fountain Art Fairs herald the beginning of Fall. There’s plenty of art for you to see in the real world this weekend so I thought I’d share some more videos from the last time I witnessed an event like this in our city. Cyphers are a large part of what goes on at Brave New Voices. Poets gathering from all around the world means there’ll be some freestyling because it’s their way of sharpening their skills and spreading ideas from city to city. This Afterhours Cypher was more structured than others that spring up more spontaneously, with prompts by local hip hop artist, Phenom.