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ROBIN GREARSON Posts

Event: Create Community, October 23 at The Brooklyn Brewery

Published October 18, 2013 by Robin

Making Something Else: Creative Community Meeting at The Brooklyn Brewery Wednesday, October 23.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BROOKLYN, NY, October 17, 2013 – On Wednesday, October 23, instructors, members, students and others comprising the community formerly known as 3rd Ward are invited to gather at The Brooklyn Brewery’s Tasting Room for an informal networking mixer hosted by writing instructor Robin Grearson. This will be the first opportunity for the large group of coworkers, members, instructors and others to reconnect since their creative home shut its doors.

Speakers include former instructors Launa Eddy, Ryan O’Connor and Victoria Valencia; attorney Genan Zilkha will offer advice on starting new businesses. And two speakers will describe initiatives they created to support students and teachers: CourseHorse offers credit to students who bought 3rd Ward classes through its site, and the Instructor Matchmaking service, created by Brooklyn Brainery to connect instructors and classrooms.

The mission is primarily social but also looking forward, in part by introducing the group to a host of local resources for artists and makers. Throughout the free event, representatives from up to 20 area learning communities, art spaces, maker and coworking spaces will be introduced and identified, allowing people to connect according to their own interests. The partial list of participating businesses is provided below.

Robin Grearson says she was inspired to create an event when she saw offers of support appearing online. “So many people wanted to help in some way, I wanted to bring everyone together to discover these resources,” she said. “I started planning the event by myself but was quickly offered lots of support. People feel the loss of 3rd Ward because it attracted so many talented, smart, and creative people. But the people were its strength, and they’re still here. I want to create opportunities for this community to connect and share ideas, because new friendships, collaborations and solutions will naturally develop. I want to see value return to the creative community instead of to a group of investors.”

The following is a partial list of organizations planning to attend:

319 Scholes
Art Factory
Bird River Studios
Brooklyn Art Space
Brooklyn Brainery
Brooklyn Craft Company
Brooklyn Fire Proof
The Center for Kosher Culinary Arts
CourseHorse
DCTV
Fountain Art Fair
Hack Manhattan
Happenstance Jewelry Studio
Manufacture New York
Mellow Pages
Painting Lounge
The Public School: New York
Silent Barn
Two Moon Cafe
TurnToTech
UnionDocs
WECREATE

For further information, please see the event page, here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/8880021383.

Event details:
What’s Next? Creating Community
Wednesday, October 23, 2013, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM
The Brooklyn Brewery Tasting Room
79 N 11th St.
Brooklyn, NY 11249

About:
About The Brooklyn Brewery:
The Brooklyn Brewery generously donated the use of their Tasting Room and the cost of staff for our event. http://brooklynbrewery.com

About CourseHorse:
CourseHorse is an educational guide to NYC that makes it easy to find, compare and enroll in thousands of professionally instructed classes in topics ranging from art, crafts and cooking, to tech, writing, design and more. http:coursehorse.com

About Brooklyn Brainery:
Brooklyn Brainery is a community classroom in Prospect Heights, hosting classes for curious adults on everything from botany to bookbinding. http://brooklynbrainery.com

About Robin Grearson:
Robin Grearson is a nonfiction writer, writing instructor and consultant in Brooklyn, New York. http://robingrearson.com

Media contact: Robin Grearson.

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Party! See You at The Brooklyn Brewery

Published October 16, 2013 by Robin

Dear students, friends, associates & strangers,

I was a writing instructor with 3rd Ward until May 2013. When it closed without warning, I wanted to do something, so I am setting up a (free!) event for people to talk about what they’re doing next. Through the generosity of The Brooklyn Brewery team, this idea-focused gathering is scheduled for 7:30 – 9:30 PM on Wednesday, October 23 in the brewery’s Tasting Room.

This will be the first opportunity to assemble, and I hope to create something fun and valuable. I’m writing to ask for input as I set up the event. Please share this note so anyone who wants to can contact me to participate or help. Event details and an invite and other specifics will be available as soon as I compile the information you send me. Here’s where we are so far:

**New projects and collectives are already forming. I’ve invited some instructors to talk about new projects, and there is room for two or three more to talk about new ideas. Contact me if you are looking for partners in something new.

**A few speakers will discuss their company’s initiatives, such as CourseHorse’s 100-percent-credit offer and Brooklyn Brainery’s Instructor Matchmaking service. Instructors & venues, have you signed up for Instructor Matchmaking yet? http://brooklynbrainery.com/blog/the-3rd-ward-instructor-matchmaking-service.

**I will be introducing and identifying some amazing people who offer classes, co-working spaces and other resources in the area throughout the event. If you or your business wants to be part of this, show up or contact me for specifics.

**Really, the idea is to simply connect. So there will be lots of time for that, too.

Do you want to help?
I am seeking a (licensed!) door person and a couple of volunteers to help. Photographers, videographers, or writers who want to help broadcast or document the event, please let me know.

Questions/disclaimer:
I have no affiliation with 3rd Ward or its business affairs. If you want to write to me about your frustrations anyway, send me a note. I probably can’t help, but maybe you will feel better.

Please add me to whatever social network makes sense for you, if we’re not already connected.

Thank you,
Robin

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Writing workshops in DC

Published October 8, 2013 by Robin

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I couldn’t be happier with the writing workshops in Washington, DC over September 28-29. The weekend was my first introduction to the artists there. I found a receptive, engaged community of artists; many had ties to Brooklyn, I almost forgot I was hours from home.

The current show by the Hamiltonian gallery, my host and sponsor, featured work by one of its fellows, Will Schneider-White, paired with mentor and artist Benjamin Bellas. Ostensible Fictions presents an effective pairing, and I can’t say enough about the nurturing environment I found at the gallery. The next time Hamiltonian Artists begins accepting applications for its two-year Fellows program, expect me to help spread the word.

Here’s a link to a post one of the students wrote about the “Who Are You” workshop. I didn’t know she was planning to write about the class, but I’m so glad she did. Thank you, Ashley!

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Teaching in DC this weekend

Published September 27, 2013 by Robin

I’m spending this weekend in Washington, DC, where I have been invited to lead two writing workshops for artists: Learn to Love Your Artist Statement and Who Are You?

Hamiltonian Artists invited me to participate in their Professional Development Speaker Series, and I am honored to accept. The workshops are funded in part by DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, which is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

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New interview posted at The Believer: Tom Morello

Published August 27, 2013 by Robin

I had an opportunity to speak with Tom Morello earlier this summer, and I was very interested in the politically active rocker’s thoughts on current events: at the time of our interview Brazil & Turkey & Edward Snowden’s whereabouts were getting the headlines.

One of my favorite quotes: “If you want to change the world right now, it’s not so much a secret how you do it.”

Read the full interview, here.

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