New Ideas for a Newer York City

Last weekend was the first Festival of Ideas for The New City. The festival lasted for 5 days and incorporated conferences, a street festival, and group projects. Over 200 organizations in the Downtown area participated. The goal of the festival was to promote effective change within the city, for organizations and individuals to imagine what the future will hold in urban lifestyle, and to explore new concepts that will help shape and improve city life. Ideas ranged from getting the community together, going green, recycling, upcycling, supporting farmers and small business, innovative design, etc.

Here is a glimpse of some of the participants from one day at the street festival all along Bowery. Imagine what the whole festival entailed.

Hearth by Audrey Berman

• Hearth is a mobile bread oven used on site to bake bread and as a conversation piece to help bring the community together.

Front oven and fresh bread

Back powered by bicycle

Project PeaceBomb

• Project PeaceBomb is a collaboration between artisans and organizations (Article 22, RISE Project, Swiss NGO, Helvetas) to support clearance of unexploded bombs from Laos. Jewelry and home items are made from the bombs and other scrap metals. Each purchase will help a household in need and further develop sustainability of the villages.

Spoon Herb Garden Markers $66

Bangle Set $36

Bushwick Art Park

• The real Bushwick Art Park is not open yet but is in the works. Let's cross our fingers that the park gets enough support so that in can become a reality on Flushing Avenue and Vandervoort Place. If there's one thing New Yorkers are famous for, it's creating usable space out of just a few square feet.

Olek

Leon Reid IV

Festival of Ideas for the New City

Project PeaceBomb

Bushwick Art Park