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This is the last post for awhile. On April 18th we hosted an experiential screening of our short documentary, Before the Bridge. We also showcased Rewired, an empathy game about automation. The night was also a celebration of my tenure at 72U/72andSunny. John Boiler gave a beautiful send off. Here is my love letter to 72andSunny and all the 72U participants from that night:

John, you and 72andSunny will always have a place in my heart - right next to Brooklyn. :)

72andSunny has given me a priceless gift. It’s not one thing and it’s hard to sum up into words. You’ve given me the ideal conditions to be my best.

Anyone who knows me knows I am passionate about collaboration for many reasons - collaboration pushes you out of your comfort zone, it extends your abilities of what is possible, and collaboration amplifies.

The last four year have been a magical collaboration between 72andSunny, the participants and me. I think we’re all surprised by what came out of this experiment.

John, 72andSunny - you gave me a blank canvas, trust and resources. That was the winning combination that brought out the best in me. You introduced me to an ideal environment for fostering creative growth. I couldn’t have designed a better scenario. In fact, before I became Director of 72U, I wrote out a dream job description as an exercise. Then 72andSunny came into the picture and your job description kicked my job description’s ass. And yours came with a paycheck!

During these four years I experienced what top notch leadership looks and feels like. You are amazing role models; showing generosity, trust, vulnerability, light-heartedness, humility and grace. I will never be satisfied working for a company that doesn’t have strong values, that isn’t purpose driven. That doesn’t know itself well. This is a blessing and a curse.

What makes 72 great is the culture and you can’t have culture without people. It’s so easy to get sucked into one’s own world - thanks to all of you who contributed to 72U.

I also want to thank all the participants - you quit your jobs, you moved across the country or to another country, blindly. You signed up for this three month adventure without knowing what you’d even be working on or what would happen after the program. That requires some serious trust, sense of adventure, investing in yourself, courage. Thank you for saying yes and giving everything you had. The program is only as good as the people in it.

We are all on a journey. Collectively and individually. I spent the last four years getting very close to 12 different cohorts only to release them back into the wild three months later. In total I coached/mentored/creative directed 80 participants. I could not be more proud of all the work we made together. Sometimes they stuck around 72andSunny but often times they moved on. This process made me practice embracing change - one of 72andSunny’s values. Embracing change is fundamental for the creative process.

And now it’s time to pass the torch onto the next 72U Director. Traecy, know I am cheering you on and I can’t wait to see what you do with the next chapter of 72U.

72andSunny, thank you. I am walking away with a full heart.

Love, Maria S

#change #creativity #creative residnecy #maria scileppi #72andsunny #72U #dream job #collaboration

It all comes together on April 18th...

After three months of work, 72u is pleased to present HELLO TOMORROW - A night celebrating human and machine with a film screening of Before the Bridge, our short documentary film on automation.

The film will be live scored by the band King Arthur and the Night Seas in collaboration with an A.I. musician named Shimon.

Event will feature live music, an interactive video game, and a farewell to 72U's Director Maria Scileppi. Immediately following the screening, Z Holly, host of "The Art of Manufacturing" podcast, will moderate a Q+A with a panel of experts from the film.

**RSVP REQUIRED: www.hellotomorrowevent.com Since this is a blog post, I will include a personal note: I simply can’t believe 72u is coming to an end. 3 months ago I didn’t know what to expect. The phrases “Peanut Butter Jelly Time shenanigans,” “A film scored by an artificially intelligent robot,” “A video game about job loss,” “A trip to Gary, Indiana, and Silicon Valley to film a documentary on how automation will impact humanity,” and “A Think Tank about how to expand diversity in the creative workforce,” would all have been completely foreign to me. But they now have all become embedded in my vocabulary, thoughts, and memories. We still have a week left here, but the nostalgia is kickin’ in. I’m going to miss you, 72U!

- Kalina

BEHIND THE SCENES

With less than 2 weeks to go from the screening of our documentary on automation, the team works tirelessly to add the finishing touches to the video game, movie, event schedule, and posters. While I’m sure we’ll have a great time at our experiential film screening, I’m convinced we’re having more fun creating it all.

After two hours of make-up for our model/hostess, Knoxx and Savannah have transformed the maker space into a dark and magical music video. My skin crawled electric entering the photoshoot while watching Jessica direct our wonderful model Danielle Delaite, who is no stranger to the flashing lights and music.

These are the days that we will never forget...creating unforgettable work.

-DK Wright

#behind the scenes #photoshoot

WHAT A CREW!

We only have 2.5 weeks left (out of 12), but we aren’t quite done letting the people know we are here! This week we each took the nerve-racking task of bragging about how awesome we are to an auditorium filled with 500 amazingly talented and creative 72andSunny’ers. No pressure - right?!

Luckily our crew of 7 individual makers all have some amazing work that does that bragging for us. From VR experiences, to slam poetry jams, to global communications projects, I’d say we have nothing to be nervous about ;) Although that is true, a huge stadium of onlookers still doesn't make it easy. Luckily for me, my contacts scratched my eyes the day before we spoke, so I headed up to the mic with no vision of the crowd to make me nervous. Phew!

If you’re curious what our crew “bragged” about, here are the rad side projects we have cooked up pre-72:

Jessica Quattrini: Creator of @juniperandmagpie Hiking Community

Kalina Silverman: “Big Talk” global communications project with 2.6 million views on Youtube!

DK Wright: Spoken Word Artist

Antonio Knoxx: A Maker and A “Pluralist”

Will Miao: Creative Technologist, UX Designer, and all around genius

Lewis Wilcox: Documentary Film Maker featured in the New York Times for his soon-to-be released film The Bakken.

Dana Angelo: Comedy Writer and Fabulous BioQueen

<3 JQ

You know that feeling when you see a new side of someone with whom you already feel super familiar? That “holy shit I never knew that about you” moment? Well this week has been THAT non-stop. Whilst recording some voiceovers for our game, I learned that DK has an undeniably mean Elmo impression that had me questioning whether my auditory nerves were plugged in to the right ports in my brain. Then, Kalina’s dream of scoring a film surfaced when the opportunity to score the game came up -- and now she’s creating a 4-part score to accompany the journey of our game’s hero. No biggie.

Working on this game has allowed so many of my teammates to demonstrate their many, diverse talents - from visual design to voice to writing, coding, animation, interaction design, and music-making, reminding me of the beauty of game development -- few projects bring so many different disciplines together to make a single thing. It can be challenging to execute on all of these well, but it is nothing short of sublime when things work out better than you could’ve imagined it. Besides, it’s hard to not have fun when you’re making something fun.

Game on,

- Will M.

As we dive further into the rabbit hole, we see the world that we created. The objects and pieces become us and we become them. Down to the smallest details and meticulous features. It’s amazing to see where we started and how we navigated this animated, interactive art canvas we constructed. Creating and curating a game has been the ultimate pleasure and we are not done yet.

We journey on...

#72u

72U Hits the Lanes

Few things are more American, and better at bringing a group of people together, than bowling. 72U headed to Bowlero on Tuesday night for an evening of beer, moderately heavy balls, and friendly competition.

Two games were played, on two lanes. While no bets were made on who would win, if we had, Knoxx would be a slightly richer man. He kicked all our butts both games. If he decides to change careers, I can see Professional Bowler in his future.

With less than four weeks left in the program, bowling was a nice morale boost as well as a chance for the team to reconnect after the automation crew was gone for two weeks.

While bowling, The Sandlot was playing on a screen in the background. Maria pointed out that a friend of hers mentioned she looks like Karen Allen (who plays a mom in it). We realized that yes, Maria does resemble Karen Allen, which is awesome, because she was in Scrooged and Raiders of the Lost Ark!

-Dana

Hello Gary, Indiana

Last week San Francisco, California. This week Gary, Indiana.

On Saturday, the Deputy Sheriff of Gary, Indiana - Dan Merchack, took Dana, Lewis, and I on a ride along through the city. We were able to see firsthand what might happen to the workers in a community undergoing industrial collapse. In Gary, the city’s economy took a downturn when steel and manufacturing jobs faced overseas competition. 90 percent of the workforce was cut and since 1960, the population has been reduced to half its size.

Gary is now somewhat of an urban ghost town. We drove past one abandoned building after another; an ice cream shop, an elementary school, a Chinese restaurant...In fact, with the exception of a some churches and homes, we passed by few buildings that weren’t boarded up.

I’m curious to see how our experience in Gary will play a part in shaping the narrative of our documentary. While residents of Gary for the most part lost their jobs to overseas workers, I wonder what might happen in the future to residents of a city who lose their jobs...to robot workers instead.

-Kalina

Wonderful Weirdos!

Every morning is the same. We reset our minds, bodies, and souls, and set our intentions for the day by meditating as a collective group for 10 minutes. Sometimes it feels great. Sometimes it may feel excessive. Maybe once or twice it might feel like you're falling asleep as your mind relaxes into a dream state. Regardless of varying frames of mind each day, the one thing it does do is sets us all on the same page for the day. Followed by an inspiring talk or act by a different team member each day; it truly is the perfect way to start the day.

This particular morning, we took our “practice” to the streets. Set to the sound of Chopin, our minds completely forgot how much of a crazy cult of wonderful weirdos we might have looked like sitting in a row, eyes closed, and silent. That is until a security guard suspiciously stared at us for awhile before telling us we needed to more or less “shut it down.” I guess not everyone can understand our particular brand of weird, but we can’t win ‘em all, right?!

So, how do you like to start your morning, and set your own personal daily intentions? We invite you to try it the 72U way - but word of the wise: avoid security guards.

XX, Jessica Quattrini

We’re having fun here at 72U.

Last week, as others have mentioned, we had an amazing first week of shooting our automation short doc all around Silicon Valley and San Francisco.

Today, we reunited and Maria shot Jenga pieces at us.

Though we accomplished a lot more today than just the magical moment above.

We had a spiritual (and, for one security guard, suspicious) morning meditation outside, an amazing guest speaker - trend forecaster Sara Radin - who enlightened us on her process finding what’s next in culture, a group sync on everything that happened last week, delicious and nutritious collective lunch on the patio, and a jam session where we, among other things, named and planned the session’s grand finale event, and plotted sending out a tease to wet everyone’s automation whistle.

The point is we really do get a little bit of everything here in this dream of a program :)

-Lewis

Update from Team Automation

On Sunday, Kalina, Lewis, and I (Dana) traveled north to the San Francisco Bay Area to begin shooting interviews for our automation documentary.

Since Monday, we’ve been driving back and forth between Silicon Valley and San Francisco, making stops in between at Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, and a small town called Livermore. Our interviewees have ranged from CEOs to professors to futurists. This includes Henry Hu (pictured above), the 23-year-old CEO of Café X, entrepreneur and technologist Vivienne Ming, and author Martin Ford.

Each interview subject has offered their unique perspective on automation, how it will affect jobs across the board, and what America should be doing to prepare itself for this. Just wait until you hear their thoughts, it’s some fascinating stuff.

Our last day tomorrow will be spent filming at Enlitic, and hopefully fitting in some time to grab one of those famous Mission burritos. We had back to L.A. on Saturday, where we’ll have one day to recover and paint our nails (okay, that’s my big plan). We’ll have two day back at 72andSunny before hitting the road sky to Chicago where we’ll travel around the Midwest to interview more people.

One fun little tidbit to add about our trip: we’re staying at an Airbnb owned by prominent cannabis activist Ed Rosenthal and his wife, Jane. This was completely unbeknownst to us before we arrived. Since then, we’ve been anxiously hoping he’ll sit down and tell us some stories. It hasn’t happened yet, but we still have high hopes, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the particular scent we’ve noticed wafting around the house. Or maybe it does?

-Dana

While half of the team is up in San Francisco shooting for our Automation documentary, the rest of us are continuing to grind and flush out ideas for the interactive game we are developing. It has been a tremendous collaborative effort on everyones part.

Above is a storyboard piece for level 3, that shows ideas and perspectives of how the game will conceptually look. This was a joy illustrating, and seeing it transition from copy to a template of a visual, to a working prototype.

As we continue to manifest on...

72u makes Big Talk

What is Big Talk? A question that slips under the surface and skips the small talk to reach something more meaningful. This morning, we at 72u, wrote our own Big Talk questions:

What was the scariest thing you’ve overcome? - Will

What is your definition of happiness? - Dana

If I really knew you, I would know _________. - DK

What is your desert island book? Why? - Lewis

Who was the second person you fell in love with? - Knoxx

Who or what do you miss? - Jessica

What is the first thing you thought about when you woke up this morning? - Savannah

What is a selfless/loving/kind act that someone did for you that really surprised you? - Kalina

When did you become you? - Maria

We then went around in a circle and challenged each other to answer these questions. It’s crazy how much you can learn about someone in a few moments of time. We have six weeks left. I’m curious to see what else there is to uncover.

- Kalina

#72andsunny #72u #big talk #makebigtalk

Op-Ed: 24 Hours Without Her

...the measure of any society is how it treats it’s women and girls.

- Former First Lady Michelle Obama

Why is this quote important to me? *finds list*

March is Women’s History Month

My Jamaican Mom

March 8th is International Working Women's Day

My Sister’s birthday is prolifically “March Fourth”

I love womyn & the progressive thinking that I’ll raise my future daughter/son with.

90% of my close family members are women

March 10th 2017 is A Day Without A Woman

Yes, today highlights a movement that seeks to show the vital role women play in both the domestic and global economy. It also aims to bring attention to sexual harassment, discrimination, lower wages and job insecurity that women often face.

While I can’t speak for all men of color… or all men. I can speak to the dynamic relationship I have with the women on my team, that has been fostered by the 72U via 72andSunny. This is not a coincidence. It’s an intentional shift to push the needle. A needle lost in the haystack of the “Mad Men” fraternity.

This environment does what was once considered an impossible alternative reality. Thats’s why I would love to continue sharing my talents here after 72U. I’m privileged to be apart of this sneak peek of tomorrow’s creative class. How?

It’s good for business. Who said that women (or anyone for that matter) need to be “one of the guys” in order for things to work? Challenge convention, have a guy be “one of the girls” too.

It makes me a better person. I can completely empathize with not needing to prove myself to be treated as a human. My contributions aren’t my race/gender/age/etc. People want to see themselves reflected in their partners. You shouldn’t be afraid to reflect your partner while demanding your partner reflect you.

It’s radically safe to say: a solid measure of any company's “culture fit” is how it embraces diversity while building a space for creativity.

I dedicate this to all the women (in my office life) who don’t have the luxury to strike. As well as my dear teammates; as you ladies go on strike today or wear red in solidarity or however you’d like to make your impact felt... I respect you.

And no one should have to work for that.

- DK Wright

We are officially on week 6, meaning we are halfway done with the 12 week program at 72U. So far, the thing I appreciate most about this experience has been the amount of personal growth I have been gaining. I am learning so much about myself and how I work on a team, and constantly reflecting and striving to make myself a better person, teammate, leader, and learner, each day.

The driving reason for me applying to 72U was to become creatively re-inspired and reinvigorated. Aside from the bustling creative energy of the office at 72andSunny in general, the people in my program have inspired me more than I could have imagined!

Knoxx: I have been trying to be Knoxx’s “manager” since day 1. His passion for creativity is contagious, and his eye for making the ordinary, extraordinary, is unparalleled. I am constantly in awe at the things he makes, and the loving spirit he exudes. Every time I look at his work, I am inspired to try something different and to craft my eye further the way he has his.

DK: DK is the most driven guy I’ve met. He is so genuinely interested in the world around him, and is always striving to contribute his own brand of awesome into it. He is a lover, and cares deeply about those around him. He is a people-person, and his way of being able to talk to anyone about anything is something that makes me seriously jealous. He is a poet - every sentence that comes out of his mouth was carefully crafted in his mind, and I am inspired every time I hear him speak.

Will: Will is ridiculously smart, hilariously funny, and beyond talented at his craft. He is so humble though, and you have to really dig in to find out every little interesting nugget about him (as he doesn’t like to make a show). And honestly, he doesn’t need to - his work speaks for itself. I have never seen such a fast learner, with such a genuine spirit. I have loved uncovering every dimension of this brilliant teammate, and I feel like there’s still so much he is about the reveal (and I can’t wait).

Dana: I have felt connected to this brave soul since I first laid eyes on her! First off - she is the first female drag queen I’ve ever met (a dream I have always had). Secondly - she is ridiculously brave! I mean it takes a lot of guts to be a “bio-queen”, it takes a lot of guts to be a performer, and it takes a lot of guts to be unapologetically you - all things Dana embodies. During a recent lecture when the speaker asked the audience for a volunteer, not a soul raised her hand - except Dana. Her bravery was such an inspiration to see, and makes me want to work to be as brave as she is!

Lewis: I’ve never met someone with such vision. He knows exactly what he wants and how to make it happen. He is tenacious, confident, and brilliant. I love watching him when he is in his flow and just seeing his passion seep out. I am inspired by Lewis to have that same clear direction and assurance in my work, and I am glad I get to learn side-by-side with him everyday.

Kalina: Never has there been a lady with more calming energy than Kalina. When you are around her, you feel like everything is going to be alright. She has a way about her that invites anyone to open up to her. She’s a strategic thinker, and a creative writer, and she’s always asking the big questions - and people aren’t afraid to answer them around her! She makes anyone she talks to feel special, and I am so inspired by that quality in her everyday.

Maria: Watching Maria seamlessly orchestrate our team, encourage collaboration, and push us to be our best selves is such an inspiration for me! I see a lot of parallels in Maria with myself (which I’d venture to say is a compliment for us both). Both of us have lived “migrant” lives - moving to new cities on a whim with the confidence that it will all work out. Both are leaders that love to build strong teams. And both are creatives with design backgrounds, but the real passion lies in collaboration. I hope to learn as much from her as possible during our last 6 weeks, and hope to one day be as fearless of a leader as she is!

Savannah: My soul sister: Savannah! We both share a love for astrology, tarot, and all things weird. She has an amazing eye, and her photography work alone inspires me to see the beautiful in the gritty. But the most inspiring thing about Savannah is her spirit. She is so caring, thoughtful and giving. Everyone who meets her is drawn to her kind-hearted energy. She has a huge heart, and I am so lucky to have met her and nominated her my “unofficial mentor.”

I hope you all get to work with a team that inspires you just as much as my team inspires me. I invite you to take a moment to reflect on how special those around you truly are, and be thankful that you get to be a part of their perspective and story from time to time.

Love, Jessica Quattrini

photo: Metal Working World Magazine

AUTOMATION.

What’s that, you ask? It’s when a robot takes your job. It’s when you order coffee from an iPad and a 12-armed mecha (mocha?) monster barista slings you your Silcon Valley Flat White (with Soy Milk).

It’s also the subject of a short documentary film we’re working on over here at 72U. It’s the topic du jour. That thing keeping us up at night. It’s a little scary. Robots are freaky, I guess. A giant economic shakeup is looming over the horizon, casting a shadow of economic anxiety over middle America. But why? Nobody should have to leave their family for days on end and risk their life driving a truck across the country. Nobody should have to climb down into a mine to extract another nugget of pressurized carbon.

Automation will soon create the possibility where nobody will have to do these jobs. But the wealth and luxury created by automation may not be distributed equally. On the other side of the coin, if automation does create enough resources to sustain everyone (with a program like Universal Basic Income), what will we do if we don’t have to work?

But the real question is: how will we respond? How will we prepare for this and how will we adapt?

We’re hoping to raise these questions in our film, and at least take a baby step towards answering them. Although if our short doc does manage to answer the question of human purpose, look for us on the red carpet ;)

-Lewis

Here we are, halfway through week five, and nearly halfway through our time in 72U. Where does the time go?! Definitely not towards playing with all the freakin’ heart-meltingly adorable office puppies... nope, no way...

The team’s been cranking on research & planning for our next project: a documentary on how humans will need to adapt as jobs are increasingly automated. We’re digging deep through our rolodexes to connect with people who could provide interesting perspectives on this topic, ranging from academics to futurists to policymakers to artists. If this is you or someone you know, please hit us up (see poster above)!

My contribution to this project is an interactive game to complement the documentary. What will set this game apart from most games is that the primary objective is not to win, but rather to empathize with the main character. And that’s all I’ll say for now... stay tuned!

-Will M.

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