Girl internet, PORTAL, and look, we were on the radio! 👀
Here's a roundup of what our July looked like at Blackbird Foundation ❤️🔥
Hello and welcome back to Meta by Blackbird Foundation – our monthly newsletter for all things creativity. Here you’ll find a rundown of what we and our Protostars have been up to, ways that you can support our work, and cool things we’ve found on the internet.
💫 July 2023 Roundup
We’re currently at Week 9 of 10 for our Protostars Season 4 cohort
We both opened and closed applications for Protostars Season 5 this month – this one’s our last intake for 2023!
On July 8, Joel (Head of Blackbird Foundation) and Protostar Season 3 alumna Anh Van were invited to an interview on ABC Saturday Afternoon with Jess Scully. During the interview, they spoke about creativity, Protostars, and Anh’s passion projects!
We published this interview with Protostar Season 2 & 3 alumnus, Ivan Medrano
❤️🔥💫 Support our Protostars
Check out what our Protostars have been up to lately:
📝 Media & Storytelling
Follow The Poetical Lobe, Loredana Podolska-Kint’s new poetry anthology project about the brain and neurological conditions
Read and subscribe to Riannah Burns’ newsletter, Better World by Good Young Money
🤖 STEM, Robotics & Tech
Reshare this post to help Jameson Harvey spread the word about his free STEM and robotics workshops for schools in regional QLD
💛 Community, Events & Social Impact
Hire a hand-built sound system for your next party or go to the next Rugclub event by Gilbert Garden
Buy tickets to Milli Weaver’s exclusive screening of the ‘Below the Belt’ documentary – an eye-opening documentary co-produced by Hillary Clinton, that peels back the curtain on healthcare struggles, especially for those with endometriosis. 70% of tickets have already sold!
🎭 Theatre, Music & Performance
Buy tickets to Frozen Moon – Amitabh Jeganathan’s upcoming event celebrating culturally diverse DJ’s and artists in Perth
Buy tickets to the Next to Normal musical – a contemporary rock musical by Eezu Tan and Marie-Jo Orbase which explores issues such as grieving a loss, ethics in modern psychiatry, and suburban life
🎨 Film & Visual Arts
Buy your copy of PORTAL – Liam Milner’s (Luna Tunes) art book featuring art from 30 artists, where each turn of the page is a portal to a new world
Check out Meet the Candidates – Maya Templer’s fun new political card game where you can learn more about the people you can vote for in the upcoming NZ 2023 Election
Read Melissa Clements’ blog as she documents her art and creative process
👀 Cool things we found on the internet
This Instagram post from A New Approach on how arts and culture are essential to living meaningful lives
rotatingsandwiches.com – yes, this is exactly what the URL says it is (do not open if you haven’t had lunch yet). This website, created by Lauren Walker, won the Tiny Awards – a small prize awarded to websites that best embody the idea of a small, playful and heartfelt web
A compilation of the worst UX design we’ve ever seen (*NSFD – not safe for designers)
The ‘girl-ification’ of our digital spaces – the rise of girl internet and the cult of cute and kawaii content
Where Physical and Digital Merge: The Metaverse with Cathy Hackl
we-b.site – a collection of letters and internet dreams from people that aim to uplift and show everyday visions and hopes for the internet
The Society of Spectacle by Ana Andjelic
Wear a Van Gogh straw hat, a Corinthian warrior helmet, a Gustav Klimt dress – how the Met Museum is turning artworks into digitised wearable items
💬 Quote of the month
“Creativity is an energy. It’s a precious energy, and it’s something to be protected. A lot of people take it for granted that they’re a creative person, but I know from experience, feeling it in myself, it is a magic; it is an energy. And it can’t be taken for granted.”
Ava DuVernay, American Filmmaker (Selma, 2014; When They See Us, 2019)