Overview: ( http://www.rrtn.org/en/about/)
The Robert R. Taylor Network (RRTN), founded in 1985 by MIT students as a 501(c)3 tax exempt global organization, is creating create a series of programs, services, partnerships, and technology network to document the contributions, research, and achievements of architects, designers, researchers, scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs of color. As an independent, nonprofit, company we are currently working to build a community to create a state-of-the-art, ever-changing, multi-dimensional multi platform technology application (ADIAS) to present black leadership and achievement in architecture, science, and technology in an engaging and compelling way.
ADIAS: A Scientific Awakening (http://adias.rrtn.org/)
The Arc of Discovery, Innovation, Architecture and Science (ADIAS), also short for African Diaspora is the premier multimedia exposition, digital archive, store, technology platform and experience around multi-ethnic culture’s economic impact to enterprising culture via architecturce, science and technology. Currently a growing 9,000 sq. ft. museum quality exposition debuted at the Senegal World Festival of Black Arts and Culutre in December 2010 in Dakar, Senegal – http://www.rrtn.org/ adias2/exhibit/senegal-world-festival-exhibit . ADIAS has integrated content, commerce, community, and collaboration into a unique multimedia technology, product, and service offering. The framework brings creativity and innovation around a culture’s economic impact.
The Science of Art and the Digital Archive of Black Architects and Artists (DABA)
Together with Hampton University Museum, RRTN launched a collaborative project to find ways of the documenting and promoting the intersection of art and science in black culture. RRTN has been contributor to an issue of the Hampton Museum’s International Review of African American Art Journal. Our goal is to produce a series of educational curriculum to be used in high schools, elementary schools and colleges for teaching black cultural history in art. We also seek to create new curriculum and introduce new artists and scientists who use both disciplines in their work – artist as scientist and scientist as artists. Through a small start-up grant from the Graham Foundation, we are currently building timelines, archives, ecommerce sites, and a cultural wiki around black architects and their work as well as black artists and their work. We have a baseline of black inventors and scientists. We are collaborating with Hampton University Museum, the National Museum Center for Afro-American Artists, The Fuller Craft Museum, Color Circle Publishing, Paul Goodnight, the artists showcased at the Senegal Black Arts and Culture Festival. and others . As part of promoting and selling black artists work, we intend to teach and mentor established and up and coming artists on “The Business Science of Art”
Outputs
We expect to produce the following business outcomes from this project:
- Digital Library of Black Artists, Architects, and their work
- E-commerce Gallery site of featured black artists work
- Collaborative projects for artists and scientists
- Journal and e-newsletters promoting
- Workshops and Seminars
- Educational Curriculum
- New research studies
- An online community and forum for a dialog on
- Increased interest in science learning and math through art for youth
- Improved museum of National Museum of Afro-American Artists
Measures of Success
We will measure this initiative by the amount of artists and scientists, including their work has been personally digitzed for their marketing and use, artwork sold, awareness of the black cultural art aesthetic, number of commissioned fine art work on black culture in science and its valuation, new curriculum developed and incorporated into architecture, art, and science curriculum, profitable businesses and increased sales for black artists , and increased acquisition and valuation of black art in national galleries and at auction.
Further information:
Feel free to contact info@rrtn.org; or Darian Hendricks at 617.435.0703 / dhendricks@rrtn.org or Nathaniel Porter at 615.796.7765
