Future Canvas Thread - March Update

Hey all,

Welcome to the Thread, a weekly heads-up on what what’s happenin' in Future Canvas’ home at the Docklands.

Upcoming events

Thursday April 2: Reforestation meeting.

Friday May 1: (note change in date): Future Canvas Space Launch: Join us for a night of celebration as we toast the opening of the FCspace at the Docklands.

Saturday May 10: FC Space Blitz: Join us for an adventurous day fusing art, fashion, gardening, composting and sculpture creation at Shed 4.

How you can help out

We have a superb Reforestation sponsorship proposal which we are keen to circulate. If you have any contacts who may be interested in supporting Reforestation through financial or in-kind donation please contact Ash at Ashley.Chaleyer@futurecanvas.org. Many thanks to Ellie Shroeder, Future Canvas' talented graphic designer, who framed our project in the proposal form and Steve McKinnon, Innovation and Creativity Director, who prepared the Powerpoint presentation.

Future Canvas Space Launch: May 1st 2009: We need door people, bar people, catering people, sound technicians, artists, event organisers, publicity/promotions helpers, muscle power for set up and pack up...and of course we welcome any form of sponsorship for the event! Contact joel.carnegie@futurecanvas.org

FC Space Blitz: May 10th 2009: We need marketing people, events management people, promotion people, postering people, letter drop, furniture makers, carpenters, artists, gardeners, Bolsheviks or just about anyone Contact melissa.schellekens@futurecanvas.org

Future Canvas: If you are a grant-writing guru, finance person, film person, artist, it or web person, marketing person or just about anyone contact melissa.schellekens@futurecanvas.org

Future Canvas

The last week has been bustling for Future Canvas. Some of the highlights include:
Future Canvas is developing a range of sub-Google Groups to streamline project management and target action and e-mail traffic.The groups will come on-line early next week.These sub-groups will be the nucleus for certain activities/projects and each group will have a moderators/leaders as set out below:

• FC G-Group: Em/Steve/Ash
• FC Social (e.g. Space Blitz) G-Group: Joel/Em
• FC Media (e.g. FOC Casts) G-Group: Em/Ash
• FC Board/Advisors G-Group: Mel/Ash
• Shed 4 Art Space G-Group: Michael/Phil
• Shed 4 Enterprise G-Group (e.g. nursery concept at the space/exhibition opportunities): Scott/Steve
• Reforestation G-Group: Steve/Em/Ash
• Future Canvas Services G-Group: Em/Steve/Ash

Stay tuned for these groups!

Future Canvas is now on Twitter...keep an eye on our 'tweets'
Joel Carnegie has been working extremely hard to organise the Future Canvas Space Launch on May 1st. Stay tuned for this event, it promises to be a cracker !
Future Canvas met with the iMap team to discuss potentially hosting some of the iMap team's work at the space. [ ]

Melissa Shellkens and Michael Chew have been working with Ash, Em and Steve to further develop Future Canvas' processes, strategy and general efficiency. This review has already been effective to streamline Future Canvas' M.O, so stay tuned for a leaner and even greener Future Canvas !

Over the next month Ash and Steve are running a review of FC's compliance and accounting processes to ensure FC is being run using best practice.

Future Canvas' Steve and Ash had a great chat with Future Canvas' Joel Carnegie on his radio show on 3MBS, the chat revolved around world music and sustainability projects in Melbourne, Portugal and Brazil !

Em and Steve are flying up to Sydney late next week to meet with key Future Canvas partners/potential partners.
Reforestation

The last week has been busy for Future Canvas’ Reforestation Project. Some of the highlights include:
Steve has developed an innovative plan to incorporate a nursery into the design of the Garden. Steve presented this concept (to much accaim) at last week's Reforestation meeing.

Phil Hall prepared a stunning drawing which captures the vision for Reforestation's home at Shed 4 (please see attached). It is an extraordinary piece of work and will be a key part of our pursuit of sponsorship and buiding stakeholder relations.
The Reforestation project team was photographed for an upcoming feature on Reforestation in the Age's Epicure section.

Finalisation of the Reforestation sponsorship proposal. This has been circulated to some key potential sponsors for theproject. We will keep you posted on this.

Future Canvas News

Hey all,

Welcome to the Thread, a weekly heads-up on what what’s going down in Future Canvas’ Docklands.

You might have heard on the grapevine that we have set up these blogs. Keep an eye on this space for details of the upcoming Future Canvas Party, Reforestation Space Blitz and other green hot stakeholder developments.

Upcoming events
Thursday March 19: Reforestation meeting.

Friday April 24: Future Canvas Space Launch: Join us for a night of celebration as we toast the opening of the FC space at the Docklands.

Saturday May 3: FC Space Blitz: Join us for an adventurous day of fusing art, gardening, composting and sculpture creation at Shed 4.

How you can help out
Friday April 24: Future Canvas Space Launch: We need door people, bar people, catering people, sound technicians, artists, event organisers, publicity/promotions helpers, muscle power for set up and pack up...and of course we welcome any form of sponsorship for the event! Contact joel.carnegie@futurecanvas.org

FC Space Blitz: FC Space Blitz: May 3 2009: We need marketing people, events management people, promotion people, postering people, letter drop, furniture makers, carpenters, artists, gardeners, Bolsheviks or just about anyone Contact melissa.schellekens@futurecanvas.org

Future Canvas: If you are a grant-writing guru, finance person, film person, artist, it or web person, marketing person or just about anyone Contact melissa.schellekens@futurecanvas.org



Future Canvas

The last couple of weeks has been busy for Future Canvas generally:

· Future Canvas has launched three videos on You-Tube...the first of many to come! These You-Tubes are about Re-designing the Home for sustainability, Natalie Portman’s new vegan fashion line and the Futurelab event in May 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFLft_BdmU4
· We have begun the process of visioning the future of the Shed 4 internal space. The goal will be to enrich the cultural and community fabric of the Docklands and Melbourne more broadly through: providing artists, performers and designers with a forum through which to perform or exhibit their works, providing organisations with a space in which to conduct activities which have a connection to sustainability and housing a cafe/nursery for use by visitors to the Space and existing tenants of the Shed 4 precinct.
· We have formed a joint venture with Bicycles for Humanity which ships containers of used bikes to Namibia for a second life. This is conducting their first bicycle round up on 21st and 22nd of March at 170 Edward St East Brunswick. http://www.bicyclesforhumanity.com/
· Future Canvas gave an interview to 3CR on the Tuesday Hometime program, March 10, this will appear as a podcast, shortly at http://www.3cr.org.au/podcasts

Reforestation

The last couple of weeks has been busy for Future Canvas’ Reforestation Project. Some of the highlights include:

· Visits to the site by Melbourne City Councillors Cathy Oke and Kevin Louey
· Preparation of incredible, inspiring three dimensional images of the
garden by Karen at ARG Architects (to be posted soon)
· Submission of a grant to the EPA for funding of the space
· Meetings with Ecovantage, the Docklands Hub and Melbourne City Council
· Alongside the Garden site, the Victorian Eco Innovation Lab showcased
designs for the exciting and innovative E-Gate project
http://ecoinnovationlab.com/

Future Canvas Fashion

Food

Redesign your food: Check out the following links that will inspire you around the design element of food!

Vancouver City Farmer has inspiring stories about urban agriculture projects around the world.
http://www.cityfarmer.info/

London and New York have some active gorilla gardening sites...check these out:
http://www.guerrillagardening.org/

http://www.gardenbytes.com/2008/12/gorilla-gardening.html


Anyways you can think to redesign your food - please share below.

People are the Artists, Communities are our Palette, The World is our Canvas

Future Canvas is starting a global conversation about changing the world. Our lives are made up of many choices and actions that affect the world we live in. This conversation is about how we can change the world through our everyday choices and actions.


What do we mean by changing the world?


Future Canvas is starting a conversation about 6 themes; these everyday themes are design elements to help, enable and guide us to design in our everyday!


Food – what we eat?

Fashion – what we wear?

Wellbeing – how we feel?

Transport – how we move?

Housing – where/how we live?

Community – how we connect with others?


The actions and choices we make around these everyday elements create our world.


People all around the world are making conscious design choices and actions in their everyday, and Future Canvas is providing the platform and global network where we share this knowledge and ideas to change our world.

Stay tuned for Future Canvas inspiration on these design themes!

Reforestation

Reforestation Update
Over the next few months there is going to be some exciting developments for Future Canvas' Reforestation Project. We will be designing and constructing an urban agriculture garden in the Docklands next to our shared waterfront warehouse in Shed 4, Docklands. This garden is going to be a very urban - urban agriculture garden. The garden space is 50metres x 6 metres; enough to fit a cafe, greenhouse and beautiful community garden allotments for Docklands residents.

We are also working towards Reforestation Day which will occur in the first week of Spring 2009. Reforestation Day is where people all around Metropolitan Melbourne design and create their own urban agriculture project where they plant their own food and create their own gardens in their community or at home.

Volunteers?
We would like as many people as possible to come and participate in the Reforestation Project. We will need assistance with designing and constructing the garden, furthering stakeholder relationships, communications, website, making short films etc. Hugo Leemhuis is the volunteer manager for Future Canvas. If you would like to volunteer for Reforestation please contact him via this email address: hugoleemhuis@hotmail.com

Meeting Times
Our meetings over the coming weeks will be important to attend if you wish to be involved in the Reforestation Project this year. We will be meeting at our new office space in the Docklands;

Shed 4, Dock 4 (basically the end of Collins Street!). Map 2E 7D.

Here are the Reforestation meeting dates for the coming few months:

Thursday 22nd January, 6pm - 8pm.
Thursday 5th February, 6pm - 8pm.
Thursday 19th February, 6pm - 8pm.
Thursday 5th March, 6pm - 8pm.
Thursday 19th March, 6pm - 8pm.

Attached is the agenda for the first meeting on the 22nd of January.

Look forward seeing you at our first meeting for the year!


Emily and Ash.
Convenors, Future Canvas

FutureCanvas-GlobalConversation

Future Canvas is a global web of projects and ideas which spark people to live sustainably everyday. We would like to start a global conversation and action on living sustainably everyday.

We are based in Melbourne, Australia from a waterside warehouse in a central part of the city. In this warehouse we will be designing a space for creative people in Melbourne to vision and design a sustainable future.

We want to know how you are making a difference in your community and share this with other people around the world.

Is your contribution around the topic of 'food'; i.e. making an organic food garden, permaculture garden or making your own bread?

Is your contribution around the topic of 'housing'; installing solar panels, rainwater tanks or thinking feng shui in your home?

Is your contribution around the topic of 'transport'; riding your bike, car sharing or walking to work?

Is your contribution around the topic of 'wellbeing'; practicing yoga, meditation, playing music or participating actively in community life?

Is your contribution around the topic of 'fashion'; making your own clothes chemically free, alternative brand choices or buying vegan friendly clothing?

Or is your contribution around the topic of 'community'; looking after elderly, supporting mothers with children, caring for members in your family or groups of friends, helping the disadvantaged, being active in a community group or keeping an eye out for your fellow citizens?

Soon Future Canvas will be posting some inspiring stories on how we see people all around the world making creative choices to live sustainably everyday. We would like you to respond and start a global conversation on how we can act in an empowered and creative way for a sustainable future. Look forward to hearing from you!

Emily - Convener/Co-founder Future Canvas