IDEALab Residency: Hanny Ahern

What We’re Working on Now…

Written By: Talk of the Sound News

NEW ROCHELLE, NY —

IDEALab Residency:

Our residency invites leaders in the creative/immersive tech industry to live in New Rochelle and work on their projects in our IDEALab for several months at a time. But IDEALab residents don’t work in a vacuum: they’re getting involved in our community too. Read how a group of our residents participated in Albert Leonard Middle School’s science fair and then jump to our blog to meet one of our current Residents, Hanny Ahern who is so excited to work in and with New Rochelle. Aligned with this, we are working with various regional partners to create a supportive network of professionals in this field. Post-holidays, we will be working with our IDEA sponsors, Cooley and Montefiore to present a professional development event in partnership with the company Decoded for creative technologists.

Bloomberg Mayors Challenge:

Remember how we told you were were competing against 35 other cities nationwide to win a million dollar grant for New Rochelle? Well…(ahem)… WE WON! New Rochelle’s idea, to incorporate the use of creative technology (like augmented reality) into the city planning process to better engage citizens in the design of their city, has been getting a lot of attention. Reminder: you can follow the path we followed to win this award here (look for the “Champion City posts”)

IDEA Presents (Public Engagement):

IDEA isn’t just for technologists: it’s designed to benefit our entire community too. With the help of Bayeté Ross Smith (one of our first IDEALab Residents and now a Creative Director with our organization) we’re planning a series of educational and entertaining events that will allow the community to engage with both the technology… and the technologists! Mark your calendars for our first event: a film screening of the video indy docudrama “What Happened” about a stop and frisk experience. The screening will be followed by a “talk back” discussion between writer, actor and educator Tony Parent and the audience, as well as a panel discussion about criminal justice reform featuring Tony Parent, Marlon Peterson, TED Resident, Soros Justice Fellow, and host of Decarcerated Podcast, and Caits Meissner, Prison and Justice Writing Program Manager at PEN America, and Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.