wendy levy aka twendywendy media consultant creative mentor facilitator of new ideas artmaker people connector data activist
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WENDY LEVY is the Director of NEW ARTS AXIS, a consultancy facilitating creative innovation for arts, culture and human rights. She is also a Senior Consultant with the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and the Co-Founder of Sparkwise, an online data and story platform funded by the MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. During her long parallel career in restaurants, Wendy waited on the Dalai Lama and Bruce Springsteen. "When I got the call that my short film had gotten into Sundance, I was waiting on Robert Redford at Chez Panisse."
In 2011/2012, Wendy was a Senior Strategist at Tomorrow Partners in Berkeley, where Sparkwise was developed. From 2004 - 2011, Wendy was Creative Director at BAVC where she created and directed the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies, The Mediamaker Fellows Program, and The Stream, a series of short documentaries focused on interactive storytelling, new technologies and social change. Wendy has been a featured speaker and panel moderator at the United Nations, Sundance, Skoll World Forum, and SXSW, among other venues. She has served as an Advisor to the Sundance Stories of Change Program, Tribeca New Media Fund, Louverture Films, WeOwnTV, Witness, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and Open Society Foundation's Documentary Photography Program, in addition to a diverse group of NGOs, social entrepreneurs and independent artists around the world. Wendy's short films have screened at Sundance and at festivals internationally, won numerous awards, and have been broadcast on PBS and the Sundance Channel.
MEDIA
Wendy at Macarthur Foundation http://www.macfound.org/videos/348/
Wendy at CAAM Present/Future Summit: http://presentfuturesummit.tumblr.com/post/20785433328/present-future-summit-at
Wendy at Tribeca/Silverdocs Transmedia Lab http://www.tribecafilminstitute.org/filmmakers/newmedia/news/126592708.html
More Links
Macarthur Foundation: On The Role of Public Media http://www.macfound.org/videos/348/
On Embracing Emerging Technology
http://www.tribecafilminstitute.org/filmmakers/newmedia/news/126592708.html
The Stream (Executive Producer)
http://bavc.org/stream
About the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies
http://bavc.org/producersinstitute
About the HIVE Labs
http://www.thehivelabs.com.au/page/about
Wendy Levy on the Politics of Participation by Susan Gerhard
http://www.sf360.org/Articles/Q-and-A/?pageid=11734
Filmmaker Magazine: Alternative Storytelling For New Digital Media Platforms
http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/blog/2008/01/sundance-panel-alternative-storytelling.php
Moviescope Magazine: Embracing the Multiplatform Storytelling Universe by Ingrid Kopp (link to PDF)
http://www.bavc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1321&Itemid=896
The NAMAC Blog: Sharing The Wealth
http://www.namac.org/node/7758
Prenups Blog: Beyond Cool: Multimedia Planning for Funders and Filmmakers
http://www.theprenups.org/?q=content/blogs&author=Wendy%20Levy%2C%20Bay%20Area%20Video%20Coalition
Beyond The Box Blog: BAVC Producers Institute Extends Storytelling Into The Digital Realm
http://beyondthebox.org/the-bavc-producers-institute-extends-storytelling-into-the-digital-realm/
The Stream Radio on PRX: series produced by Wendy Levy, stories produced and directed by Bernhard Drax
http://www.prx.org/series/31800-the-stream
YouTube Connects San Francisco TV Station with Citizen Journalists by Matt Baume
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?aid=188546&id=101
New Ways to Inspire Action: Ideas from the Producers Institute by Graham Meriweather
http://www.takepart.com/news/tag/harvest-cloud?fb_js_fbu=627556364
Documentary Edge New Zealand Forum
http://www.docnz.org.nz/forum/programme.html
BAVC BLOG: BAVC Talks Power of New Media at The United Nations
http://www.bavc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2147&Itemid=1899
BAVC BLOG: Collected writing from Creative Programming
http://www.bavc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=214&Itemid=1899
POV Blog: Sundance 2010 Wrapping Up by Yance Ford
http://www.pbs.org/pov/blog/2010/01/sundance_2010_wrapping_up.php
Social Issue Documentary: The Evolution of Public Engagement by Barbara Abrash
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/making-your-media-matter/documents/social-issue-documentary-evolution-public-engagement
Shayna Capalini SL Interview by Bernhard Drax
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiOR0whruJM
SFGATE: Gay Film Festival Puts Spotlight on the East Bay by Laura Compton
http://articles.sfgate.com/1998-09-11/news/17730069_1_east-bay-sundance-film-festival-gay
SCREENING THE PAST: Performing Memory by Julia Erhart
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/firstrelease/fr1201/jefr13a.htm
SF Chronicle: Admitting To Her True Calling by Wendy Levy
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2000/09/17/SC01PGE.DTL
SF Chronicle: The Blending of Real Life and Moviemaking by Bob Graham
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/11/05/DD231601.DTL
SELECTED PROJECTS I HELPED DEVELOP AT THE PRODUCERS INSTITUTE
FOR NEW
MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES AND THE BAVC MEDIAMAKER PROGRAM
Bridge The Gulf
http://bridgethegulf.org
WeOwnTV
http://weowntv.org
International Justice Central
http://ijcentral.org
The Waiting Room
http://whatruwaitingfor.com
Virtual Guantanamo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT7p231Cfxk
No Dumb Questions
http://www.nodumbquestions.org/
Not In Our Town
http://niot.org
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PHOTO CREDIT: Ian Davis
http://iandavisphoto.com/
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Tweets
- Chris Milk: Pioneering the New Frontier | Sundance Institute http://t.co/3zki2AJKyl
- Meme alert. Apparently this is a thing now in Japan. http://t.co/Y2zcfi7KlD
- How do we measure the potential in Shika’s eyes as she gazes at a blank spot on a map where her home should be? http://t.co/RNwlAVsqWs
- “The whole idea is to put the strength of data in the hands of the community that’s impacted” Tell it. http://t.co/4D3DcJdHsK
- "Tracking the impact of films or videos isn’t black and white or easy." http://t.co/CIHDla3HSU @sparkwise @marthadodge @fledglingfund
- Aflamnah - a Kickstarter in the Arab world - an Internet Angel for a Documentary http://t.co/z9ku2pSPBQ
- Om on the problem with data: it lacks empathy and emotion. Data needs stories. @om @sparkwise agrees. http://t.co/LmqahUEkju
- Just announced: Interactive Media awards at the Primetime Emmys just got mo' better. http://t.co/ZAiq697mG2
- Video geekdom: Data Docs project aims to reveal stories behind the world's important datasets. http://t.co/av8WWb1XNw
- Chris Milk: Pioneering the New Frontier | Sundance Institute http://t.co/3zki2AJKyl
- Live Blog: Marriage at the Supreme Court | Freedom to Marry http://t.co/Y2DRqnMRuF
- If I was in Brooklyn on Thursday, this is where I'd be. Brooklyn Museum: LaToya Ruby Frazier: A Haunted Capital http://t.co/naVwbu7Og9
- As we wait for breaking news on #gaymarriage, wondering if decision will reflect Pew data showing changing attitudes http://t.co/ji9YxemLBZ
- FilmAid + TFI got together, & this is what they made. Discover the people of Dadaab refugee camp - beautiful stories. http://t.co/6XKxuJZgeA
- MacArthur Awards Nine Documentary Film Grants — MacArthur Foundation http://t.co/rN32XoB5HA
- RT @fastcompany: Meet The 14-Year-Old Girl Who Developed A Low-Cost Water Purification System! http://t.co/BovMKKFeZT via @FastCoExist...
- The ontology of Bowie: as interactive timelines go, a little clunky, but so makes up for it in coolness /scholarship. http://t.co/Sq4GEcUfEv
- Billions stuggle each day with the @water crisis. Celebrate World Water Day tomorrow at http://t.co/SPUM7fp9sw #waterday
- RT @newamericaoti: Microsoft releases transparency report including data on Skype, which digital activists called for in January...
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Info
- Summary
WENDY LEVY is the Executive Director of New Arts Axis, an organization dedicated to facilitating creative innovation for arts, culture and human rights. New Arts Axis works with artists, foundations and NGOs to create projects and initiatives that leverage the power of storytelling, community and technology for lasting social impact. Wendy is also a Senior Consultant with the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and the Co-Founder of Sparkwise, an online data and story platform funded by the MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In 2011/2012, Wendy was a Senior Strategist at Tomorrow Partners, a design agency in Berkeley, California. From 2004 - 2011, Wendy was Creative Director at BAVC where she created and directed the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies, The Mediamaker Fellows Program, and The Stream, a series of short documentaries about interactive storytelling, new technologies and social change. During her tenure in 2011, BAVC was the recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Wendy has been a featured speaker and panel moderator at the United Nations, Sundance Film Festival, Skoll World Forum, and SXSW, among many other venues. She has served as an Advisor to the Skoll/Sundance Stories of Change Program, Tribeca New Media Fund, Louverture Films, Screen Edge New Zealand, ABC Australia, WeOwnTV, Witness, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and Open Society Foundation’s Documentary Photography Program, in addition to a diverse group of NGOs, social entrepreneurs and independent artists around the world. Wendy's short films have screened at Sundance and at festivals internationally, won numerous awards, and have been broadcast on PBS and the Sundance Channel.
Wendy has a BA from Oberlin College, and an MFA from SFState University. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Wendy has been happily transplanted in Oakland, California since 1983.
Specialties: documentary, public media, emerging technologies, new media, independent cinema, social justice, collaboration, digital storytelling, human rights, human-centered designExperience- Sept 2012 - PresentDirector / New Arts Axis
New Arts Axis is a new media consultancy and nonprofit organization facilitating innovation in the arts, culture and human rights. Expertise includes web/digital story strategies, emerging technology, creative innovation labs, community engagement and artist residencies, multiplatform project development, interactive learning modules, partnerships & braintrusts, data and impact reporting.
- Sept 2012 - PresentSenior Consultant, Documentary Film Program and Fund / Sundance Institute
- Mar 2012 - PresentCo-founder and Strategic Partnerships / sparkwise
data that moves you.
http://www.fastcodesign.com/1670095/how-a-web-app-can-help-nonprofits-tell-better-stories-and-raise-cash?10 - Aug 2011 - Sept 2012Senior Strategist / tomorrow partners
- Mar 2004 - Aug 2011Creative Director / Bay Area Video Coalition
Responsible for new and ongoing content initiatives for BAVC's Media Arts, Innovation and Preservation programs; development of new and continuing partnerships in documentary production, exhibition, and distribution; programs for new media and emerging technologies, grants and residencies for independent producers and public broadcasters, and programming for BAVC's national Video and Audio Preservation Center. Director of the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies, an international initiative funded by the MacArthur Foundation. Executive Producer of The Stream, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
- Jan 2001 - Jan 2002Festival Director / Film Arts Foundation
2003
Responsible for program selection, administration and fundraising, event coordination, design, writing of program notes, press releases and promotional materials, all aspects of staffing and production of four-day, multi-venue festival, including film screenings with live performance, music and spoken word. Attendance over 10,000.
Education- San Francisco State UniversityMFA in Cinema
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1978 - 1982Oberlin CollegeBachelor of Arts in English/Ethnopoetics
Additional Information-
Websites:
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Honors:Mozilla Drumbeat Conference: Open Video, Education, and Social Justice Storytelling United Nations Communications Briefing: New Media and Emerging Technologies Documentary Edge New Zealand: New Platforms for Cultural Storytelling Sheffield International: Participatory Media and the Social Web Sundance: Alternative Storytelling for New Media Platforms, Web 3.0, The New Documentary Movement Media That Matters: Transmedia and Social Documentary: New Models Oberlin College: New Media, Social Justice, and the Power of Collaborative Storytelling National Association of Latino Independent Producers: Storytelling and New Media PBS Content Summit: Producers Institute for New Media Technologies SFMOMA: Preservation in the Digital Age San Francisco Foundation Center: Fundraising for Independents National Black Programming Consortium New Media Institute: Digital Trends in Public Media Women in Film and Television International: New Opportunities/New Media
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