The -athon Approach to Community Building
Reflections on Code for San José’s first Public Art Grant-athon
Before us was a mix of creative art pieces, boxes of coffee, and a somewhat confused group of people sitting on lawn chairs and couches. For many, it was a bit too early in the morning, but there was a sense of excitement and curiosity as we were about to start. Here we were at San José’s most creative space for artists, Local Color, as we began the day for our first ever Public Art Grant-athon.
As a leader of Code for San José, I wanted to hold a community event for artists, developers, civil servants, writers, and anyone interested, to come together, design new public art projects, and write the grant proposals to make them happen.
The format we used mirrored the style of a hackathon — get a mix of people with diverse skills and experiences into teams, and see what they come up with in a short period of time.
Like anything else our brigade does, this event was an experiment for us. Here is how it happened.
Why I picked the hackathon format
Most people have heard the term ‘hackathon’ but many don’t know what hackathons are all about.
For some, the stereotypical ‘hacker’ would come to mind — someone wearing a hoodie, typing away in a dark room. Others might know the gist of what a hackathon is, but, having no experience with building software, they wouldn’t consider going to one.
For me, I signed up for my first hackathon with no coding experience. When I first arrived, I paced around the building, almost afraid to go inside, having no idea what to expect. It wasn’t until I called my brother, who encouraged me to just go for it, telling me that everyone was there to learn, that I finally got up the courage to go inside.
I was nervous because my technical skills were limited and I wasn’t sure how I would be able to join in. This feeling changed almost right away, as it quickly became obvious that everyone was excited to learn from each other, and that we each brought something useful to the table.
Our team had two software engineers, a performance artist / branding expert, a theater buff, an artist / hardware engineer, and a seamstress (me!).
We brainstormed, got to work, wound up with a finished prototype by the end of the weekend, and most importantly, had fun.
My experience at this hackathon introduced me to fields of interest I’d never been exposed to, connected me with many new people, and taught me the main reason why people get together for hackathons:
To realize that everyone, no matter their background or skill level, can add value to a team.
Since this experience, I wanted to inspire others the same way that I was inspired by my first hackathon. To provide a welcoming space for people that otherwise would never meet or work together, in the hope that connecting them could help improve our cities and communities.
The goal
With that hope, we wanted to experiment with something different, yet familiar. To take what we learned from hackathons with building teams to create technology, and apply it to building communities by creating art.
The City of San José had recently been looking for more artists to help add color to the community with more public art. We thought this was the perfect opportunity for a cooperative event that encouraged absolutely anyone to participate.
For us, keeping the door open to anyone at this event, with no application process, meant a greater chance for people of different backgrounds to work together.
Our goal wasn’t to have a competitive event on who could come up with the best art project, but to focus on building relationships between different communities in San Jose, from artists to technologists, and more.
Vibes
Just like my first hackathon, stepping into an unfamiliar place filled with new people can be scary. We wanted to be sure to provide a space that was welcoming, and could nourish connection and creativity.
For an event like this, I knew Local Color would be the perfect venue — and happily, they agreed to host. Local Color is a space in Downtown San José that provides creative workshops for the community, shared studios for independent artists, and pop-up markets for local makers. With a policy that “anything can move”, it always feels like a space where anyone can feel at home.
Our mix of attendees for the day consisted of local artists, technologists, designers and civil servants.
Everyone cared about art, but not everyone was a professional artist.
Everyone wanted to make the city better, but not everyone had technical art skills.
Everyone was curious, but not everyone had written a grant proposal before.
But of our eclectic group of people, everyone who came to the Grant-athon had something to learn.
Play-by-play
We kicked off the day with a presentation by the City of San José’s Director of Public Art, Michael Ogilvie.
As part of the Public Art Committee in San José, Michael was able to tell us about the different types of art that the City is looking for. Showing us beautiful photographs of the art already in San José, from sculptures of hands at the airport to uniquely painted doors, we were excited to see how many different opportunities there were to bring life to our public spaces.
Working with the community was one of the key themes that Michael kept sharing with the group. The identity and culture of the City is driven by each of San José’s unique communities, and the Public Art Committee wants the art it commissions to reflect that.
“The City’s vision is informed by its residents, and the public art created is a reflection of that. We need citizens to think creatively and to share those visions so that we can work together to make it happen.” -Michael Ogilvie
After hearing from the City, everyone gave a brief background about themselves and shared their reasons for being there. Seated on an eclectic mix of couches, members from the group shared project ideas that they had envisioned and wanted to bring to life.
The objective for participants was to find funding to support their own project ideas and we provided a list of available grants offered for public art projects in the area.
After the group discussion, we all broke off and the day was free for teaming up and working on proposals. People met naturally, some one on one and others in smaller groups, to chat and to get to know each other. As time went on some teams formed, while others worked individually. The idea was that everyone present was a resource for each other.
One team that formed at the event involved local artist, Jennifer Cannon, and software engineer, Clarence Leung.
Jennifer has a background in a broad range of fine art, but her main focus is sculpting. She typically works alone, having built sculptures for several cities across the United States. What interested Jennifer in the Grant-athon was the opportunity to meet other people with different skills to work on projects outside of her comfort zone, as a team.
Clarence is a software developer mostly focused on building projects involving computer vision. Having been a member of Code for San José for the last two years, Clarence likes to bring the software side to otherwise non-coding projects. At the Grant-athon, he was interested in teaming up with others who love forming ideas and building installations.
Though they have very different skills and backgrounds, this event brought them together.
When we went around the room to share project ideas, Jennifer brought up something that had been at the back of her mind for some time, but that she wasn’t sure how to build. She wanted to find a way to project artwork onto buildings in the city.
Clarence was excited by the idea and wanted to be a part of it. After everyone was finished sharing ideas, and people had started shuffling around to meet each other, Clarence went up to Jennifer and told her he would be excited to team up to work on her idea.
At that same time, Jennifer was surprised that anyone had approached her to team up and was equally excited to talk more about the idea.
Jennifer and Clarence decided to apply for a Global Art Grant by Burning Man Project, a nonprofit organization. One big theme for Burning Man Project is to build community through public art, and as we were trying to do the same at our Grant-athon, it seemed like the perfect Grant for their project.
In the end, in just a few hours, they were able to brainstorm, decide on a final idea, write a grant proposal, and submit their proposal before the Grant’s deadline.
With many other projects started and discussed, the day finished up with a warm feeling of new connections and excitement for future projects and events.
Where to go from here?
We started off as a group of slightly confused strangers, unsure of what to expect from the day, and ended up as a room where we felt like we all knew each other. In this short period of time, we were able to build a community of artists, technologists, and activists, all connected by a similar interest.
With this event being a success, we’re excited to take this idea even further and use the -athon approach to community building many times and in more ways in the future.
We invite other brigades from around the United States and around the world to try this approach as well. Through this event, we brought together a diverse set of experiences to improve a community and we’re excited to see how what was started here will grow into art everyone can enjoy.
Join us on our journey to make San José and South Bay a better place
Code for San José is a volunteer organization made up of makers, designers, developers, activists, subject matter experts and community members who come together to use tech to solve civic problems. Our goal is to create the space for others to innovate.
Code for San José is a chapter of the national non-profit Code for America, which is a part of the global network, Code for All.
We hold Civic Hack Nights twice a month where members use their skills to make San José, and the South Bay, a better place. Coding skills are not required. All are welcome. Come meet and chat with us, and share your ideas for making a better San José!
Find out more here: https://www.meetup.com/Code-for-San-Jose/
Lorin Camargo was born and raised in South San José. As a Designer and Brigade Leader at Code for San José, Lorin builds community and incorporates user-centered design principles for civic tech. She has contributed to projects including: Renter’s Rights Guide, Pop-Up Bikeways, and the Brigade’s first Public Art Grant-athon. Previously, she lived in Spain, England and New York, where she worked in fashion production, and as a freelance seamstress and sewing instructor. Lorin realized an interest in community building after taking part in a Civic Hackathon which aimed to solve community issues in Brooklyn, NY. Lorin graduated from San Francisco State University, where she studied Apparel Design and Merchandising.
