Strands of Genius: What does a decentralized museum look like? What colour is the internet? Spring is here!
Guest curated by Anna Rose Kerr Creative Founder @ studioaro.se
Each year we aim to highlight 50 creative thinkers that have inspired us by giving them the opportunity to guest curate this newsletter, Strands of Genius. This edition is guest curated by Anna Rose Kerr Creative Founder @ studioaro.se.
:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, ANNA ROSE KERR::
LOCATION: London
Kia Ora, I’m Anna Rose and I’m writing to you from my creative studio in East London. Sometimes I consult or freelance as an ECD for brands and agencies, other times I make conceptual art that explores our relationship to the internet. I also write about where these worlds intersect. Like Faris, I grew up in Tāmaki Makaurau, and ended up in London. However, I came to know Genius Steals more recently when I was introduced to Rosie through our mutual friend Kim Mackenzie. Kim and I have known each other since waaaaay back and as a Creative Director it’s invaluable having such a brilliant Strategist as a friend and advocate <3. At the core of my creative practice is a critical optimism about the future. So, here are some links that give me hope....
Editor’s Note (Genius Steals): We loved Anna Rose’s energy when we asked them to guest curate and the links that they have brought to us today are absolutely inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing your Vivid Hues piece with us! We remember fondly choosing the perfect shade of pink for MySpace back in the day! We can’t wait to see what is in store for the future and Anna Rose <3
:: THE LINKS ::
WHAT DOES A DECENTRALIZED MUSEUM LOOK LIKE?
Museums are weird places where a small group of privileged people shape how the past is recorded and remembered. Arkive is a DAO (decentralized autonomous organisation) aiming to change that. Thousands of members use the arkive Discord to discuss potential acquisitions and vote to buy incredible art and memorabilia, which is then exhibited in places like Art Basel Miami. It is a brilliant case study for the radical transformation that is possible with web3. Anyone can apply and shape the museum of the future. (Arkive)
WHAT COLOUR IS THE INTERNET?
Okay, a bit of shameless self-promotion here! I wrote this piece for Real Life Magazine, pulling together my experience in both branding and art history, to think about how we can visualise the internet. In this essay I argue that we can be more critical of concepts we’re able to perceive, and therefore we need better metaphors for the internet including some more colourful ones. (RealLiveMag)
SPRING IS HERE!
Every year, around the end of March I return to this prose by George Orwell (yes, that George Orwell) about the freely available joys of spring. “Down in the square the sooty privets have turned bright green, the leaves are thickening on the chestnut trees, the daffodils are out, the wallflowers are budding… If a man cannot enjoy the return of spring, why should he be happy in a labour-saving Utopia?” This was written in the 1940s as England faced intense bombing and rationing, yet every year I find a renewed relevance in its poetic lines. Enjoy! (Orwell)
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:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::
:: Game :: I am Bread.
:: City :: It's always been London
:: Book :: Glitch Feminism by Legacy Russell
:: Podcast :: The White Pube.
:: Album :: Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No! by the Mint Chicks
::A NEW FUTURE::
This image, created with Midjourney v5, imagines a new future. East London Waterworks Park is a volunteer-driven initiative to re-wild a huge concrete depot complete with natural swimming ponds, a forest school and repair spaces. As a community we’ve raised more than half a million pounds to make this a reality, proof that the world is what we make it.
I hope these links have left you with some feels.
If you want to read more like this. follow me on Substack. I share insights into the ways in which art and advertising collide. Expect branded immersive experiences, pop art versus AI and the history of trade union banners.
Anna Rose
annarosekerr.com
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)
Went over to your substack and thought this was really funny "Some historians believe that centuries worth of fingers have been lost when sculptures were moved, or damaged during bombing. But, I believe that they have just fallen into a blackhole and reappeared in AI art."