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Briidge The Gap is a non-profit organization with a mission to empower youth and engage with the community through STEAM education initiatives, workshops, and digital experiences. The organization believes in three key areas: education, expression, and empowerment, and their goal is to provide unique experiences that help young people discover and showcase their passions in the digital world. At Briidge The Gap, we understand that STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education is critical for preparing young people for the jobs of tomorrow. That’s why we are dedicated to making STEAM accessible to all, regardless of socio-economic background, race, or gender. Through our education initiatives, Briidge The Gap provides hands-on workshops and interactive digital experiences that help young people develop skills in coding, digital design, and more. They are designed to be engaging and accessible to students of all ages and skill levels, and they aim to provide a fun and supportive environment where young people can explore their passions and discover new interests. In addition to education initiatives, Briidge The Gap also provides opportunities for young people to express themselves through digital projects and showcase their talents to the wider community. This provides a platform for youth to build confidence and develop their public speaking and presentation skills, which can be invaluable as they progress in their careers. Moreover, Briidge The Gap is committed to empowering young people through these initiatives, giving them the tools and support they need to succeed in the digital world. By providing access to resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities, we are helping young people build the skills and confidence they need to pursue their passions and achieve their goals. In conclusion, Briidge The Gap is a dynamic and innovative organization that is having a real impact on the lives of young people. By making STEAM education accessible to all and providing unique experiences that help young people discover and showcase their passions, Briidge The Gap is helping to bridge the gap between education and opportunity, and empower the next generation of digital leaders. Together, we can help empower the next generation of young people and inspire a love of STEAM education. Joshua BerryExecutuve Director, Committed to fueling the future.
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Created By Joshua Berry / Executive Director / Lover of Innovation
1 minute read // 2 minute response The current platforms that I frequently use: Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube, LinkedIn, Twitter (Kind of) Insta: Where everything takes place nowadays Snap: Convenient Communication, primarily useful due to Snap's 'Memories' feature YouTube: Content overload, on a large scale LinkedIn: Key player; those that use it understand why Twitter: Every once in a while Instagram: At this point in time, I like to use instagram the most out of the bunch because of streamlined multimedia experience and its abundance of users to promote the work that we do at my companies. Years ago, when instagram was casual I really did enjoy posting silly pics and memories but it nowadays..just isn't that. Instagram in the past could definitely be egregious in terms of their ad placements and rate of display, however since their parent company, Meta (formerly Facebook) made a company-broad move to distance themselves away from data intrusion and monopolistic ad-revenue strategies, it has meant an almost manageable amount of advertisements. Now, everyone perfectly understands that we signed these papers a decade ago allowing all of data-driven tech companies to accrue ginormous databanks-for-sale. While, everyone on the end-user standpoint can understand it very clearly, many existing tech companies' bottom-line is contingent on their traffic-routing approach. 2-minute read  Today we find ourselves within a world with wider ranges of technological accessibility. Over the past thirty years the internet has become an incredibly important part of our day to day lives. Whether it’s for banking, entertainment or communication it’s safe to say the internet is owed a dense degree of gratitude for its profound impacts on humanity.
These technologies are much stronger than we could’ve ever imagined… They've unlocked experiences that have never existed before… These technologies have delivered things we didn't know we wanted. As time goes on we find ourselves empowered with a rising set of tools that have strengthened our creativity, peaked our productivity and rapidly changed traditional mediums of communication. Now that we are awakened to this incredible phenomenon we must lean into innovation as we double down on the user experience at an individual level. We must find meaning within these new and profound tools whether it’s writing smoothly on a screen, unlocking a phone handsfree with facial recognition or speaking written essays into existence with speech-to-text programs. One of my new personal favorites is the mechanics of the Apple Pencil II. Using the iPad notes app I can now write with incredible accuracy in complete darkness upon paper which doesn’t demand physical space for countless pages. This simulated experience blesses its users with the classical experience of handwritten expression in tandem with the smooth flow of screen-based devices. I can already hear the critics talking about how inefficient handwriting is as typing is much faster. Yet they neglect the fact that there are people who actually prefer the traditional handwritten interface such as our older generations. Giving them a tool like this allows them to be increasingly included into this digital revolution we continually find ourselves within day after day… I think that's incredibly important. Think about the profound impact which Audible has had for people who are blind. They find themselves with a rising selection of powerful tools, each of which works to bring them into harmony with their preferred goal. From artificial intelligence generating subtitles to podcasts and everything in between I think it’s incredibly important to focus on individual user experience. We have to give tools to everyone of all ages and backgrounds. Even if their method may not be the most efficient it’s vital to focus on the comfort and ease of each user when creating. It’s about what's comfortable for you and what allows you to create at the highest level possible to retain as much passion and productivity as possible. I think that's incredibly important. 2-minute read  "BE NOT AFRAID" - Feefal Set as a developed digital painting is an enchanted work lending insights on ancient symbolism, the hybridized portraiture and the immense influence of religious literature in the modern day.
In its initial introduction we're met face to face with a heavily stylized portraiture. These almost always utilize the center region of the canvas to command the composition and emphasize an immortalized subject. There also exists a unique slanted perspective which preserves the harmonious balance of near-symmetry masterfully. We note the presence of light in this pristine piece as highly indicative of the divine or spiritual experience. Notice how this glowing light radiates from our subject’s third eye as this central axiom gives rise to the archaic symbol known as the Nimbus. When an element of a piece of art is blessed with golden light the artist is typically trying to present the being as a vessel for or source of enlightenment. This can also be considered in the context of the symbolic eye as it represents courageous awareness in the face of evil which gives rise to the transcendent keys of knowledge. In the realm of religious symbolism we find this stylistic depiction highly reminiscent of the angelic seraph. We see this continuity everywhere from the presence of six individual wings to the enchanting eyes which peak the crest of each piece. Lineea, also known as Feefal, is a career digital artist working primarily with virtual paint. She’s developed a titanic following across multiple social media platforms as her colorfully vibrant forms of fantasy continue to captivate viewers and artists alike across the globe. At the time of writing this her Instagram has over one million followers with posts consisting of over seven hundred individually unique pieces created over five straight years. This piece marks Feefal’s inaugural induction into the halls of the Apollo Art Archive. Overall this divine digital illustration displays a heavily stylized portraiture which utilizes the archaic symbolism of the nimbus in conjunction with ethereal golden light to immortalize an angelic female seraph. 2-minute read  "I write this letter for the person who's listenin' Fed up and tired of people dismissin' 'em, I'm with you I been through what you been through And no amount of money can take away the feelin' of insecurity Only through maturity can we overcome Feel like I've been overrun, feel like it's over, I'm done Whoever told you success gon' make you happy? You been lied to All of my dreams came true but I bleed and cry too" Dark Place - Sir Robert Bryson Hall II "People say, 'Well you're just out for money'
I say, 'That's none of your business' You see, a lot of people don't feel happy unless they have another thing beyond money, which is called status And status, to a very large extent in our economy consists in having this thing, that thing, the other thing, and having a swimming pool, A, uh, Ferrari, uh, some kind of clothes and uh, some kind of house and so on, and so on, and so on And we think, uh, we need all that Because we haven't asked ourselves whether that was what we really wanted They all think they gotta have this, they gotta have that And uh, they don't really want it If they sat back and considered, 'Do I need all that? Is this trip really necessary?' They would come to the conclusion it wasn't" Status of People - Alan Watts 2-minute read  "HealingSoul" - Amirzand It is the act of creation which grants you immortality; Our story lives on beyond our physical lives through the artistic expression of books, film, fashion and more
In its initial introduction we can't help but notice this titanous prism commanding the digital canvas. It appears as a sort of flared marble with a stunning mix of red and orange. When we take a look at its relation to other elements in the spatial composition its focus becomes quite clear; We see multiple levels of emphasis from its form to its texture, placement, color and value of light In the realm of form we note its sharp, straight and strong corners as highly contrasted from its smooth and curved surroundings. Our setting feels primal yet foreign and surreal as if we're standing on another planet. This is reinforced by the greater space of stars, bringing us into complete immersion with the piece We see a great deal of contrast in the textures at hand as our smooth prism is cracked in contrast to our muddy, cave-esc set that appears to morph and flow out of concrete control The center placement of this prism proves a masterful knowledge of the elements of art. Our primal setting draws a line across the star-filled region of the piece to frame the prism subtly yet stunningly We see that the entire piece sets up a neutral gray-black to allow the reddish-orange to accent itself initially with the subsequent spark of yellowish-gold as the rarest and highest color within the work at hand Our lone figure holds a hovering sphere as he stares at this titanous prism. We note the small yet stunning azure pond beneath our subject reflecting and translating the scene to achieve a double emphasis This prism appears as a mirror which hosts the shadow of the figure as if it’s possessed by our lone golden hero. Through the depiction of the shadow this work follows the Dream as a reflection of the soul Creation is a form of immortalization in the same degree as its potential for healing. When we share things with others we are expressing ourselves, and as time progresses we’re discovering just how important this act is for meaningful contemplation and exchange of perspective to finding ultimate connection, comfort and companionship in what feels like an increasingly lonely and loathly world Overall this surreal digital painting presents the lone hero in the midst of an intergalactic dreamspace as a flared prism provides a face of reflection and accent for the hero in complete creative ascendancy Created by APOLLO / Arts & Performance Art, Lingual Literacy 2-minute read  I'm not quite sure if you can hear me... I've been wandering the streets of this city for quite some time now.
Although I keep writing it appears that the rain is starting to pick up. I'm in a rather rough state at the moment, and it's hard to know when I'll be back. In the meantime, please enjoy this photograph I discovered in the archives of my city's CCTV. Isn't it such a lovely world? A lone figure stands like a monument in memorization of this public kiosk which hosts an iridescent screen in juxtaposition against its dark and destitute surroundings. Today's work features a heavy degree of darkness in the form of this cool concrete green-grey. This allows a great deal of contrast to be crafted in the piece at hand as both color and form vary extremely from the subject to its set surroundings. We note a titanous pillar commanding the center space of the canvas which divides the spatial composition into two resulting regions. Although this division is demonstrably dense we must concede that both halves host the rather rough scenes of tiered highways climbing to the ascendant region of the canvas' back. Our main subject is tucked underneath these large roads creating an intimate yet cave-esc atmosphere for the figure to reside within. To some the setting may read as an abandoned amusement park or mall however upon closer inspection this assumption falls to the clear depiction of guardrails bordering the streets above. A single glowing source of light against this endlessly dark setting offers a unique metaphor to the lone creator. One wonders if our figure holds the reassurance that the sacrifices made now won't one day be seen as unsuccessfully vain. Overall this titanous digital rendering immerses its viewer within a dystopian megacity which feels awfully isolated as our lone figure observes a bright kiosk in contrast to the surrounding sea of darkness. 2-minute read  Saturn Devouring His Son - Francisco Goya Have you ever met someone who doubts another person’s success? Perhaps even yours?
There is to one who doubts success a certain cynicism which feels like this cancer of resentful stagnation which threatens malignancy towards anyone who dares to achieve in their proximity. They only consume, save to create criticisms towards your newfound action of progress. Time must be sacrificed to build anything. When we are consuming culture we are comprehending the successful expressions of others. We instruct our morality towards a type of literature which is so deeply ingrained in our culture that it has transcended into mythology & religion. The story of the one who doubts the achievements of another is nothing new. It is the tale of the hostile brothers Cain and Abel. Let’s say you have some really good news to share with someone. You meet them with ecstatic energy yet their response is reserved, quiet and hardly congratulatory. Instead your good news is met with their story of success which feels more like an attempt to one-up you rather than to share and support the tremendously good feeling which the news has brought. What is it about the one who doubts the success, achievements and accomplishments of others which feels so hopeless? At the end of the day they’re just sitting in a dark room debating to themselves about whether that resented person was really able to do that, that or the other while that hated individual continues to build on their achievements without a single thought otherwise. There is only place where resentment breeds; Resentment strives in dark rooms where one goes mad over the infinite injustices of life from a death in the family to alienation by all your past friends and heartbreak itself. Instead of picking up the pieces to rise in resiliency they have only one thought. That thought is to destroy the ideal which they feel threatened by. That is how quiet resentment breeds violence. Don’t be the friend who doubts success. 4-minute read  Image taken from our "Art Appreciation" section What is a White Paper? White papers describe a complex movement, group or idea in a way which is transparent, organized and curated for limited or full access to the public. How to read the Apollo White Paper The White Paper for the Apollo Art Exchange is broken down into three main components known as Chapters, Sections and Subsections. Each chapter represents the core idea covered by the sections within that area. Finally the subsections of each chapter will include extra notes and intentions necessary to that specific section and chapter.
Chapter I : Mission
Chapter II : User & Gallery Interface
Chapter III : The Apollo Cycle
Chapter IV : Apollo Community Tokens (ACTs)
Chapter V : Smart Museum Ecosystem
Chapter VI : Scaling Solutions
Vocabulary Whitepaper - Released document explaining the purpose of a complex project, non-profit or company Apollo Art Exchange (AAE) - Public Art Institution / Publishing Platform focused on the Appreciation, Cultivation and Education of the arts Bridge The Gap (BTG) - Non-profit focused on Digital Literacy, Arts & Performance Arts, Lingual Literacy and Financial Literacy. This is achieved through close partnerships with Fuel the Future Platforms and the Apollo Art Exchange to host community-based educational events (Interconnected) Metaverse - The Internet we've come to know and love. This also includes the newest movements such as The Blockchain, Global Cryptocurrency, NFTs and Virtual Reality Public Art Institution - A group which hosts everything from lessons to art galleries always accessible to the public Apollo Art Archive - Full gallery of all showcases across visual arts, motion picture, music and more A.C.E - Term within AAE referring to the Appreciation, Cultivation and Education of the arts The Apollo Cycle - Process which the AAE writing team utilizes to discover, study and post pieces of art from any culture across the globe Discover - Finding a new piece for the first time Study - Watching the work over and over while writing on what it has to offer Live - Posting a piece within the channels of the Apollo Media Distribution Growth - Tendency for new viewers to flood in through hashtags, shares and likes Artist Rate of Occurrence - Increased rate of discovery/exposure for an artist Trackmap - Diagram or graph which displays the path viewers take across the Smart Museum Ecosystem in order to discover original artists Exposure - Discovery of an original artist or piece of art Apollo Media Distribution - A coalition or collection of channels (social media accounts and websites) which utilizes multi-platform posting to spread AAE content/showcases across the interconnected metaverse Smart Museum - AAE's term for the fullest picture including Decentralized Crowdfunding (NFTs), Apollo Media Distribution, Physical Items, Digital Statistics and much more Screen Frames - Unofficial name for the Fuel the Future Platforms product which displays digital art within a framed screen Decentralization - The empowerment of the individual instead of a centralized body. For example, instead of having to go onto a news outlet to have your voice heard you simply post to YouTube Centralized Crowdfunding - System which allows individuals to gather on a centralized platform to support a group or project (GoFundMe or Patreon) Decentralized Crowdfunding - System which allows a decentralized collection of individuals to support a group or project (NFTs) Blockchain - Chronological digital ledger secured by miners or validators NFT - Non-Fungible Token which acts as a digital container for any hosted file or applied media. This verifies its placement to be held, bought or sold by anyone with an internet connection Token Holders - Everyone currently holding an Apollo Community Token Apollo Community Token (ACT) - NFTs which act as Access Tokens into the Smart Museum of the Apollo Art Archive. This includes physical prints, personal showcases, access to pieces before they go live and much more Advertising Collateral - The potential for an item to continually provide outside exposure through its constant discovery on a social profile or other Outside Exposure - Any outside source of exposure including advertising, reposts, hashtags, physical events and more Smart Gallery - Democratized public art institution Gallery Facing - Piece on the front of gallery with title Gallery Tile - Each specific piece within the gallery including title, description and artwork Piece description - Written section explaining/documenting a piece of art Gallery/Overall/Conclusion statement - End of each piece which summarizes the work with its medium of creation Scaling Solutions - Our team’s plans to tackle solutions to scaling AAE 2-minute read  Screenshot from "You Will Be Happy" - Leonardo Of Biz “You will own nothing, and you will be happy.”
Welcome to the Authoritarian Surveillance State. In its initial introduction we're set in the endless and pointless scrolls of social media which have degraded our attention span over countless hours of use. Our main subject awakens with his Virtual Reality headset owned by the mega conglomerate of Facebook, Amazon, Google, Windows, Apple & Netflix. He enters his communally-shared shower space before retreating back to eat a "NuMeat" microwaved instameal. The screen of his phone lights up to notify him of the start of a 3 day timer for the execution of his monthly rental Smart Contract. Next he receives a notification for the arrival of his rideshare as his vaccination status sits conveniently near the side of his screen. Our subject goes outside just as his autonomous rideshare pulls up. We’re introduced to this grand sense of scale as if we’re nothing but another drop in the bucket here. Note the censorship devices over the citizen’s mouths. Messaging on the public transportation pod speaks in both English and Mandarin in a bid to the possibility of Chinese global dominance by 2030. After arriving at work we’re herded like sheep past a titanous mural which presents the intersectional utopia which the party has finally achieved. We’re sitting at our desk within a cubicle whose 6 sides are completely translucent with a vast sense of vulnerability all around. The screen of our desktop opens with pavlovian snapping alongside a personal tributary to prove both loyalty and submission to the party. Our main character looks up to see that his manager can view him from any angle simultaneously as he realizes he can never escape from the view of the Big Brother party. His manager asks him how nice his pod is. Upon the slightest sign of dissatisfaction the entire room turns blood red as a deep low siren rings out in dismay. He is now the black sheep. "Oof. That's bad speak." Our subject's phone lights up in red to notify him that he's violated the terms of his employee Smart Contract by saying: "Yeah. It's a bit cramped though" This of course is in direct contradiction with the verified Snopes fact that workpods are "comfortably spacious, combining the safety of closed cubicles with the communal spirit of open office environments." Due to this his social credit score has decreased by 20 points, throwing him into the red as he no longer has money for rent. Overall this dystopian motion picture presents a lone subject traveling through the authoritarian surveillance state which he lives in as every aspect of the film stands to remind us of the possibility of falling into a societal state of centralized power and oppression. |