Tag Archives: Phil Granger

Discovering unity: technology, art, and science in Vancouver

Vancouver is hosting its first (?) TEDx event at the Electric Owl (928 Main Street) on Sunday, August 7, 2011. Here’s a brief description of the event from the Electric Owl event page featuring TEDxStrathcona,

Developments in technology can increase our capacity for creative means of artistic expression. Likewise, artistic imagination is an essential part of technological innovation. Our technological potential also hinges on our ability to achieve greater scientific understanding. Indeed, any major theoretical advances in the sciences require profound philosophical thinking and penetrating intuition.

Explore this TEDx theme as our dynamic speakers inspire our neighborhood of Strathcona, the city of Vancouver, and others around the world to discover novel ways of expressing the underlying unity between technology, art, and science.

Electric Owl’s event page lists four confirmed speakers but you might want to check out the page on the TED site where you will find six speakers listed.  (By the way, the x in TEDxStrathcona signifies that this is a locally and independently organized TED event.) Excerpted from the TED page listing TEDxStrathcona speakers,

  • Jonathan Tippet
    Vancouver based creator, Jonathan Tippett has a Mechanical Engineering Degree from The University of British Columbia. … In 2006 he was one of co-creators of The Mondo Spider which has since attained an international profile in the art and engineering communities. … He has now returned in earnest to the creation of massive engineered art an [sic] well in to the creation of Prosthesis: The Anti-Robot, a two story tall, four-legged wearable walking machine. … In a world where so much focus is placed on computing power and virtual experiences, Jonathan aims to reacquaint people with physical experiences by creating machines that generate entirely new ones.
  • John H Spencer
    John was awarded his PhD from the University of Liverpool in 2008, specializing in the Philosophical Foundations of Quantum Physics. He combines the highest levels of abstract thought and rational inquiry with direct mystical experience and practical application, making his discoveries accessible to a wide-ranging popular audience. … This book [Spencer’s forthcoming book, The Eternal Law: Ancient Greek Philosophy, Modern Physics, and Ultimate Reality] lays the foundation for showing how such metaphysical understanding is essential for helping us achieve our highest potential, whether as a visionary in business, science, or the arts. …
  • Indigo
    The street artist Indigo was raised in Northern BC & is currently based in the DTES, Indigo’s artistic process spans many disciplines, including painting, photography and contemporary dance. After a recent transition into the visual arts, her work has already gained a recognizable yet evolving identity and has been presented at many mainstream & alternative venues around the world. Soft, poetic and melodic, her paintings both on and off the streets capture her subjects in moments of quiet melancholy.
  • Ann Marie Fleming
    Ann Marie Fleming is an award-winning Canadian independent filmmaker, writer and artist, born in Okinawa, of Chinese and Australian parentage. Her film work incorporates various techniques: animation, documentary, experimental, dramatic, and primarily deals with themes of family, history and memory, in a continuing media critique.
  • Caleb Beyers
    Caleb Beyers is the co-founder and partner of Caste Design Projects, a multi-disciplinary creative think-tank and production studio based in Vancouver. Alongside his wife, Hanahlie Beise, Caleb operates Caste as a meeting point between a disruptive conceptual studio practice, and the clear, structured needs of business. He is passionate about local economies, community, knowledge-sharing, and the do-it-yourself ethic. Through his personal creative practice, and the work produced by Caste, he aims to break down perceived barriers between art, design, story, business, and personality. He uses technology as a means to explore materials, ideas, and processes with the intent to create meaning within material.
  • Phil Granger
    … In the theatre Philip has directed or starred in over 50 plays. In film and television Phil has appeared in over one hundred projects as either a lead or guest star, and has played a regular or recurring character on five different television series, one of which earned him the coveted Gemini Award. His most recent credits include Eli Craig’s Tucker and Dale Vrs Evil, Caprica, V , Comforting Skin, Southern Justice, Walter Hill’s Broken Trail with Robert Duvall, Steven Spielberg’s Taken, and the critically acclaimed film The Paper Moon Affair, for which he was nominated for a Leo for best supporting actor in a feature film. Phil Granger was recognized by the Governor General of Canada for his contribution to the arts.

On the TED page, Dani Vachon, organizer of the Olio Festival, is listed as the organizer for TEDxStrathcona. Tickets are $25 (I think the street poster mentions some food and/or drink included but I couldn’t confirm the information after checking both websites). Electric Owl (928 Main St.) does serve food and drink. Doors open at 6 p.m. on Sunday, August 7, 2011 and the event begins at 7 p.m.