Jason Ackman is a high school art teacher from Rushville, Illinois. He is also a sculpture and installation artist, who for the past several years has specialized in creating works from reclaimed wood. Since 2010 he has been developing a project he calls Discern, with the hope that he would display this multi-piece installation at ArtPrize, which takes place in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is one of the largest art festivals of its kind in the world. Jason isn’t asking for much, but is in need of funds to complete the sculpture and transport it to the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, where it will be on display throughout the festival. Jason describes the project as follows, on his Kickstarter page:
Discern is an installation utilizing sculptures of luggage, ladders, rotary telephones and railroad push carts along with suspended ladders and telephone handsets. Over the past few years I have been working with concepts that deal with transition and discernment. This concept/installation is a result of much thought in regards to communication and how our life experiences affect what we choose to pursue and from where we seek direction to make those decisions. It really is a personal narrative in response to our world and how we navigate through it. The things we choose to listen to and the life experiences we choose to hold onto.
His needs are modest, but the tasks for making his dream come true is still a tall one. With your support, Jason can make this happen, so visit his Kickstarter page today to contribute and learn more.
Adam Leipzig is the founder and CEO of MediaU, online career acceleration. MediaU opens the doors of access for content creation, filmmaking and television. Adam, Cultural Daily’s founder and publisher, has worked with more than 10,000 creatives in film, theatre, television, music, dance, poetry, literature, performance, photography, and design. He has been a producer, distributor or supervising executive on more than 30 films that have disrupted expectations, including A Plastic Ocean, March of the Penguins, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Dead Poets Society, Titus and A Plastic Ocean. His movies have won or been nominated for 10 Academy Awards, 11 BAFTA Awards, 2 Golden Globes, 2 Emmys, 2 Directors Guild Awards, 4 Sundance Awards and 4 Independent Spirit Awards. Adam teaches at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. Adam began his career in theatre; he was the first professional dramaturg in the United States outside of New York City, and he was one of the founders of the Los Angeles Theatre Center, where he produced more than 300 plays, music, dance, and other events. Adam is CEO of Entertainment Media Partners, a company that navigates creative entrepreneurs through the Hollywood system and beyond, and a keynote speaker. Adam is the former president of National Geographic Films and senior Walt Disney Studios executive. He has also served in senior capacities at CreativeFuture, a non-profit organization that advocates for the creative community. Adam is is the author of ‘Inside Track for Independent Filmmakers ’ and co-author of the all-in-one resource for college students and emerging filmmakers 'Filmmaking in Action: Your Guide to the Skills and Craft' (Macmillan). (Photo by Jordan Ancel)