Hasta La Gadget!

I don’t know about you, but there have been a few things that I’ve regretted about my past: the chances I didn’t take; the opportunities I passed on; relationships that, even though toxic, I stayed in hoping things would change. The time I wasted on the wrong person; the people I was afraid to get close to; and the decisions I waited too long to make.

We tell ourselves If Only…

If Only… the two saddest words in my opinion.

Sad, because we’re nostalgic about a past that has come and gone, for which we now have absolutely no control over. Relationships that we wish didn’t end so badly, the one we let go and the one we should have never been involved with in the first place, the wrong career path, the education we deemed not as important in our youth, and money mistakes that in hindsight were made just because we didn’t pay attention to the yellow alerts that were all around us.

We believe that our relationships, work and health could have been handled differently if only so-and-so acted a certain way, if only the obstacles in our way were not there, or if only we had protected our savings better.

If only…

Some of the common regrets many of us have are:

1. I wish I had been the bigger person and resolved my family conflicts, disagreements and quarrels sooner

2. I wish I had studied harder and worked for that college degree

3. I wish I had made a different career choice

4. I wish I hadn’t squandered my money on frivolous items and saved more for my retirement

5. I wish I had paid more attention to my intuition when it was telling me something was seriously wrong

6. I wish I had left that abusive relationship sooner

7. I wish I had spent more time with my children

8. I wish I had taken better care of my health

9. I wish I had made more time for my friends

10. I wish I had played a more active role in my community

11. I wish I was brave enough to pursue my dreams instead of living the life others expected of me

12. I wish I had not been so obsessed with my work and taken more vacations

13. I wish I had the courage to air my grievances without worrying about being judged

14. I wish I had spoken my mind instead of holding back and feeling resentful

15. I wish I had known earlier that happiness is always a choice

16. I wish I had said ‘I Love You’ more

Whatever you’re going thru and beating yourself up about today, know that everything that has happened in your life, everyone that has been part of your life and is no more, there were no mistakes. You are who you are today because of everything you have gone thru. Your experiences, traumas and heartaches, were not all for naught.

You are unique and so are your experiences, both past and present. You had, and are having them now because you have something to learn from them. Rather than pointing a finger at others or at your circumstances, realize that you are one hundred percent responsible for your life and your choices. This realization and acceptance will save you a lot of unnecessary suffering.

We all have a choice: to act a certain way, to stay or to leave, to refuse or to accept, to love or to walk away. You have learnt now, and you will know better when an obstacle crosses your path on how to react, what decisions to make, and which path to take. You have become a stronger person today because of all you have gone thru.

As long as there is breath in you, be sure to make time to reach for your dreams. Allow your dreams to be pure. Be you. Today is as good a day as any. You will never be ready for whatever, or whoever it is you’re waiting for. Start working toward your dreams now. Don’t keep putting things off until it becomes too late.

Instead of living in the “If Only…” mindset, how about turning it around slowly to the positive possibilities of “What If…?”

And ultimately replace that with “Hell Yeah!“

“What if I fall?”
Oh, but my darling
What if you fly?

© Rani St. Pucchi, 2016
For more information please visit www.ranistpucchi.com

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick declared on Friday that he has decided to sit during the singing of the national anthem before games. His act of protest has sparked heavy debate and harsh criticism but Tina Lawson is a fan of what she calls a “brave” move by the athlete.

Beyonce’s mom posted a picture Monday on Instagram of a TV screen showing a sports show segment discussing Kaepernick’s act of defiance. Knowles, whose Instagram posts are always worth praising, lambasted fans who support Kaepernick as a player but not for someone who stands for social justice issues. 

“The people that are so offended and appalled by Mr. Kaepernick’s protest. I’d like to know if they are as outraged by all the senseless killing of minorities, all of the racial injustices in America, that people are okay with,” Lawson wrote in a scathing caption. “Here is a man that is taking a non violent stand to bring attention to this horrible problem.”   

Lawson went on to mention NBA player Dwyane Wade, whose cousin was tragically killed during a shooting in Chicago on Saturday. Wade later spoke out on Twitter and demanded an end to gun violence in America and Lawson fully supported his message of intolerance. 

“Mr. Wade said it best ‘Enough is Enough’,” she wrote. “What will we do today to contribute to change no mater how small. ❤️”

See her full post below: 

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HARDAN, Iraq (AP) — Peering through binoculars, the young man watched as Islamic State extremists gunned down the handcuffed men and then buried them with a waiting bulldozer. For six days he watched as IS filled one grave after another with his friends and neighbors.

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How a push for democracy in Egypt was railroaded by the dictatorship.

Egyptian war correspondent and journalist Yehia Ghanem continues his series of short stories on the wars he has covered and the people he has met along the way. Read the rest of his Caged series here

In the years following the events of September 11, 2001, the image of the US in the Middle East was at its lowest. There were demonstrations against the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in Egypt and elsewhere, along with calls to boycott US products.

It was during these years, with relations between the US and the Middle East at an all-time low, that Americans finally began to answer the question so many of them had asked in the wake of 9/11: “Why do they hate us?” American officials and researchers had sat in my office at Al Ahram newspaper and asked me that very question.

But gradually, they had come to form their own answer: that the Arab world had been angered by the US’ support for and empowerment of the dictators who had oppressed them. The only recourse, they had concluded, was to help the region to establish more democratic governments.

Believing Egypt, the largest and most populated country in the Middle East, to be the locomotive that would drag the rest of the Arab world along with it, the government of George W Bush turned its attention there. US-based think-tanks and NGOs began to operate in Egypt, promoting notions of human rights, freedom of expression and the development of the media.

There was suspicion among Egyptians, of course. But there was also a growing sense, reflected in everyday conversation, that Arabs were, at long last, being heard; that our deep hunger for democracy was being recognised.

From outward appearances, the Mubarak government seemed to have decided to bow to the coming storm. But, unbeknown to the majority of people, its intention was to set up “NGOs” of its own – organisations that would infiltrate NGO circles and report back on those that were truly independent and would help the government set the agenda for the NGO community in Egypt.

In this context, it is important to point out that after the military took over in Egypt on July 3, 2013, many independent NGOs were shut down and, of those that remained, including the government’s NGOs, most turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the unprecedented human rights violations taking place in the country, including the killing of peaceful protesters. But those same government-formed NGOs were vocal in smearing the toppled, democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi.

Aware that democratisation also meant a free and independent media, the Mubarak government also spared no effort in introducing its own “make-believe” version of that. The government gave up its monopoly over public media, allowing the private sector the right to establish television stations, radio channels and newspapers.

What few people seemed to notice, however, was that only four families – all within Mubarak’s circle of business associates – were licensed to own private media outlets. In reality, these “independent” organisations served as safety valves to release the steam of public anger, all while protecting the government.

It was an open secret that, for years, a weekly meeting was held by the assistant minister of interior for public communication to discuss that week’s agenda for the major talk shows on the private channels. Anchors, columnists and journalists would attend.

When the moment of truth came – with the January 25, 2011 revolution – all of these media outlets defended the government and turned on the protesters, describing them as “Western conspirators” against Egypt.

But away from the pretend private media organisations and NGOs, genuine moves towards democracy were being made – by Islamic movements such as al-Jihad, a highly conservative Islamic group, many of whose leaders were jailed during the 1980s and 1990s, and al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya, who began reviewing their doctrines, which had previously permitted the use of violence to achieve regime change, either by directly targeting the dictatorship or by targeting those Western countries that supported it. As these movements disowned violence and endorsed democratic means of regime change, an important part of Egyptian society began to tilt towards democracy.

Of course, the Muslim Brotherhood had renounced violence in the late 1950s. But in 2006, 77 years after it was founded, the Brotherhood made another change to its doctrine – one that was ignored by Egypt’s public and private media: It recognised the right of jurisdiction of Christians and women. In Shariah law, this is referred to as the Major Jurisdiction, or al-Welaya al-Aama, meaning that a woman or a Christian could become president.

It was a major leap for the Brotherhood. But the Mubarak government sought to block the West from witnessing it; preferring to portray them as undemocratic terrorists.

When the West seemed to pick up on the signals regardless, the government took further steps to contain this process of democratisation. In 2004, it amended the constitution, creating the false impression that there would be genuine competition in the 2005 presidential elections. But it was just an illusion and efforts to eventually pass the presidency from Mubarak the father to Mubarak the son were already under way.

In the months after the 2005 vote, I was told by an adviser to Ayman Nour, Mubarak’s main opposition in it, that the Nour candidacy had been allowed only as part of the government’s choreographed elections. During the campaign, Nour had been surprised by the amount of support he received.

Still, the results did not differ from those of previous elections: with 88.6 percent of the vote, it was a landslide victory for Mubarak. Nour secured 7.3 percent and Noman Goumaa, another opposition candidate, just 2.8 percent. But it was enough for the government to be displeased with Nour. By getting what was an unprecedented level of support in a country that had for so long run single-candidate votes, he had embarrassed Mubarak.

It took just a few months until Nour found himself facing allegations of fraud. He was convicted and imprisoned. The message was clear: everyone would have to play by the regime’s rules.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/08/george-bush-hosni-mubarak-reforms-160821124854224.html

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Rachel Somers Miles, Project Director, The Garage

Brands that excel are the ones that look to connect with consumers in new ways. It’s easy to jump to the conclusion that in order to be a savvy 21^st century brand you must embrace new mediums like Virtual Reality (VR). But regardless of the medium, in order to stay relevant, brands must think about culture: the most powerful tool when it comes to engaging and connecting with your audience.

Culture is the meme of life, it’s the collective creative conscious and thus the centrepoint for finding out what’s important to millennial audiences today (millennials being the most financially powerful, critical and aware audience demographic). Focusing on culture, by developing brand-artist collaborations, is a way of building authentic relationships with audiences that may be hard to connect with. Brands need to work with those who already have a knack for organically developing relationships with consumers, in this case artists, whose relationships with consumers come from consumers’ genuine excitement and interest in the products, activities and stories of the artists

The rise of brand-artist collaborations has been an important development in the marketing mix over the past few years, and one that’s proven highly successful with millennials. As both an art gallery and an international artist management team, The Garage sees first-hand the value of brand-artist collaborations and the benefit brought to both worlds when cultural connections are forged in an authentic manner.

Why Brands Should Work With Artists

Brand-artist collaborations are quite straightforward. Consumers are smart, and as a brand there’s only so much talking you can do about yourself before the message grows old. Enabling someone else to do the talking with you is a great way to add new energy to what you want to say. Today’s culture is one of collaboration. If you think about the modern audience of millennials, it’s made up of friends across borders communicating through many means, young people speaking multiple languages and people consuming content created across the world. What does it say to your audience if you’re a brand that collaborates? It says you’re inclusive, open, you appreciate the world around you, and that you’re tapped into the ways people create meaningful experiences and stories today—all values that millennials respect.

An artist is really the highest form of expression. There are few boundaries. As a brand, you’re often restricted. When brands collaborate with artists, they enable the artist to tell stories on their behalf. While approaches to advertising used to be about the final product, we’re now in a world where the journey to the final product has more meaning—it’s about sharing and the experience economy. What does a brand-artist collaboration do? It creates stories for a brand’s audience, and provides the brand with content to tell stories, thus bringing the brand purpose alive and giving it relevant and authentic context. Ultimately, it’s creating brand awareness through collaborations that provide a cultural, real-life context to your existing ethos. Working with an artist is a chance to share your brand’s creative vision in a completely new way and context. It alters your public image, taps into new markets, creates possibilities for consumer experiences and connects you with different audiences.

What Success Should Look Like When Working With Artists

There’s no one-size-fits-all equation for the perfect brand-artist collaboration. And really, that’s the beauty of it. Finding that artist who will tell your brand story in an authentic way requires some serious soul-searching. But remember, millennials value brands that listen and adjust with the times; brands that are successful today change, they are flexible and grow alongside their audience. The kinds of artists you work with will evolve. It’s not about having one spokesperson for the long haul, but developing authentic relationships with various artists over time in order to share many meaningful experiences with your audience.

While each brand has its own performance metrics to measure the success of its activities, success shouldn’t solely be viewed within the rubric of KPIs. If the aim is to create meaningful new experiences that resonate culturally with consumers, you must question your brand’s approach to working with artists.

So when thinking about teaming up with an artist, here are some questions to ask yourself:

Does the artist visually express the values of the brand and the goals of the project at hand?

To truly establish a creative partnership, the collaboration needs to feel authentic. It is essential that it is a natural pairing. Brands need to be thoughtful about who to bring on when enlisting artists. It’s not just about grabbing the hottest young artist to team up with. If the artist doesn’t visually express or elevate the characteristics and values of your brand, or isn’t able to visually execute the story you’re trying to tell, then the partnership will feel forced or fall flat. And remember, there’s no more critical an audience than a millennial audience.

We’ve enjoyed a long relationship with French visual artist Ludo who we teamed up with Japanese fashion label MINOTAUR last year to collaborate on a capsule collection. Ludo is known for his unique style called ‘Nature’s Revenge’ where he connects the organic world of plants and animals with technology through hybrid images of the two. MINOTAUR explores traditional and timeless clothing through a hi-tech approach. Both parties are clearly creatively interested in the blending of nature with technology. So not only is it about having clear visual strength in collaborating, but it’s also about extending both party’s audiences and bringing value to them. Ludo’s audience value nature and technology, as does MINOTAUR’s, so by coming together they’re saying we know what you love, and here’s another brand for you, and we’re working together to make you something new.

^{Portrait of French visual artist Ludo taken by photographer Søren Solkær.}

Are we willing to allow the artist to stay true to their vision and voice?

Of course revisions and feedback are necessary, but wisely selecting your artists, sharing a thoughtful and thorough creative brief and having a proposal sketch phase allows artists the freedom to move forward with creating. So think through what you’re asking of them and share this upfront. You’ve picked the artist because you respect their style and creative vision, so trust their work. Getting bogged down in minute changes, and amending briefs requiring artists to redo their work can be demoralising and demotivating, thus making for a less successful collaboration on the inside. Changes can be necessary, but if you’ve briefed well this shouldn’t happen. So, know where to pick your battles and trust the artists you’re working with.

Value your artists. The partnership being viewed as authentic from the outside is just as important as the partnership being authentic on the inside. Success is the artist walking away feeling proud of their work. That their vision was respected and realised. That they’ve come out the other side having had the chance to share their genuine self in an interesting new way, grown from the experience, and that they’d want to collaborate with you again.

Google’s recent launch of The Data Center Mural Project is a great example of this. With an ambition to share what happens at their data centers they’ve teamed up with artists to bring a bit of the magic from the inside to the outside creating large-scale murals on the facades of these buildings to illustrate different aspects of their use and daily life. Each artist has a distinct style that plays to Google’s personality of being fun, playful and creative, and from the two murals released thus far it’s clear the artwork directly expresses the style and vision of the artist’s individual creative practice while founding the vision in local insight.

Why do we want to work with artists?

More of a state-of-mind than a how-to-rule, a successful collaboration is born from a brand’s genuine interest in connecting with artists and the culture they create—“good brands create culture, bad brands buy it”. More than just tapping into culture for a brand pick-me-up, brands must respect the role that artists play in enriching everyday life. It’s in this way that brands become part of the collaboration culture that sits at the center of the millennial audience.

From our ongoing relationship with Converse we’ve seen them continue to grow by pushing the edge and consistently connect with artists in a broad and forward-thinking range of different ways. From commissioning artists, illustrators and designers to create original artwork to customise their sneakers, to the Chuck Hack project of enlisting technologically-minded artists and designers to play their hand at creating electronic art out of a sneaker, to Photo Clash which saw artists from around Europe, the Middle East and Asia visually mash-up photos submitted by fans via Twitter. Converse consistently works with artists because it sees its shoes as a canvas of creativity, and sees artists as the driving force of creating exciting and innovative connections with consumers through culture.

Of course there’s always the first time a brand collaborates with artists, and collaborations have different scales, but sustained success in working with artists comes from the respect and championing of creative communities being a core value of the brand.

The questions a brand should use to think through its approach to working with an artist should provide a healthy foundation for a collaboration, resulting in meaningful new experiences that resonate culturally with your consumers. Reaching new audiences and connecting with them in a different way requires developing collaborative creative partnerships that enable a certain amount of artistic freedom. As a brand wanting to work with an artist, if you’ve gone through the process of carefully selecting your partner and sharing a thoroughly considered brief, then it should be easy to take on this model of working and make the most of it. Embrace the possibilities that collaborating with artists brings, create culture, and show generation authentic you understand what’s exciting and important to them.

Rachel Somers Miles

Projects & Exhibition Director, The Garage

info@thegarageamsterdam.com

www.thegarageamsterdam.com

@thegarageamsterdam

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