The Human connection company
Shared Studios collaborated with Johns Hopkins University to bring together students in Baltimore, Beirut, and Gaza through virtual-exchange “hackathons.” Students form teams through the portal and work as one unit to solve a problem related to public health. The hackathon teaches participants transferable design skills as they tackle challenges facing refugee communities in Beirut and Gaza, emphasizing cultural literacy, teamwork, and design thinking.
Gilman is an all boys prep school (K-12) in Baltimore. Amar introduced the Portal to approximately 60 teachers from all different grades to how the Portal works and how they can incorporate it into their curriculum. The Portal is to be active max 12 hours a week for 9 months.
What if you could talk to a stranger on the other side of the world as if you were in the same room together? Learn about the origins of Shared Studios and portals. The documentary follows middle schoolers as they step into the Richmond Portal and connect with two muralists in Mexico City. "Passion Projects" is a docuseries about turning passion into purpose and its impact on the world.
Thousands of commuters buzz by it; dozens more see it from the Starbucks line less than 100 feet away. But only a few enter this gold box in the middle of downtown Los Angeles' Grand Park. "That was amazing," Bernadine Harris said as she stepped out of the shipping container covered in gold paint. Moments before, she was speaking live to an Iraqi refugee standing in front of her — on a large video screen.
When the Harvard- and Yale Law-educated artist and journalist Amar Bakshi, born and raised in Washington D.C., was traveling the globe seven years ago for his How the World Sees America interview series, he realized something: People often kept letters from American pen pals dating back to the 1980s, before the Internet made other modes of international correspondence possible.
It amazes me just how universal hip-hop has become. Here in America it was originally created as a means to express ourselves despite the forces oppressing us. Blacks had few ways to convey their thoughts publicly so we confused creativity with passion in hopes that the words in our hearts would be felt. Today I spoke with a man on the other side of the world who said that positive hip-hop is blooming where he lives in Afghanistan. It’s inspirational to say the least. I’m honored to be able to share my voice with the world. This portal is a gift, a treasure in time that I feel will one day be incredibly impacting! Javier S
This is an amazing experience. Really works as art but as cultural diplomacy as well. Bravo!
A terribly important art exhibit that instantly breaks down the arbitrary borders we put between countries.
