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Grayson Gilmour

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Concerned Citizens
Creative Wellingtonians Combine Art and Technology to Help Communities Overseas

Concerned Citizens, a Wellington-based creative community of more than 80 artists and musicians, have announced the opening of a cutting edge “Open Source” community art gallery at Nineteen Tory Street, in the heart of Wellington’s CBD, with a first fundraising event taking place on Friday April 13.

“Open Source is about sharing information and collaborating with people all over the globe to make something of social value that can be distributed freely,” says design engineer and Concerned Citizen Richard Bartlett.

The Open Source philosophy is well established in the world of software, and has made dramatic inroads into other fields in recent years, including education and engineering, with the Wikipedia open source encyclopedia, and the ultra-efficient WikiSpeed car designed using Open Source principles.

“With the Nineteen Tory Street gallery project, we’re extending the Open Source concept to art, music and other creative community events. This means we’re inviting ideas for projects and events from the whole community, and freely sharing the results.”

Decisions at Nineteen Tory Street are made collectively with the input of more than 600 local online members, enabled by a combination of existing social media tools and innovative technology being developed in Wellington.

The first community-sourced event is a benefit concert to help rebuild communities in Gaza, opening at 6.30pm tomorrow night.

The concert, featuring performances from renowned musicians Grayson Gilmour and Jon Lemmon, will raise funds for Kia Ora Gaza, an NGO due to leave New Zealand next week to join an international humanitarian convoy delivering aid to Gaza.

Wellingtonian Tali Williams is one of the four Kiwis to join the convoy. “After many years of living among the rubble this convoy will provide a chance for Gazans to rebuild their communities,” says Williams. “The concert at Tory St is an opportunity for the Wellington creative community to lend a hand to other communities in need.”

Tags: Arts, Music, wellington