The Hammer Regatta is a unique blend of athletics, music and art being held this Sunday at St. Ignatius’ Murphy Field House from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Hammer has partnered with members of the Cleveland arts community that have been part of recent Ingenuity Festivals. The Hammer is free to attend, and if you decide to participate, your entry fee will go towards the Rivergate Park campaign fund. The Hammer is also serving as a fundraiser for a new home for rowing in Northeast Ohio as the current Cleveland Rowing Foundation boathouse location is currently within the planned footprint of a new casino complex. For a look at ’36 Views of a Bridge’, a video installation by Alex Boxerbaum that will be shown above the competition line, click on the below links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cLX2urmPQc, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mIq6NXS6CY The Hammer has also secured the services of Andrew Kaletta, director of lighting for Oberlin

Interesting video from CNN on Jane McGonigal.  She’s an online game designer that is working on games that can solve real-world problems.   It’s an interesting  take on how creativity and fun tap into some very serious issues of our time.

From Shrinking Cities comes a post comparing the reuse of the Detroit-Superior Bridge to New York’s High Line: Continue the schedule of temporary events begun with the Bridge Project in fall 2009, but analyse these to decide what uses or combination of uses are likely to work as permanent occupants of the span. One success of the Bridge Project is in 2010, Ingenuity Fest, billed as “Cleveland’s cutting edge festival of arts, music, and technology,” is holding its yearly week-long event the lower level of Veteran’s Memorial Bridge. It is important to remember that the Bridge Project and other Pop-Up City efforts generate “buzz” precisely because they are temporary, so it is vital to understand what will work on a long-term basis. What do you think? Read and comment at Shrinking Cities

Ingenuity Talkback Come hear what we’re planning and be heard about what you’d like to see… If you’ve come to Ingenuity in the past or you’re just starting to get to know us, we’d like to hear more from you. There is a lot of excitement about Ingenuity 2010 with our move to the Veterans Memorial Bridge and to the Fall, but we want ideas from the entire community. When: Tuesday, February 2 @ 6 PM Where: The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes (2600 South Park Boulevard in Shaker Heights) We’ll be presenting slides on success stories from the past and sharing our ideas from the future. If you’re a big fan of Ingenuity, bring a friend. If you’ve never been to the Festival but want to hear more, come along! We’re hoping for a spirit discussion and a chance to meet new friends. Please RSVP by January 31 in

Don’t forget, this Friday is another artist tour of the bridge.  It’s a great way to get to know the space before you make a proposal. We will be conducting artist walkthroughs monthly. All will take place at 1:30PM. Artists can meet James Levin at the Engineers Service Garage on the Superior Viaduct, across from St Malachai Church. Tour Dates all at 1:30 PM: January 22 Feb 19 March 19 April 16 Our call to artist form is up as well.  If you need a hard copy, we’ll be posting a PDF download later this week. See you on the bridge!

Discovery News has a piece up on Doctors Without Borders use of  inflatable hospitals.  These are vital in places like Haiti where infrastructure is so compromised and injuries so severe that a hospital needs to literally appear out of thin air. The article cites a Plain Dealer Infographic on how the hospitals work and highlights the work of Cleveland area company FSI North America. It’s all a reminder that true ingenuity can be fun but it can also save lives. From Discovery News (read the full article here): It’s exactly what it sounds like: a temporary hospital with inflatable components that can be deployed whenever needed. Doctors Without Borders has been employing them for years, including an impressive inflatable nine-tent, 120-bed center in Pakistan following a 7.6 magnitude earthquake there in 2005. The hospital post-and-beam frames can be made from the same fabric in inflatable lifeboats. Nylon interior and exterior