The Labs @ CLP: MLK Workshop

Aerial view of the March on Washington Photo credit: Getty Images

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.‘s speech, “I have a Dream,” is considered one of the most important cultural and historical moments of the 20th Century. Dr. King was just one of the speakers at The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the largest protest demonstration in U.S. history. Check out an original flyer for the event from the archives of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania!

On August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 people of all races marched peacefully from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. to lobby for the passage of civil rights laws. Just two months earlier during a live broadcast, President Kennedy unveiled plans to pursue a comprehensive civil rights bill in Congress. The ‘March on Washington’ was one of the first protests to have extensive television coverage, so in addition to the quarter of a million people in attendance, millions watched from home. It proved that protests do not need to be violent to be powerful. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom became the landmark event in the movement that led to the successful passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Dr. King thrilled the crowd with his “I Have A Dream” speech, but did you know that the his planned speech was originally called “Normalcy, Never Again?” The speech became known as “I Have a Dream,” but those words were never in the draft of original speech. They were ad-libbed into his speech after Mahalia Jackson, one the music performers urged him, “Tell them about the dream, Martin.” She had heard him talk about his dream a few months earlier at a huge rally in Detroit. Even though Dr. King was warned to stay away from talking about his dream by his adviser, due to it being “trite” and “cliche,” King was encouraged by Jackson to ignore the advice. Would the speech have had the same reach, political impact and resonance 50 years later without it? Score one for the dreamers.

Photo credit: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library

The Labs invites teens of all skill levels to take part in workshops. Mentors lead project-based workshops according to the weekly theme, providing software and equipment tutorials. Workshops are informal, fun, and drop-in friendly. The Labs @ CLP is available to our teen patrons in grades 6-12.

This week all Labs locations will be celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington by recreating the event using Google Street View and the graphics editing program Adobe Photoshop.  Create 360 degree panoramic views of the march, while expanding your knowledge of Photoshop and its collection of blending tools. You’ll even be able to insert YOUR image into the historic photographs and take home a printed artifact of the finished product. This is a photography and design workshop that is not to be missed!

Tuesday, January 14th | 4:00 – 7:00 PM
CLP – Main
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-622-3121
thelabs@carnegielibrary.org

Wednesday, January 15th | 4:00 – 7:00 PM
CLP – East Liberty
130 S. Whitfield Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
412.363.8232
eastliberty@carnegielibrary.org

Thursday, January 16th | 4:00 – 7:00 PM
CLP – Allegheny
1230 Federal Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
412.237.1890
allegheny@carnegielibrary.org

Created by Chris from CLP – LABS

Want more? Check out these materials about the Civil Rights movement in America.

lauren @ CLP – Woods Run

Yes, Virginia, There is Teen Stuff Going Down at the Library This Week

No school and nothing to do???  The Library’s got you covered!  Here’s a brief glimpse of what’s going on this week:

Monday, December 23

Teen Time @ Lawrenceville / 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM

Gaming @ Main, Allegheny, and East Liberty!

Open Lab @ Main and Allegheny!

Tuesday, December 24

Wednesday, December 25

Thursday, December 26

Teen Lounge: Pop-Up Flix @ Brookline / 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Teen Time @ Knoxville / 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM

Teen Creative Writing Workshop @ Beechview / 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM

iPad Playground @ Squirrel Hill / 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Friday, December 27

Bad Movie Fridays @ Main / 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Gaming @ Main, Allegheny, and Sheraden!

Saturday, December 28

Teen Manga Club @ Beechview / 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM

Movies All Day @ Main / 10:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Aquaman and Aqualad gingerbread cookies from Teen Thing @ Carrick

For more teen happenings at a Library near you, be sure to check out the EVENTS slider on the Teen Page!

ALSO!  Don’t forget about the Teen Winter Reading Raffle, which is going on now till January 15th.  You could win stuff just for reading!

Jon : Carrick

Teen Media Awards

On Wednesday, August 14, 2013, Library staff and community members gathered to honor the creative works of Pittsburgh teens at the 3rd annual Teen Media Awards! Winners of the Ralph Munn Creative Writing Contest and TheLabs “Labsy” Awards shared their writing and creative arts with a packed theater!

Teen Media Awards 2013 @ Carnegie Museum of Art Theater

Keynote speaker Shioban Vivian started off the evening with an inspiring (and comical) talk about following your dreams and always striving to be creative and hard working. See below for winners and photos from this very special night in Pittsburgh!

Keynote Speaker: Siobhan Vivian

Ralph Munn Creative Writing Contest

Poetry
1st Place: “A or a” by Rose Swanson
2nd Place: “Hospitalia” by Agatha Monasterios – Ramirez

Short Prose
1st Place: “Bishop and Wash” by Lana Meyer
2nd Place: “Veteran Advice” by Kristen Grom

Screen Writing
1st Place: “cHaos before hArmony” by Justen Turner-Thorne
2nd Place: “On the End of Every Fork” by Tyler Hudson

Labsy Awards

Photography
1st Place: “Tanzania” by Olivia Muse
Honorable Mentions: “Flagpole” by Morgan Wable-Keene, “Downtown” by Raven

Design
1st Place: “Chronology Poster” by Morgan Wable-Keene
Honorable Mentions: “Submission 2” by Sarah Watkins, “Drawing 1” by Lexi Hall

Music/Audio
1st Place: “Short Jam” by David Watkins
Honorable Mentions: “Midas Theme” by Morgan Wable-Keene

Maker’s Studio
1st Place: “Space Intruder” by Morgan Wable-Keene
Honorable Mentions: “Speaker” by Ceu Gomez Faulk, “Glam-o-Tron” by Joshalyn and Cassidy

Video
1st Place: “Hat Chasers” by Simone Traub, Julian Edwards, Ashae Shaw, Umoja Shaw, Trayvon Ramsey, Jayla Ramsey, and Caliyha Hogan
Honorable Mentions: “Midas” by Cody, Morgan, Sarah, Philppa, Pascal, Kayla, and Pei Pei, “Electric Twist” by Kate Philipps, Hannah Philipps, Tessa Twyman, and Mae Twyman

For more photos from the Teen Media Awards click here or here or here.

The 2014 Teen Media Awards are just around the corner. If you are a budding writer, photographer, filmmaker, designer, creative-extraordinaire in Pittsburgh or Allegheny County, get started on your work today!

Looks for details on the Ralph Munn Creative Writing Contest in spring 2014 and visit The Labs at Main, East Liberty, Southside, and Allegheny to start working on your designs, photography, and more!

This week in Pittsburgh: Lozziwurms, singing orphans, and little mermaids

As usual, this week at CLP we have a plethora of things for you to come and do –

watch a movie about terrifying earthworms,

play in a video and card game tournament,

create songs, films, graphic art and more at a Labs location,

sew your own creations,

draw comics…

the list goes on and on.

Going to a library program is one thing you can do to complete your TSR activity list – don’t forget to turn yours in so you can go to our End of Summer Reading festivities!

 

In the wider world of Pittsburgh there are also some things well worth mentioning –

1. The Lozziwurm, “a colorful, twisting, tubular play sculpture designed by Yvan Pestalozzi in 1972” is open for play at the Carnegie Library Museum of Art. It’s part of the upcoming 2013 Carnegie International, and part of their current Playground Project exhibit.

You’re never too old for a playground, so go play on the Lozziwurm and learn about competing schools of thought in playground design and theory (yes, it’s a thing!)

(Taking a photo at a museum is also something on the TSR activity list, hint hint…)

photo by flicker user masivaan

2. Are you an actor, singer, dancer, or all three? Do you want to be?

There are several open auditions going on this week

The Heritage Players in Bethel Park is auditioning for a production of Oliver! – the classic tale of a hungry orphan. Bring a song of your choice.

(Hint: The library has librettos, cds, and sheet music for many, many, musicals. Checking a book out of the library is one activity to do on your TSR Activity List!)

Gemini Theater in Point Breeze is auditioning for a production of The Little Mermaid – they’re asking for a 1-2 minute a capella song and cold reading.

and finally, The Junior Mendelssohn Choir is looking for singers for all voice parts. Click the link for audition requirements and dates.

-Tessa, CLP – East Liberty

Fresh Perspectives: A Teen Documentary Series

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Main, Teen is screening four documentaries that focus on aspects of the teen experience, including independence, over-coming adversity, self confidence and establishing your personal identity.  All teens are welcome to come watch the films and connect with others on Wednesdays from 6-8pm in the Teen Department (Oakland).

May 22:  Film Series Kickoff & Screening
A glimpse into five Indiana teenagers’ senior year of high school.

May 29:  Now We Can Dance: The Story of the Hayward Gay Prom
The story of the Hayward Gay Prom which has been attracting hundreds of Bay Area youth since it began in 1995.  The creation of this film was a two-year project that trained teenagers to be filmmakers with the help of Hayward Public Library staff members and professional advisers.

June 5:  Girls Rock!
Four girls transform their lives at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls.

June 12:  This is What Love in Action Looks Like*
The story of a 16-year-old blogger whose parents sent him to an ex-gay rehabilitation program and the folks in the community who stood up for their friend.  His blog leads to one of the first examples of social media inspiring change and hope.

*We’ll wrap up this film series on June 12 with a popcorn bar featuring Pittsburgh Popcorn Company popcorn!  Stick around after the film to eat, mingle and talk about the films!

This awesome event was curated by Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Main’s Teen Gay Straight Alliance, which meets twice a month.

Don’t forget to check out The Labs @ CLP.  They have everything you need to get your thoughts on film, create and record your music and more!  In the meantime, here are some books & films to inspire you:

   

          

Larimer teens discover the music of the future: No Generation Podcast

Just down the street from both CLP – East Liberty and CLP – Homewood is the Kingsley Association, a community center extraordinaire. They have a pool, basketball court, yoga classes, community meetings, and a Youth Advisory Council.

An EEYAC meeting

 

I recently went to an unveiling of the Council’s new project: a podcast called No Generation Radio.

Artwork by Blaine Siegel

Teenagers from EEYAC had come together with local artist Blaine Siegel to create the podcast. They interviewed community members of Larimer to find stories from their past and present dealing with music, and then musicians from Larimer and other Pittsburgh neighborhoods imagined what the music of the future in Larimer would be like, based on those stories.

This includes David Bernabo, who said on his blog that his future music piece was created “us[ing] census data and analysis to forecast how Larimer will change in the future. I imagine that gentrification would occur to some extent and the neighborhood will become more racially integrated. From a musical standpoint, I am presenting music that would exist for an educational use. The idea was that music could be encoded in the future to “push” knowledge to the listener.”

All 7 podcasts can be heard on the No Generation tumblr. Check them out!

 

If you’re interested in creating a podcast, you can do it at the library!  The Labs have the equipment and mentors to help you realize your vision and put it out into the world. Come to one of the Labs locations!

Check out these books to get you started:

  

And, don’t forget, the library has many Teen Advisory Councils in its locations – if you want to bring your fun ideas to the library for old and new friends to enjoy, make it happen!

 

-Tessa, CLP – East Liberty

 

Make the Most of Your Music-Making with The Labs @ CLP with These Cool Tutorial Sites

The great poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” This is definitely the case at The Labs @ CLP, where jumping headfirst into new digital terrain, experimenting as you go, is the way that many of our wonderful artistic creations got their inception.

However, it’s possible you’re like me, someone who is more comfortable knowing the foundations of what I’m getting into first–who likes knowing what a dial is and what it’s purpose is before twisting it around. Someone who wants to know how soft the floor is before you DROP THE BASS.

In that case, you’re lucky, because there are a lot of really cool free resources for people looking to learn about music-making software and principles they can use no matter what free or paid synth they’re using to wrangle out dope tracks.

DubSpot

A US-based electronic deejaying and production school that offers tons of free content that can get you making any kind of music, from dubstep to house.

Point Blank Online

A really great series of free online tutorials and walkthroughs with people who make electronic dance music from this UK-based production school.

LoopTV

Tips and tricks curated by the juggernauts responsible for some of the most widely-used commercial loop and sample packs in the industry.

Sonic Academy (registration req’d)

A paid web portal for people interested in learning about production and digital deejay techniques.  Free content for anyone who registers.

So yeah, check out some videos, get your brain churning, and come on down to The Labs @ CLP and let your musical imagination BEAST OUT.

~Joseph
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main

Pittsburgh: haunted by historical photographs and documentary poetry!!

Have you ever taken a walk down a Pittsburgh street and wondered what wonderful or terrible things may have happened there in years past?  There’s a way to maybe find out.

crazy clown time

Go to Retrographer to see the past overlaid upon the present.  There, over 5,000 historic images of Pittsburgh have been tagged to the locations at which they were taken.  You can see that in 1935, there was a particularly scary Halloween Party  happening in front of the fountain at the Frick Fine Arts building (read: clowns) and that trolley car tracks used to criss-cross Centre Street.  You can check out how bustling East Liberty looked in 1928, and a road crew working in Homewood, around 1910, looking towards some very familiar rowhouses on Hamilton Ave. that I drive past almost every day of my life.

Or maybe you’d like to take a walk and read poems about the streets on which you’re wandering?  Then get yourself over to Public Record, a project done in 2010-11 by Justin Hopper in connection with Encyclopedia Destructica and Deeplocal.

Hopper uses poetry to expose history.  You can download an iPhone app that will show you a map of Pittsburgh and the locations that correspond to the poems, written about what daily life was like in 19th century Pittsburgh.  Or you can download the MP3s for free.

I hope these sites will inspire you to go create your own Pittsburgh-centered creative works.  Find some history there, at the library, or the Heinz History Center Archives, and make it your own. Submit it to the Ralph Munn Creative Writing Contest. Record it in words, film or music at the Labs.   Find the cutest historical boy from Historic Pittsburgh and send the link to My Daguerreotype Boyfriend.

Happy exploring,

-Tessa, CLP-East Liberty

The Labs’ October Workshop: The Scary Story Filmmaking Challenge

Hi, everyone, it’s Corey here with more information about The Labs (Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s digital media lab program just for teens) and our featured October program: The Scary Story Filmmking Challenge.

Each month, The Labs will offer a featured workshop based on a theme or subject. This month that theme is filmmaking, and, since it’s October, we’re focusing on horror movies in our Scary Story Filmmaking Challenge (dates, times, and locations of all Labs programming can be found here).

The workshops started last week, but there’s still time to stop by your favorite Labs location (hours and locations here) to join in. Teens who take part in the Scary Story Filmmaking Challenge will work on crafting one scene of a scary movie as well as a trailer to advertise their film.

Perhaps the most exciting part of each month’s themed Labs workshop is that, if you complete the program (like, this month, if you make a scary movie and learn how to use our equipment and software) you’ll earn a badge! What’s the badge? Well, it’s like a merit badge, but it allows you to stop by The Labs and use our equipment and software on your own. It shows that we know you’ve got the basics down and you are now allowed to use our gear with little supervision–basically we’re saying we trust you. Back to this month’s project.

So, last week, Andre and Molly were mostly brainstorming with teens at our Allegheny, South Side, East Liberty, and Main (Oakland) libraries, watching clips from classic horror movies and discussing basic filmmaking skills of composition (the way you actually frame a shot or what your camera is pointed at).

Want to get up to speed? Try watching this video from Substream’s Film Lab for a great beginner’s tip and maybe Google some classic horror movie scenes while you’re at it. The Scary Story Filmmaking Challenge will run for the rest of the month!

The Rule of Thirds – The Rule of Thirds is super important. It’s a basic rule of composition that’s been used in painting, photography, and filmmaking by masters in each of those disciplines. You simply imagine that your screen or canvas is divided into three sections both vertically and horizontally. Now, when you frame your shot (in the case of filmmaking and photography) you will want to align objects that deserve special attention along the areas where two of your imaginary vertices intersect. Confusing? Just watch the video–they’re better at explaining it than I am.

– Corey, Digital Learning Librarian

The Labs @ CLP: Teen Digital Media Labs

Hello, everyone,

Just a quick note from your friendly neighborhood librarian to let you know, one more time, about the launch  of a brand-new, exciting, ongoing teen library program–The Labs @ CLP.

So what is The Labs?It’s Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s teen digital media lab program. And what’s a digital media lab? Well, it’s a computer lab of sorts, but full of equipment and software specially designed to help you create.

We’re launching the program with a big party this Wednesday at CLP-Main and mini Launch events at the other three locations next week. (For in-depth information on the program as well as dates and times for each launch, go HERE.)

About the program: From iMacs to music production equipment (M-Audio Fast Track Pro and Apple’s GarageBand) to graphic design (the full Adobe Creative Suite) and filmmaking (HD Canon Vixia camcorders plus a green screen), plus plenty more, The Labs is your resource for getting creative in the library.

We’ll be offering weekly themed programming at all four Labs locations as well as open Labs time where you can explore and create with the help of Labs mentors–digital media artists and librarians who will be on-hand leading programs and acting as a resource for creation. Each month the theme will change. This October, for example, we’ll focus on filmmaking. Then, in November, we’ll focus on Audio/Music Production with podcasting and music recording. Check back for our ongoing schedule.

Why simply consume media when you can create it? You can use The Labs as a resource for creative multi-media school projects or as a place to do something completely separate from your school work–something based on your own personal interests. Work on a podcast with friends, film a scary movie scene (that’s what we’ll be doing this October!), or get help recording your music in the library. There are so many options!

And where are The Labs? There will be four digital media labs located throughout the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh system. Here are their hours and a link to the first day of October’s program: The Scary Story Filmmaking Challenge.

CLP-Main, Teen Dept.
Hours: Monday-Thursday, 3-7PM
Friday, 3-5PM
Workshops: Wednesday and Thursday 4-6PM starting in October
October Workshop: Scary Story Filmmaking Challenge 

CLP-Allegheny
Hours and Workshops: Monday, 4-7PM
October Workshop: Scary Story Filmmaking Challenge

CLP-South Side
Hours and Workshops: Tuesday, 4-7PM
October Workshop: Scary Story Filmmaking Challenge

CLP-East Liberty
Hours and Workshops: Wednesday, 4:30-7:30PM
October Workshop: Scary Story Filmmaking Challenge

That’s all for now; I have to run and get everything ready to go!

– Corey, Digital Learning Librarian