Jun Kaneko is a prolific artist working across disciplines and who is known for his large scale ceramic sculptures. He and and his wife Ree initially decided to buy three empty industrial building on Jones Street as a place to store his work. Very quickly, they realized that they could do a lot more and give back to the community of Omaha by creating the Kaneko Center, a place to explore creativity in relationship to art, science and philosophy.

In May 2009, the center served as a venue for Big Omaha, a conference gathering forward-thinking creatives, entrepreneurs and innovators. See our interview with Jeff Slobotski and Dusty Davidson, the founders and organizers of the event.

The center also includes the Kaneko/UNO (University of Nebraska in Omaha) art and design library that serves as place to stimulate creativity and the imagination of local residents.

Call + Response is an exhibition that questions the realm of design, craft and art through the works of designer-makers and educators from Oregon. In this show craft is shown as a highly conceptual practice that can play a role in society and also holds hidden cerebral qualities. Amongst the various themes some include: environmental responsibility, artistic processes and historical contexts.

Clockwise from top left: Sam Morgan, Studio Gorm, Heidi Schwegler, David Eckard.

Call + Response is on view at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland until October 31 2009.

Cities x Design explores the concept and community work of Made Boutique and Eye Lounge Gallery in Phoenix.

Santa Fe, New Mexico, is a place defined by art, craft and architecture and where the boundaries between creative practices are blurred. The city attracts tourists and creatives from around the United States and the world.

Many details in Santa Fe, from signs to storefront and menus (pictured above) are a reflection of the city’s interest in the past and things that are handmade.

American Indian art is an underlying theme and a strong creative influence in Santa Fe. The Institute of American Indian Art is a one-of-a-kind museum and college of fine arts dedicated to the study of indigenous cultures and art.

New Mexico Creates at the recently opened New Mexico History Museum is a different kind of museum store that sells handcrafted jewelry, Native American art work, Hispanic crafts, art glass, and textiles all created by New Mexico artists and artisans. One of their approaches is to showcase products that integrate contemporary design in traditional craftsmaking techniques.

Further from the city center, Railyard Santa Fe is a neighborhood that is being regenerated. It represents the possibility of a more contemporary Santa Fe.

Steve Wiman walks Cities x Design through the inspiration, history and curatorial ethos of his super funky story.

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Keywords – Historic, Growth, Bluegrass, Manufacturing, Visionary, Bourbon

Population: 436,684
Founded: 1775
Nicknames: Horse Capital of the World, Athens of the West

Tourism / Place branding / Historic Landmarks

• Bondurant Pharmacy
• Gratz Park Historic District
• Kentucky Horse Park
• Ashland: The Henry Clay Estate
• Lexington Public Library
• 21c Museum Hotel (Louisville)

Urban development

• The Henderson Project* – “This project is about a small town in America trying to stem the flow of its young people from not returning to their hometown after college. We want to enable them to design their future so they feel invested in it. This is a problem throughout our country and we hope we can make a difference and provide a model for other communities to explore with their youth.” –Mark Bethel

Design / Craft businesses

• William B Cook (Wood – Craft)
• The Weavery
• Jan Peters (Jewelry)
• Parenthetic (Louisville)
• Powerhouse Factories (Newport)

Institutions / Organizations

• Southern Artistry
• Bourbon Heritage Center (Bardstown)

Art and Design Schools

• University of Kentucky Lexington – College of Design
• Dept of Historic Preservation

Articles / Blogs / Other

• On Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail
• 36 Hours in Louisville

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Keywords – Crossroads, Recreational, Mormon, Healthcare, Farming

Population: 1,099,973
Settled: 1826
Nicknames: Crossroads of the West, Salt Lake, SLC

Tourism / Place branding / Historic Landmarks

• ZCMI – America First Dept Store* (now Macy’s)

Design businesses

• Kevin Perry Design
• Axis 41
• Curt Williams Wood Fabrication
• Seedoubleyou Design
• Struck

Creative initiatives

• DesignBuildBLUFF*

Local businesses

• United Potato Growers of America

Institutions / Organizations

• AIGA

Articles / Blogs / Other

• No Grid in Sight

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Keywords – Heritage, Indigenous, Craft, Folk, Tourism, Nature

Population: 183,782
Founded: 1608
Nicknames: The City Different

Tourism / Place branding / Historic Landmarks

• Georgia O’Keefe Museum
  
• La Fonda
• New Mexico Museum of Art
• Museum of International Folk Art
• Site Santa Fe

Design businesses

• Virgil Ortiz
• Esparza Advertising [ Alb ]
• R&R Partners [ Alb ]
• Cisneros Design [ Santa Fe ]
• MacKee Wallwork Cleveland [ Alb ]

Creative initiatives

• AIGA New Mexico
• Museum of New Mexico Foundation
• UNESCO Creative City of Craft and Folk Arts
• Dreaming New Mexico

Local businesses

• Man’s Hat Shop [ Alb ]

Institutions / Organizations

• Museum of Indian Arts and Culture
• Museum of New Mexico Foundation
• Center for Cultural Technology, Albuquerque

Articles / Blogs / Other

• Native Couture: A History of Santa Fe Style
• Mixing old and new in Santa Fe

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Keywords: Music, Festivals, Heritage, Multicultural, Architecture,Regeneration

Population: 1,030,363
Founded: 1718
Nicknames: The Crescent City, The Big Easy, The City That Care Forgot, Nawlins and NOLA.

Tourism / Place branding / Historic Landmarks

• French Quarter
• Signs of New Orleans by Tom Varisco
• Historic Hotels
• Preservation Nation / National Heritage

New Arch / Urban developments

• New Orleans National Jazz Center / Morphosis
• Make It Right
• Helping rebuild the lower 9th Ward

Design businesses

• Call for proposal
• Loft 523 / Boutique hotel and design promotion
• Tom Varisco

Creative initiatives

• History of Graphic Design in South Louisiana
• Working with the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History, part of the Special Collections Department of the Hill Memorial Library, Louisiana State University.
• Affiliated with The American Printing History Association Oral History Project.
• The Green Project – this store is dedicated to helping the environment by reducing the amount of usable materials placed in landfills or disposed of improperly.
• Neighborhoods NOLA [2007] – Multimedia art in the gutted homes of folks rebuilding in New Orleans

Local businesses

• Music labels
• Cafe du Monde
• Shadyside Pottery (Ceramic)
• Pied Nu (Jewelry / Clothing / Interior)
• Scriptura (Graphics / Products)
• H Rault (Products / Interior)

Institutions / Organizations

• AIGA New Orleans
• Ogden Museum of Southern Art

Art and Design Schools

Louisiana State University (LSU)
Lynn J. Baggett (faculty advisor)
Louisiana State University

University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL)
Jeff Lush (faculty advisor)
Department of Visual Arts

Loyola University
Daniela Marx (faculty advisor)

Delgado Community College
Martin Straka (faculty advisor)

Nicholls State University
Trisha Zeringue Dubina (faculty advisor)

Southeastern Louisiana University
Gary Keown (faculty advisor)

Articles / Blogs / Other

• Desire Magazine by Tom Varisco
• Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Project in New Orleans – Metropolis
• Site Specific Sustainability in New Orleans – Metropolis
• Green Salon AIGA  (PDF)
• New Orleans, LA – Dwell
• Recycling Katrina – GOOD
• Designers Aid Gulf Area with New Retail Initiative – Metropolis
• UN Studio
• Loving the Big Easy