Five Emerging Artists on the Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA from Jay Corcoran on Vimeo.

Provincetown, MA

For an emerging artist or writer juggling many a day job to keep food on the table, a fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA is pretty much heaven on earth.  A fellowship includes  a studio, an apartment, and a stipend for seven months.  The only requirement: create.  

We caught up with writers, Joshua Rivkin and Margaret Reges, and artists, Alison O’Daniel, Esteban delValle, Lisa Iglesias and Jacolby Satterwaite to hear how the precious commodity of time, and getting away from their daily routines, has impacted their development as an artist.   Check out the video above and hear their inspring stories.

Esteban delValle in his studio

To learn more about the Fine Arts Work Center, and their wide array of summer classes and events, not to mention the extremely competitive and highly coveted seven-month fellowships, click here.

Can’t see it on Vimeo?  Watch it on YouTube.

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Mondays at Racine—Official Trailer from Cynthia Wade on Vimeo.

The extremely talented and Oscar-winning director, Cynthia Wade, is nominated once again for best short documentary for her sublime film, Mondays at Racine.

The film centers around a Long Island beauty salon that closes its doors one Monday a month to service women living with cancer.  The uplifting film is a gem, as it chronicles the sorrow, joy and resilience of these extraordinary women and their families.

Cynthia Wade and The Cast of Mondays 

Women Entrepreneurs "Pop Up" in Soho from Jay Corcoran on Vimeo.

The holidays come and go, and so do some of the stores.  Especially pop-up ones.  We met with a couple of  savvy retail entrepreneurs, Kajal Sanghrajka and Natalie Kathleen, to hear about their strategy behind their six-week pop-up store in New York’s fashionable retail mecca, Nolita.Kathleen’s company, Sienna Ray & Co. features handbags, accessories and more.  Sanghrajka’s company eBk Eyewear, features vintage eyewear.  Their store was supposed to close on Christmas Eve but due to popular demand it has been extended until January 31st, so make sure you visit their 252 Mott St. location.

Check out the video and see for yourself why they are two entrepreneurs to watch, and could be a case study for anyone interested in pursuing a career in retail.

Can’t see it in Vimeo?  Watch in on YouTube.

A Glimpse Into The Shanghai Art Scene from Jay Corcoran on Vimeo.

As winter approaches and darkness descends just after 4 p.m. and temperatures plummet into single digits, some people’s spirits can spiral into that proverbial black hole of winter doldrums.  Not so for Shanghai art curator, Rebecca Catching, Director, OV Gallery.  She sees winter as a plethora of possibilities.  ”If we didn’t have winter, how could we appreciate the beautiful summer?” she said.

Catching, a Canadian citizen with a degree from McGill University in Montreal, has been living in China for just about a decade. We caught up with her on our trip to Shanghai earlier this year.  She and her gallery were gracious enough to let us tape their opening night celebration of their winter show, Cold Comfort at OV Gallery, in the Putuo District in Shanghai.

Rebecca Catching, Director, OV Gallery

Catching, and one of her artists, Monika Lin, a San Francisco native, now living with her husband and daughter in Shanghai, sat down to talk with us about the successes and challenges on a myriad of topics from running an art gallery in China, to negotiating with the censors, to the excitement of being part of the really big story: an art pioneer in the Wild Wild East.

After a brief stint as an exchange student studying Chinese, Catching moved to China and became a journalist for art magazines.  After seven years covering the local art scene she built up enough contacts to land the director position at OV Gallery where she has curated numerous exhibitions.  Lin, a graduate of Mills College in Oakland, CA, taught at the Kansas City Art Institute.  Her work has been exhibited in major cities throughout the US, Europe and Asia.  She is the founder of Color Box Creative Arts Center.  Although we talked with Catching about the Shanghai art “vibe,” Lin’s interview is about her personal journey that deals more with race, identity, gender, ethnicity; all issues that fuel her work as an artist and activist.

We often hear about people who take a big risk and move to a foreign country, struggle with the language, culture and yet for all the daily obstacles, they develop a resilience that leads them to thrive and succeed in their new home.  There is no magic elixir, and as you can see from these interviews, it is not for the faint of heart.  But if a person has the patience, passion and perseverance they can have an incredible ride.

Can’t Watch It On Vimeo?  See it on YouTube.

Monika Lin: Artist, Teacher, Activist, Writer, On growing up mixed race in a white U.S. suburb and why she lives in China.

Can’t Watch It On Vimeo? See it on YouTube.

Urbavour Gets NYC Dwellers to Eat Healthy from Jay Corcoran on Vimeo.

You’ve worked hard all day.  You’re tired and have missed the Union Square Green Market. You want to eat healthy but you walk into your local deli or grocery store and once again, some bland take out will do the trick for another night.   But what if you knew that waiting for you at home was a bundle of organic groceries from the City’s green markets or local farms?  That is what Urbavour does.  A startup that gets city dwellers to eat healthy.

Coleman Skeeter, Founder and CEO of Urbavour, talks with us about his new business.  Skeeter, a 2012 grad from Columbia Business School is one of 21

Coleman Skeeter, Founder, Urbavour

entrepreneurs at the ColumbiaBusinessLab, a co-working space in Soho managed by The Lang Entrepreneurship Center.

After a few years of working the grueling hours often required for a career in Real Estate Private Equity, Skeeter says his health began to deteriorate.  In a what he took to be a wakeup call after a collapsed lung diagnoses, he did some soul searching and realized he wanted a career that could make an impact in improving the lives of others.  He talks with us about the joys and challenges of starting his new venture.

Can’t watch it on Vimeo?  Watch in on YouTube.

Omar Haroun, CEO, Sportaneous, talks about his fitness venture that customizes your ideal workout, where you want it, when you want it.Haroun is a member of the ColumbiaBusinessLab, a co-working space for entrepreneurs and recent alumni.

Omar Haroun, Founder, Sportaneous

Can’t see it on Vimeo?  Watch it on YouTube.

Bob Votruba, begins a 9,000 mile bike ride around the perimeter of the US today to raise awareness of bullying and adolescent suicide.

Votruba, a father of three and a former contractor from Ohio, began his “kindness” crusade after the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre when Seung-Hui Cho, a Virginia Tech senior, killed 32 kids and wounded 23 others. Feeling helpless he wanted to do something, so he started the organization, One Million Acts of Kindness, as an antidote to the violence that sometimes plagues US campuses and public spaces.

In this ride called, Ring Our Country with Kindness (R.O.C.K.), Votruba hopes to amplify the conversation of teen bullying that can lead kids to feeling hopeless, and in extreme cases, take their own lives.

The ride begins and ends in New York City.

We spoke with him briefly while he was in New York City.  Check out the video and for those who want to learn more, Votruba can be contacted through his website.

To capitalize on New York City’s booming startup activity, Columbia Business School opened
ColumbiaBusinessLab, a co-working space for entrepreneurs and recent alumni, in the summer of 2012.  The Lab provides 21 newly-minted MBAs free access to prime Manhattan office space for one year as they build their businesses.

Housed in a bright, refurbished office in a Manhattan Mini Storage building in Soho, the facility is provided by WorkSpace Offices at Edison Properties, managed by  The Lang Entrepreneurship Center and funded by Columbia Business School. The perks are more than just free rent, but access to a community rich in resources, networks and skills.  Many of the entrepreneurs we spoke to praised the invaluable insight of their colleagues just an arms-length away, whether legal, tech or marketing questions, there always seems to be someone on premises ready to help.  The current pilot class started in June 2012.   In one year, another graduating class will be chosen through a rigorous selection process. Check out the videos and stay tuned for more video updates for the ColumbiaBusinessLab‘s  “Year in the Life of an Entrepreneur” video project.

We were on hand when Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia Business School, toured the Lab and met with the newest crop of entrepreneurial talent. 

Can’t see it on Vimeo?  Watch it on YouTube.

We also spoke with a few more entrepreneurs that are changing the New York City startup landscape. Check out the videos on Kajal Sanghrajka’s eBk Eyewear, Coleman Skeeter’s Urbavour, and Omar Haroun’s Sportaneous on our blog to learn from their ideas, strategies and challenges as they start their new ventures.

There are some tourist destinations, no matter how cliche’, are still worth the visit.  The Big Buddah or Tian Tan Buddah and the Po Lin Monastery, on Lantau Island, is a “must-see” if you travel to Hong Kong.  It is the largest sitting Bronze Buddah, but really that is besides the point.  Even if it was the unsexy “eleventh largest” Buddah, it’s still worth the trek.  The mountain-top location, and the Buddah’s benevolent gaze from the heavens, not to mention the thousands of devoted Buddhists who make the pilgrimage every day, can make the most virulent non-believer give pause to Buddah’s existence.

To get there, just hop on the MTR (metro) to Tung Chung Station.  From Central (downtown Hong Kong) it’s about one hour.  But the ride is extremely pleasant, efficient and cheap.  From there follow the lines to the busses or cable car.  When I was there the cable car was not working, so it took another hour to maneuver the mountain roads that snaked around the coast.  Surrender to the cattle-prod tourist-like feeling and enjoy the gorgeous ride.   It’s amazing going from one of the most congested cities in the world to the sparsely populated mountains and coast within 90 minutes.

It’s free to climb the 268 steps, but if you want to go inside the Buddah, you need to buy a ticket for about $5.  Since I traveled all this way, I bought a ticket.  It was nothing extraordinary; a relic, some really commercial memorabilia, but I didn’t want to miss anything.  I also paid extra for the vegetarian meal at Po Lin Monastery.  If you are with a group, get the meal.  I was solo so I was served some bland vegetables and white rice.  When I asked my waiter if I could have what the others were eating, he told me I could get the more interesting dishes if I was in a group of three or more.  Had I known, I would have gone to the outdoor cafe, and ordered a la carte.  The cafe’ is actually nicer and the food looked better than what I had in the “red-carpet” guest diningroom.

Like any tourist sights, there are souvenir shops and many hidden “costs” and donation boxes at every turn.  My only advice is the meal, do the a la carte cafe.  Other than that, climb the steps, walk around, contemplate, and absorb everything infront of you.  It’s extraordinary.

What solidified my decision to take a day and travel to The Big Buddah was when I ran into a fellow New Yorker waiting in line at the Pacific Coffee Company, a delicious Hong Kong coffee chain.  His wife is a banker and they have been living in Hong Kong for the past year.  I asked him if there was one place he would recommend that a visitor should see while in Hong Kong.  He said without hesitation, The Big Buddah.  ”Even if you aren’t into spiritual things,” he said, “you have to see it.”  He was right.