Calling All Creatives: DIY Days Philadelphia Happens August 1st

If you're in Pennsylvania, DC, NYC, or the environs... consider being part of DIY Days Philadelphia, on Saturday August 1st. The one previous DIY Days event I've participated in was phenomenal -- and it's free (but you do need to RSVP to hold a slot.)

Here's the scoop:

DIY DAYS is a FREE day of talks and networking centered on how to fund, create, distribute and sustain from your creative work. After a successful first year that included stops in LA, San Francisco, Boston, NYC and London, DIY DAYS returns with a series of day long conferences for creatives that enable the sharing of work and ideas while providing an important networking outlet with industry innovators.

Many of those working in film, music, design, gaming and tech are wondering how to sustain themselves in challenging economic times. How does one monetize their creative work and get the word out? DIY DAYS aims to answer these questions with a day of - speakers, panels, case studies, roundtable discussions and workshops presented by an impressive list of innovative thinkers and doers.

Acclaimed author and filmmaker, Douglas Rushkoff (Life Inc., Get back in the box: innovation from the inside out) will open the conference with a keynote on storytelling. Other speakers include Scott Kirsner (Friends, Fans and Followers), Dan Goldman (Shooting War), Lance Weiler (Head Trauma, The Last Broadcast). Michael Monello (co-founder of Campfire Media & Blair Witch Project producer), Brian Clark (GMD Studios) Esther B. Robinson (ArtHome), Ana Domb (MIT) Arin Crumley (Four Eyed Monsters), Scott Macaulay (Producer Gummo, Raising Victor Vargas, editor Filmmaker Mag), Don Argott (Rock School), Eugene Martin (Diary of a City Priest) Alex Johnson (WBP Labs), Anita Ondine (STM) Brian McTear (record producer Miner Street Studios), Mark Schoneveld (the Poverty Jetset) and Geoff DiMasi (founder of P’unk Avenue). Plus many more.

Lance Weiler, a resident of the greater Philadelphia area, and founder of the WorkBook Project and DIY DAYS explains the genesis for the project. “DIY DAYS is an attempt to pull back the curtain on a once closed industry - to share the process of what it takes to make work and sustain from one’s creative efforts. Philadelphia has so many talented people working in different areas, and our hope is that DIY DAYS can help to bring some of them together and, maybe in the process, spark some new collaborations.”

The conference runs from 8:30am to 6:30pm on Saturday August 1st and will be followed directly by an after party/ mixer to be held at the Brandywine Workshop located at 730 S. Broad Street.

Registration is now open but space is limited.