Presented by

Northwestern Mutual

Create, Learn and Experience

Tech

Art

Film

Music

Building Community Around Amazing Digital Products
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Alex Ragir | Co-founder @ Storyhunter

Alex Ragir is a master storyteller who has worked as a video journalist and entrepreneur all over the world. He is the co-founder of Storyhunter, the world's largest marketplace for video production. Hear his story and join the conversation on journalism, filmmaking and technology.

Building Community Around Amazing Digital Products
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Nadia Gathers | Comms Program Manager @ GitHub
Ryan Phillips | Entrepreneur in Residence @ SAP. iO

Nadia and Ryan are technologists, educators and culture makers building community around amazing digital products. They are also design thinking instructors at Stanford University's School Hasso Plattner Institute of Design. Be a part of their one-of-a-kind workshop to close out a day of creative programming.

Tech Talks

Curated by Gener8tor

An epic collection of techology learning opportunities will be free and run throughout the entire day. Whether you're just getting started in tech or are an advanced engineer, come and get inspired and see the world anew.

Mural

Festival

Enjoy roller dance and hip hop performances, food trucks, and plenty of art as we unveil new murals at Black Cat Alley. Ald. Nik Kovac will help commemorate all that this destination has added to MKE's cultural scene. Artists will be available to talk about their artworks and answer questions about the realities of mural installations.

Experience

Lab

Step into the VR Experience Lab where you will get a chance to try a huge variety of VR experiences. Have you ever wanted to paint with fire? Tightrope walk across skyscrapers? Explore distant lands? This is your opportunity to engage in mind-bending experiences that only technology can make possible.

Community

Design Studio

REGISTRATION ENCOURAGEDREGISTER NOW
Work alongside technologists & Milwaukee culture makers for an afternoon of ideation and discovery. Join our design challenge presenter, Jet Constellations to explore how might we support marginalized entrepreneurs in MKE!
Enjoy a wide variety of funky and fun food trucks throughout the day (10am-9pm) when your stomach starts rumbling

Sunflower Bean

Concert at The Back Room @ Colectivo

TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASE FOR THIS EVENT - Buy Tickets
Sunflower Bean's style is that of a thick psychedelia mixed with touches of jangly post punk/new wave, complete with warping, billowing guitar textures that make pedal nerds drool a little bit and all the reverbed vocals that you could ask for.
Entrepreneur Vivek Bedi, who founded a mobile startup that was acquired by a leading international exchange company, will share advice on how to go from concept to creation. Whether you want to develop an app, open an Etsy store, or take your theater group on the road, Bedi will cover how to validate ideas and build audience before giving your two-week notice. Bedi is Head of Consumer Experience Digital Products at Northwestern Mutual and Head of Product Management at LearnVest.
CRS is launching it's newest VR film, Ashe '68, at the US Tennis Open in Flushing Meadow New York. You'll get a preview and be the first audience to go behind the scenes and learn how they made this film about the tennis great, Arthur Ashe. You'll get a backstage pass to how they created the visual effects, filmed live action 360 scenes, incorporated hand made sand animation and designed a soundtrack using a score by Vernon Reid and spatial design.
Discover Three.js an open source software used to create games, simulations, and data visualizations. Why do you care? WebGL is the future of animated 3D computer graphics in the browser. Use gaming for more than just games.
Keisha is the founder of Sugar Gamers and also works for HTC. Through Sugar Gamers, Keisha been able to monetize her interests in technology and connect people in the IT Community with other like-minded individuals, raise awareness of the under-representation of women in the Gaming Industry, and lobby to make sure corporations factor the needs of female consumers in their new offerings.
Join 15,000 weekly listeners to learn from the brightest minds in product management. Joe Kirgues, Co-Founder of gener8tor, a startup accelerator located in Milwaukee and Madison, will discuss launching startups, building an innovation community in Milwaukee, and helping large corporations partner with startups. This is Product Management is hosted by Mike Fishbein and powered by Alpha.
Have you ever wondered whether your product or side hustle could take off? Stop by the Alpha Bar to get real-time feedback from hundreds of potential customers, fans or users. Alpha's software helps you test anything from an app idea to a band name, or logo. Whatever your passion, we’ll help take you to the next level. Network with entrepreneurs, product specialists, and creatives over mimosas and Bloody Marys-you just might discover your next project.
Check out sites across Wisconsin and beyond in 360 Degrees with the GeoDome Panorama. VR can be an incredible singular experience, but the GeoDome lets you experience it with your friends.

Deep Learning Is For Everyone

Deep Learning is one way we have started to implement Artificial Intelligence. This session is for ANYONE looking to get started. It is much more accessible than you think! Mitch Henke will give you the blueprint so you can start creating the future.
Join GoGeddars host Richie Burke as he interviews Young Enterprising Society (YES) co-founders Khalif and Que El-Amin, entrepreneurs and real estate developers. YES is an organization that has helped over 2,000 students complete STEAM learning programs and has put on over 275 events to help move Milwaukee forward in just five years. Hear their story and learn how YES is launching a new training program, The Blueprint, for urban Milwaukee startups that will offer technology, e-commerce and advanced manufacturing training to entrepreneurs.
***REGISTRATION FULL***
This Photoshop workshop for students on the autism spectrum will be led by our Brilliant Guest Artist Rachel Brunn from UWM’s ArtsECO program. Ms. Brunn will teach advanced techniques in painting and retouching using a digital pen and tablet. Students will create fun (and creepy!) new compositions that include an "origin story" of the creature they digitally bring to life.
Local artist Dena Nord shows you her process for building augmented reality layers into her abstract paintings. In the live demo, learn how to incorporate augmented reality into your own work by using a free AR platform.
Ready for some music and art? Versatile artist, Amanda Huff will bring her dreamy and playful music for the GRAND FINALE of The exciting Alley//Wayz concert series. Discover a unique view of Black Cat Alley as Amanda Huff plays on the 3rd floor patio of the Kenilworth building in front of the famous giant Glitch Frog.
Join Michael Anton Adam, seasoned entreprenuer and Blockchain Instructor at Marquette University, as he shows how the game-changing technology Blockchain can be used in all industries. See a live demo of Blockchain to see why this technology is much easier to grasp than many have made it out to be.
We use technology in every aspect of our lives, so why not use it to help us figure out what food is best for our bodies? Learn how this new MKE startup is using DNA and tech to change the way we eat.
Milwaukee's indie game scene is growing and Mooncat Arcade is in no small part helping to make it come alive. Combining the retro style of arcade games with brand new indie games, Mooncat Arcade is a fun, unique experience. Kick it new school and see if you can get the high score.
REGISTRATION REQUIREDREGISTER NOW
A morning of Yoga and community to celebrate all things AWESOME about Milwaukee! After class donuts will be provided by Donut Monster and coffee from Sipp & Purr! 50% of the net sales will be donated to Black Cat Alley's non-profit which helps to fund new work and maintain this beautiful art collective!
Todd McLees will host a podcast with a variety of special guests of civic trailblazers who will talk about Milwaukee's Downtown, innovation, the rate of change in technology, and how Milwaukee's mindset is changing. They will also talk about the impact of the arts to develop a thriving culture to support the innovation ecosystems we are constructing.
A little bit of tech and a little bit of art! Enjoy Bright Cellars wine while you connect with the artists of Black Cat Alley. Bright Cellars works like Pandora Radio in that members can rate and review their wines and that information powers their machine-learning algorithm to find your next favorite wine.
Greg Corcoran from GalactaVision shows us their VR game Trakker and gives insights into the VR and game development industry.
Roller skates, fun, fitness, and SOUL - on wheels. What else more is there to say?
Check out a showcase of the different phases of animation from concept art and 3D modelled backgrounds to rigging 2D puppets and lip-syncing voice recordings. Watch how a cartoon can be made utilizing programs from the Adobe Creative Cloud, like After Effects, Premiere, and Animate, in addition to other digital tools.
Experience an interactive entry into the multifaceted world of computer-based music. Play and interact with the key building blocks of modern electronic music production - drums, bass, melody and live video - all without needing any prior experience. Novices and veterans alike can play together and discover how different instrumental elements work in tandem to form a cohesive collage of sound.
While civic problems might seem beyond the reach of a designer, looking at a problem from different perspectives often leads to breakthroughs. Designing for the future of Milwaukee includes integrating diverse points of view across gender, race and cultural background into the discussion.
This short-form interactive workshop will walk you through what augmented reality is, where the technology is headed and why AR will change everything. There will be AR demos throughout including the world famous racing sausages! Finally, you will have a chance to download an app to get your AR on.

Who's coming

Attendee word cloud

Location

2155 N Prospect Ave

Milwaukee, WI 53202

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Map of the east side of Milwaukee

Partners & Supporters

Contact Us

Shoot us an email at [email protected]