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Rubys Artist Grant Awarded to Julia Kim Smith

Wificharlesvillage

Julia Kim Smith (MFA 1986) was recently awarded a $6000 Rubys Artist Project Grant for The Real Wi-Fi Of Baltimore, a project that offers a punny and nuanced view of ten Baltimore neighborhoods in a video edited from iPhone screenshots of Wi-Fi network names.

Baltimore is the world. The world is Baltimore.” –Your Face In Mine, Jess Row

I was traveling around Baltimore, lost and looking for a Wi-Fi connection, and was fascinated by the Wi-Fi network names that came up on my phone. I started taking screenshots, which I edited into a short video, The Real Wi-Fi Of Baltimore. It offers a punny and nuanced view of ten Baltimore neighborhoods. I uploaded the rough cut to Vimeo, and it was selected for the Vimeo curated collection and featured on culture and technology blog kot​tke​.org, Good Morning Silicon Valley, Guy Kawasaki’s (Apple’s former chief evangelist) blog Holy Kaw, and Baltimore Fishbowl. With the additional funding, a video with broader representation of Baltimore’s neighborhoods will be produced and screened at local and national venues.

Rubys — 2016 — Media and Performing Arts Grantees