Rubys Artist Grant Awarded to Julia Kim Smith
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 kottke.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