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The Future Starts Here is a short-form series that captured audiences, tackling a wide range of subjects including the science behind social media, parenting with technology, the creative process, gender and transgender identities, and the relationship between humans and robots.

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SEASON 1

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BONUS BEHIND THE SCENES

Tiffany Shlain's Let it Ripple Studio

Times Square
New York

ARTDAILY

Tiffany Shlain to unveil 'Dendrofemonology' installation and world premier film in Austin

AUSTIN, TX.- Artist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and national bestselling author Tiffany Shlain announces the installation of her celebrated sculpture Dendrofemonology: A Feminist History Tree Ring along with the worldwide premiere of her iterative film Where Are We?! at the Austin Central Library on October 27, 2026. Dendrofemonology is a moveable monument that aims to spark dialogue and galvanize attention on women’s rights, which began as an installation on the National Mall in 2023. Where Are We?! is a film project that began four years ago and has screened worldwide, with the latest version debuting live at the Austin Central Library on October 27 along with a digital release made available for screenings nationwide.

WHITEHOT MAGAZINE

Tiffany Shlain's "Moveable Monument" Heads to Austin

Tiffany Shlain’s Dendrofemonology: A Feminist History Tree Ring will be installed at Austin Central Library on October 27, one week before the midterm elections. An artist talk, film premiere, and reception will bring audiences together around a sculpture that connects women’s history with the rights at stake today.

At her October 1 talk at Nancy Hoffman Gallery in New York, Shlain explained the timing: “We feel like it’s very good to gather right before an election. It’s so tense, and just to gather and talk about issues you care about matters.”

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SURFACE

"If These Walls Could Talk: Women of the Hotel Chelsea

On October 1, Tiffany Shlain added a new chapter to the Hotel Chelsea’s storied artistic history. The artist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and bestselling author celebrated the debut of If "These Walls Could Talk: Women of the Hotel Chelsea," a mixed-media collage now part of the hotel's permanent collection. The work pays homage to women who shaped the Chelsea's legacy, including Patti Smith, Grace Jones, Joni Mitchell, and more, imagining what each might say if the walls could speak. Shlain lived at the Chelsea in her early twenties while making her first films, and the piece now hangs between the seventh and eighth floors, the same floors where she once stayed. It joins works by former residents Jean-Michel Basquiat, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Andy Warhol. The evening began with an artist talk at Nancy Hoffman Gallery, where Shlain reflected on her years at the hotel and on her ongoing practice.

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SURFACE

Tiffany Shlain: Dendrofemonology: A Feminist History Tree Ring

Interdisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and author Tiﬀany Shlain will continue the national tour of her moveable monument, Dendrofemonology: A Feminist History Tree Ring, a 65-inch reclaimed deodar cedar wood sculpture that casts a timeline of humanity through a feminist lens. The staggering work, which quietly asks for deep reflection, debuted through an installation on the National Mall in 2023. Since then, it has traveled the country. Its next placement aligns with the power of its message: Seneca Falls, the origin of the American women’s rights movement, and home of the Women’s Rights National Historical Park. Here, the sculpture will coincide with the 10th Annual Right to Run Weekend Celebration, where Shlain will also participate as a keynote speaker.

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SF CHRONICLE

What if a tree could tell 50,000 years of women’s history? See it in San Francisco

DATEBOOK PICK

Artist and filmmaker Tiffany Shlain and her husband, artist and UC Berkeley robotics professor Ken Goldberg, have been partners and artistic collaborators for nearly three decades. That collaboration informs their shared exhibition at di Rosa SF, “Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time and Technology,” which feels like a culmination of their individual and collective work, exploring gender, the environment and the dynamics of power.

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MARIN MAGAZINE

Trees, Technology and Togetherness: Mill Valley Artists Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg

Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg are not only partners in life; they’re also frequent collaborators in art. Shlain, an artist, filmmaker and writer, and Goldberg, a fellow artist and a professor of robotics at UC Berkeley, have joined forces to create the exhibit Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time & Technology at di Rosa SF in San Francisco. The exhibition was launched in January 22 during San Francisco Art Week and will run until April 11. We checked in with the creative couple to learn about the inspiration behind their new show, their career highlights and what it’s like working together.

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REBORANT REVIEW

Ken Goldberg and Tiffany Shlain, Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time, and Technology, di Rosa San Francisco

The majesty of trees fills the air breathed by Californians who wander beneath giant redwoods; it fills the imaginations of travelers who come to witness their grandeur. To stand in the presence of a great oak or cedar or redwood is to marvel at their age: their endurance, their resilience, their tenacious survival. With yearly growth rings that record their age, that respond to drought, swell with growth in generous rainfall, and steadfastly measure a hardened time, some of these trees have stood, giving oxygen and shelter for thousands of years.

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ARTNET

7 Must-See Museum Shows in San Francisco

San Francisco Art Week is underway, anchored by the 12th edition of FOG Design and Art (January 21–25), held on a historic former Army base by the bay. This year, however, it arrives during a time of flux for Northern California’s art scene, with several prominent galleries shuttering and two major art schools—the San Francisco Art Institute and the California College of the Arts—closing recently. But there are also signs of new life, including two new fairs with free admission, Atrium and Skylight Above (both January 22–25).

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7X7

Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg reenvision time in 'Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology' at di Rosa SF.

In her visual art, Shlain—a filmmaker, best-selling author, and creator of the Webby Award (which, incidentally, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year)—is best known for challenging conceptions of patriarchy, colonialism, and the passage of time. In his, Goldberg—professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley, co-founder of Ambirobotics and the Moxie Institute—is best known for visualizing ideas through telerobotics, automation, and AI.

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SF ART WEEKLY

The New Year Shines Brightly on the Arts

Artist and life partners Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg utilize technology to express the human connection to (or disconnection) from nature. Goldberg’s “Bloom” video translates live San Andreas seismic activity into whirling color.

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EASTBAY TIMES

Berkeley husband-wife art team’s ‘Ancient Wisdom’ exhibit coming to S.F.

Even more exceptional are when the people in those literal marriages extend their individual tendril-like professional paths toward each other, braiding them into endeavors that become something greater than either could have created alone. The “mine and yours” are rendered indistinguishable from one another.

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J-WEEKLY

Tiffany Shlain uses trees and technology to trace Jewish history in new exhibit

When Tiffany Shlain was in fourth grade, her dad, a surgeon and writer, came to parent day at her Mill Valley school and presented her classroom with a human brain soaked in formaldehyde. “A lot of the kids screamed and ran out,” Shlain said. “I was riveted.”

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NOB HILL GAZETTE

The New Year Shines Brightly on the Arts

ONGOING: Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time and Technology from Bay Area artists Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg is a sweeping exhibition at di Rosa SF that blends salvaged wood sculpture, video and artificial intelligence to explore how we perceive time. Highlights include a video portrait and tree census of San Francisco neighborhoods built from open-source ecological data, along with the opportunity for visitors to create personal tree tributes. January 22 through April 11.

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MS. MAGAZINE

Activating Art for Women’s Rights and Democracy: Tiffany Shlain’s Feminist Monument Makes it to the Midwest in Advance of Pivotal Elections

For three years running, artist and activist Tiffany Shlain has created calls to action around her feminist history tree ring sculpture in advance of U.S. elections where women’s voting rights, reproductive rights and long held democratic principles face historic setbacks. The milestones and tribulations of women’s history seared onto the tree ring’s surface are particularly resonant now, as many records of women’s presence and accomplishments are disappearing from public view.

OLIO BY MARILYN

OLIO BY MARILYN

Interview w/ Tiffany Shlain, Author of 24/6: Giving up Screens One Day a Week to Get More Time, Creativity, and Connection

Your resume includes artist, filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author. Looking back, were there any signs from childhood that working in the creative arts would be your future? What was your journey like in the beginning?

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INC.

An Oral History of the 2000 Webby Awards: The Night the Internet Partied IRL

With the internet now as ubiquitous as the air we breathe, it’s easy to forget how exciting it was logging on in the year 2000. Long before TikTok and Instagram, viral sensations like the Hamster Dance wormed their way into our brains, while personal publishers like Justin Hall of links.net and Jason Kottke of kottke.org launched a blogging revolution on pixelated Angelfire and Geocities websites.

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FORBES

Trees Of Knowledge: Tiffany Shlain And Ken Goldberg At The Skirball

In my continuing “better late than never” series of exhibitions I wished I had reviewed while open but still feel are worth noting: Sometimes a small exhibition can cast a wide net. Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time, and Technology, an exhibition of work by Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg at the Skirball Cultural Center (which was on view through March 2) is a great example of how a seemingly simple idea can not only be a work of art, but also provide a teaching moment, and be an engine for social action.

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CULTURED

Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Ingenuity: Trees, Time, and Technology Collide in Los Angeles

In “Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time, and Technology,” a new installation by Bay Area creative couple Ken Goldberg and Tiffany Shlain, the artists juxtapose the timeless, organic intelligence of trees alongside products of human ingenuity. On view at Los Angeles’s Skirball Center through March 2, 2025, the exhibition is part of the Getty Museum’s “PST ART: Art and Science Collide” initiative. Stars like Diane Von Furstenberg, Nadya Tolokonnikova, and Kristen Bell made appearances opening night.

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HYPERALLERGIC

Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg pay homage to the ongoing human quest for knowledge by documenting its evolution through timelines inscribed in fallen tree fragments.

Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time, and Technology at the Skirball Cultural Center is a mind-bending installation and learning library by the Bay Area artist duo Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg. Presented in conjunction with the Getty’s PST ART initiative, Art & Science Collide, the exhibition pays homage to the ongoing human quest for knowledge by documenting its evolution through a series of timelines inscribed over the rings of fallen tree fragments, culled from salvage yards, using the age-old technique of pyrography (wood burning).

WHITEHOT MAGAZINE

Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg’s Ancient Wisdom For A Future Ecology: Trees, Time & Technology at Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles for Getty’s PST Art & Science Collide

A high point of the long-anticipated Getty’s Pacific Standard Time ART Initiative: Art & Science Collide is a collaborative exhibition by interdisciplinary artists and life partners, Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg, who both understand the power of art to raise questions.

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ART CURRENTLY

Artists on Mobilizing Voters in the Run-Up to the 2024 Election: Tiffany Shlain, For Freedoms, and Art for Change

As we approach perhaps the most pivotal and polarizing election in U.S. history, it becomes increasingly apparent that the fate of the country lies not in the hands of those we choose to vote for, but in the hands of all citizens that can relinquish power. At such a pressing time in American politics, the following few artists and organizations are stepping up to guide this delivery of decisive power.

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SURFACE

Tiffany Shlain’s Tree Rings Transcend Time and Mediumy

The multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker pulls from a deep well of inspiration, spanning ancient civilizations, feminist history, and the forests of Muir Woods in works that merge film, sculpture, and anthropological study.

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MS. MAGAZINE

Tiffany Shlain’s Feminist Art Answers the ‘Urgent’ Call to Fight for Democracy and Women’s Place in History

Tiffany Shlain’s Dendrofemonology remakes the historical tree ring into a timeline of the story of women and power in society. (Tiffany Shlain / via Instagram)

Tiffany Shlain’s moveable monument Dendrofemonology: Feminist History Tree Ring is on the move—soon to take up temporary residence in New York City’s Madison Square Park, where it serves as a focal point for her event, Mobilization for Women’s Rights and the Planet, on Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Coinciding with the start of Climate Week NYC and anticipating a historic election, Shlain’s daylong, public activation and rally will address a convergence of critical concerns in this dual “age of urgency.”

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7x7

With poignant multidisciplinary exhibits this fall, Marin filmmaker Tiffany Shlain spreads her branches.

And with the collision of her solo exhibition You Are Here at a New York gallery; the appearance of her sculpture Dendrofemonology at a Climate Week mobilization for women’s and environmental rights in Madison Square Park; and the opening of her most recent collaboration with husband Ken Goldberg, Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time & Technology, at the Getty’s Skirball Cultural Center in L.A., this behatted blonde goddess of multidimensional creativity has never wielded more influence.

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ARTNET

“Tiffany Shlain: You Are Here”

at Nancy Hoffman Gallery
September 5–October 19, 2024

Last fall, Tiffany Shlain brought a feminist timeline to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the form of her piece DENDROFEMONOLOGY: A Feminist History Tree Ring. She annotated the cross-section of a 250-year-old deodar cedar with 30 wood-burned milestones highlighting women’s contributions to world history. Her first show with Nancy Hoffman includes a selection of tree-ring sculptures, as well as other works exploring feminism, philosophy, technology, neuroscience, and nature.

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NY JEWISH WEEK

Witches, abortions, suffragists: Jewish artist Tiffany Shlain’s new work is a slice of women’s history

The piece is one of 12 multimedia works on view at Shlain’s debut solo exhibition, “You Are Here,” on view at the Nancy Hoffman Gallery (520 West 27th St.) beginning on Thursday, Sept. 5. For Shlain — a San Francisco-based multi-hyphenate whose previous credits include several films about feminist history, including “The Tribe,” a humorous examination of American Jewish identity through the lens of Barbie — the body of work is an outgrowth of her Shabbat afternoons spent among the redwood trees in Muir Woods National Monument and other state parks nearby.

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NANCY HOFFMAN GALLERY ANNOUNCES

From September 5 through October 19, Nancy Hoffman Gallery will host its first solo exhibition of work by artist Tiffany Shlain, titled You Are Here.

“In the exhibition You Are Here, I will go back thousands of years in time, or thousands of miles in space, to reposition our relationship with nature and history,” explains Shlain. “By shifting our sense of scale, we see things differently: the earth, war, feminism, neuroscience, and our own lives. We gain a different perspective on where we are, and where we want to go.”

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SKIRBALL ANNOUNCES

The Skirball Cultural Center presents Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time & Technology, an evocative exhibit from artists Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg.

The exhibition features six tree-ring sculptures that reimagine our past and collective futures in new ways, a video portrait of Los Angeles that draws from open-source ecology datasets, and an invitation for visitors to create personal tree tributes using AI software. As part of Getty’s landmark regional initiative PST ART: Art and Science Collide, which explores the intersections of art and science, both past and present, the exhibition will be on view from October 17, 2024 to March 2, 2025.

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A MOBILIZATION RELEASE

Join us on Saturday, September 21st, 2024 for an inspiring day of art and action at the start of Climate Week and on the cusp of the Presidential election!

Come together for the New York City unveiling of Tiffany Shlain’s sculpture Dendrofemonology: A Feminist History Tree Ring, that was last installed on the National Mall in DC and now is will be in Madison Square Park on September 21st. There will be a powerful short program featuring speakers in the gender equality and climate justice movement along with select cast members from the Tony award-winning Broadway musical, Suffs. We will all be wearing white.

MS MAGAZINE

At National Mall, Artist Tiffany Shlain Rewrites Women into U.S. History

On display from Nov. 1-4 in Washington, D.C., Tiffany Shlain's Dendrofemonology remakes the historical tree ring into a timeline of the story of women and power in society. Shlain, a veteran commentator on the modern human condition, is orchestrating a moveable monument on the national mall: a tree ring roughly five feet in diameter, with text burned into the wood showing a timeline of women and power.

GETTY ANNOUNCES

GETTY ANNOUNCES $17 MILLION IN PST: ART + SCIENCE COLLIDE

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

SAN FRANCISCO MAGAZINE

The Bay Area's Hottest Artists, Galleries, and Exhibits

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

THE NEW YORK TIMES

24 Hours Without My Phone.
I recommend a tech shabbat.

By David Leonhardt

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

THE TODAY SHOW

Tiffany Shlain talks 24/6 and the Power of Unplugging on the TODAY Show.

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

FORTUNE

How Managers Can Find Time to Do Their Own Work

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

WASHINGTON POST

Find time for the things you care about.

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Turn tech to your advantage in the new hybrid workplace..

By Brian Chen

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

THE SAN FRANCISCO
CHRONICLE

Challah giving sourdough some competition during coronavirus

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

In Praise of Being Unproductive

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

PEOPLE

BOOKS WORTH READING

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

MORNING JOE MSNBC

Put down screens for one day a week, says author

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

FORBES

8 Reasons Why You Should Unplug One Day A Week

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

EDSURGE

Can Putting Devices Away Build Character?

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

MARIN MAGAZINE

A Conversation with Tech Innovator and Mother Tiffany Shlain

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

EARLY LEARNING NATION

Tiffany Shlain’s Vision for Building Community

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL

Put down your phone and be here now

“Creativity isn't limited to fine art for Tiffany Shlain (tiffanyshlain.com). The artist-in-residence at the Ferry Building's new Shack15 (shack15.com) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestseller and winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award, 24/6...”

J WEEKLY

Can't Break Free From Your Device?

Unplugging builds character, helps us reflect on our lives and allows us to better connect with others.

Huh?

JERUSALEM POST

Can Shabbat become a tool to improve human-technology relationship?

Can Shabbat become a universal tool to help foster a better relationship between humans and technology? According to the creators of Character Day, the answer is yes.

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