It's Art... it's Anthropology... it's Tech... it's... - Global Lives ProjectGlobal Lives Project

2017 ANNUAL LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

***See Exhibit Hours and Visitor Information Below***

Dear Friends,

This has been a phenomenal year for Global Lives. Our most ambitious and extensive exhibit yet is currently running in three different museums on the UC Berkeley campus. The Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, the Hearst Museum of Anthropology, and the CITRIS Tech Museum (Sutardja Dai Hall) are all playing host to multi-screen exhibits, and in the Spring, the exhibit will arrive at the freshly constructed Chou Hall at the Haas School of Business.

Coming on the heels of our Lincoln Center premiere of Lives in Transit at the New York Film Festival, I couldn’t be happier. In the Spring, we’re also preparing exhibits and screenings in Boston and Washington, DC, and we’re on the look out for host museums and major film festivals in other locations around the world to take Lives in Transit to broader audiences.

Berkeley Exhibit

The Global Lives team at the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive on December 3, 2017 (Listed left to right: Hunter Gordon, Naomi Ture, Daniel Chein, Ken Worthy, Glenn Fisher, Nancy Peluso, David Harris, Sarah Davis, Ben Shishin, Junsei Meyers, Kristy Drutman, Pedro Gaytan)

I’ve also had a wild and crazy year myself. I was invited to step up my teaching at Berkeley and am now offering four classes each year. I was invited to repeat my two undergrad courses on “Social Movements & Social Media” and “Civic Technology” and my graduate course on “Scenario Planning & Futures Thinking.” I’ll also now be supervising teams of students traveling abroad to do service learning projects in other countries.

Berkeley students in my courses and through the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program now make up the majority of the Global Lives workforce here in California that is driving forward our efforts on exhibits, our website, social media, and soon outreach to other venues. This complements our very active Board of Directors that continues to be the underlying source of support, reflection and inspiration that keeps me going now more than 15 years after I had the idea to start Global Lives.

I am also now on the verge of completing ten years at the Institute for the Future, where my research opportunities continue to stimulate and stretch me in new directions. This year, I’ve taken on new research about the ethics of artificial intelligence, distribution of income and wealth, and the future of democracy—you know, just easy topics.

Berkeley Exhibit

A child observing videos of the Global Lives exhibit at the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive

Reflecting not only on this past year, but also my own past decade leaves me immensely grateful for all of the people in my life (read: you!) who have—as friends, supporters, fans, and so much more—offered me this incredible opportunity to explore creative ways to subvert, challenge, twist, turn, and grow upon this ever-shifting planet. New year’s resolutions coming soon…

Thank you and keep in touch!

David

David Harris