TEDx Coming to a Canal Near You

TED, it's not just an app on your iPad. It's soon to be a living breathing event right here in Gowanus. On January 26, a day-long independent TED event will be bubbling up on the banks of our favorite Super Fun canal at The Green Building and 501 Union Street. 

According to its organizers, the theme of TEDx Gowanus will be "Inspiring Community." Here, I'll let them describe it for you: 

Speakers will include designers, entrepreneurs, artists, historians, and community leaders presenting Gowanus inspired ideas. As a neighborhood that’s undergoing many changes – from the recent Superfund designation, to demographic and cultural shifts, to the physical rebuilding of the area post-Sandy – TEDxGowanus will also be an opportunity to hear visions of the area’s future. 

Why Gowanus? The event's organizer, Sean Gannet explains that, "this area is a perfect representation of the culture, innovation, and change that are dominating the new Brooklyn landscape."

Here's a the selection of speakers so far:

• Reggie Ossé (aka Combat Jack) – Host, The Combat Jack Show – Through storytelling, Reggie will recount Hip- Hop’s journey from counter-culture to pop-culture.
• Ed Woodham - Founder, Art in Odd Places – Devoted to gently “awakening” the masses through art installations, Ed recounts how his public mission influenced a very personal journey.
• Rachel Fershleiser – Tumblr – Rachel is creating “Internet Enabled Literary Communities” which are reinvigorating consumption of the written word.
• Kate Orff – Partner, Scape/Landscape Architechture LLC – Following up on her TED.com talk about greening the Gowanus Canal with oyster beds, Kate will discuss her Blue Mussel Pilot Project in the Gowanus Bay.
• Ate Atema – Atema Architecture – Will follow up on his previous TED talk about an innovative way to channel freshwater into the Gowanus Canal.
• Leah Selim - Co-Founder, Global Kitchen – Discussing how gastro-diplomacy can bridge cultural divides. 
• Monica Byrne - Co-Founder ReStore Red Hook - As a core member of Restore Red Hook, she has a new idea about how to shift the disaster relief paradigm.
• Hans Hesselein – Executive Director, Gowanus Canal Conservancy - Will be speaking about shifting the responsibility for public park maintenance to the community and residents that use them.
• Pete Raho - Owner, Gowanus Furniture – As an “Artisan Ambassador,” Pete will show how small batch industry has created a new manufacturing sector with industrial employment opportunities. (He's also a JCharles bestie)
• Joselin Linder – Author - Joselin shares a personal story about the history (and future) of a genetic disorder that originated in her family.
• Marlene Donnely - FROGG Member, Benjamin Ellis Architect – What it will take for Gowanus to become the first Urban Industrial Site listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
• Eymund Diegel - Director, Public Lab – Eymund will describe how he used high-resolution, aerial photography to uncover "Ghost Streams" that feed the Gowanus Canal.
• Joseph Alexiou - Author /Journalist (Co-Curator of TEDxGowanus) - Will explain the importance of the Gowanus watershed in the first major conflict of the American Revolution, The Battle of Brooklyn.
• T.M. Rives - Author – Using the Native American origins of the name "Gowanus" as a starting point, Rives will elaborate on the often mistaken history of Native American culture and NYC. 

TEDx Gowanus will also have booths and opportunities to network with local businesses. Sound interesting? Get your tickets by clicking here. The event can hold up to 200 people or if you're too damn lazy to leave your couch it will be broadcast live at TEDxGowanus.com.