Starting a Videogame Arts Organization
0No Show Conference 2012 - Jim Munroe
"The Hand Eye Society both initiated and have consistently innovated in making videogames an integral and respectable part of our broader cultural fabric. Peerless community organizers, they set the stage for what I believe is one of the most important new movements in global games culture: showcasing achievements on a hyper-local level, making games part of civic pride, and helping independent and personally-driven development become a sustainable and flourishing business. All of us, everywhere else in the world, are still simply following the trails they've blazed." — Brandon Boyer, IGF Chairman
Since starting in 2009, the Hand Eye Society has positioned itself as having a cultural focus similar to other organizations that serve the film, animation, or literary arts. We are an incorporated not-for-profit.
Our Socials are modelled after art openings or rock shows than industry networking events.
We started the Torontron project, which went on to inspire the Winnitron arcade network, with the intent of providing a "mobile gallery" with a curatorial eye.
The Difference Engine Initiative, a partnership with the Toronto International Film Fest, was started to address the lack of diversity (gender and otherwise) in our community.
Half of the presentation will be discussing what we have done, and half will be discussing what we've learned, hopefully of use for people looking to start (or refocus their meetup groups into) videogame arts organizations.