Huge presents: Connect Passions with Ideas
Huge throws amazing events. Each of them focuses on local Atlanta talent across different industries, and the challenges and experiences one faces navigating a career. The next topic is Connecting Your Passion To Your Ideas, and will explore the stories and motivations of four creative entrepreneurs. Learn how four Atlanta visionaries turned their dreams into reality and inspired a city.
Huge’s Group Creative Director Derek Fridman will moderate and he will be joined by: Steven Carse of King of Pops, Ryan Gravel ‘the BeltLine guy,’ Anthony Harper – Founder of The Goat Farm Arts Center, and Catherine Fox of ArtsATL. The panelists will discuss the importance of finding inspiration, having purpose in what you do, and bringing value to clients and the community.
Details & registration
When:
April 2
6:30 PM
Where:
1375 Peachtree St
17th St., Suite 400
Atlanta, Ga 30309
Agenda:
Come early to meet Atlanta creatives and enjoy an open bar with drinks and food provided by the Sound Table
6:30 PM: Doors Open
7:00 PM: Panel
7:45 PM: Q&A
8:00 PM: Meet and greet with panelists.
Meet the moderator and panelists:
Derek Fridman dreams up innovative and engaging digital experiences for brands of all kinds, specializing in the design of multi-channel platforms for touch, mobile, web and in-store. His background is anchored in both UX and visual design, giving him the ability to transform complex usability problems into beautifully simple and intuitive interfaces. At Huge, Derek has applied his expertise to projects for Audi, HBO GO, and Lowe’s. Previously, he led the development of award winning touchscreen retail and mobile entertainment applications for The Coca-Cola Company, Disney, Adobe, AutoTrader UK, and New Balance as Creative Director at Sapient Nitro. Derek’s 12 years of experience also comprise engagements for Mercedes AMG and Verizon Wireless. Born in Puerto Rico, he has worked on both coasts and in Europe for several agencies including Razorfish and Zentropy. Derek holds a degree in Visual Communications from the Art Institute of Atlanta.
Steven Carse founded King of Pops in April of 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. Steven, a Minnesota native, was living in Idaho before moving to Atlanta in 2007 to work for AIG. This move would change the course of his life after he was laid off and created the opportunity to start something big. Inspired by his numerous trips to Central and South America, Steven began experimenting with fresh ‘paleta’ (Spanish for ice pops) flavors and sought to bring those delicious fruit based creations to Atlanta. In 2010, with the help of friends and family, the first King of Pops cart popped up in the corner of North Avenue and Highland Ave and has been there ever since. Steven is optimistic for the future of King of Pops as it grows in a smart-environmentally conscious way, most recently acquiring a farm in Douglasville, Georgia.
Ryan Gravel is an urban designer at Perkins+Will where he engages site planning, concept development, and public policy. His master’s thesis in 1999 was the original vision for the Atlanta Beltline, a 22-mile transit greenway that transforms a loop of old railroads with transit, parks, and trails to generate economic growth and protect quality-of-life in 45 neighborhoods throughout the central city. Now in the early stages of implementation, the project’s health and economic benefits have already become obvious, with record-breaking use of its first 2-mile phase of trail and over $2.4 billion of new, compact, mixed-use redevelopment along the same corridor since 2005. Ryan speaks internationally and has received numerous awards for his work on the project. He is also finishing a book that investigates the cultural side of infrastructure, describing how its intimate relationship with our way of life can illuminate a brighter path forward for cities.
Anthony Harper is a real estate developer and has led over $30 million in leveraged transactions during his real estate career. Harper is also the Co-Founder & Director of the Goat Farm Arts Center in Atlanta. The Goat Farm is a Transdisciplinary Industrial Complex in West Midtown Atlanta that has successfully re-positioned an unproductive 12 acre 19th century factory into one of Atlanta’s largest centers for contemporary thought, art & performance. Harper is also the co-founder of Welcomemat Services, a marketing strategies & technology company with over 40 national franchises. WelcomeMat was recently named among the “Best of the Best” emerging franchises by Franchise Business Review and has been featured in Forbes, USA Today & Smart Money among others. Earlier in his career, Harper was an investment banker at a $21 billion private equity firm in New York, where he helped execute over $900 million in leveraged buyouts, mergers & acquisitions & business restructurings. Harper sits on the advisory boards of the Zuckerman Museum & The Creatives Project.
Catherine Fox is executive director, editor and co-founder of ArtsATL, an online journal covering the arts in metro Atlanta. She received the 2013 Community Impact Administrator Arts Award from the Emory College Center for Creativity Arts for her work on ArtsATL. She was art and architecture critic at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for 27 years, during which time she was Cox Writier of the Year, twice winner of Cox awards in criticism, and received Green Eyeshade Awards and an award from the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors. She has written for ARTnews and other publications, and is a co-author of Noplaceness: Art in a Post-Urban Landscape. She was assistant curator of the Arts Festival of Atlanta’s 1981 Site Works Program. She holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in art history from the University of Michigan.
