June 29, 2009

Hi. My name is Bil Hetherington and I am Program Coordinator for Arts Spaces at Calgary Arts Development. I am here to help facilitate and support the development and expansion of art spaces in Calgary.

I have been charged with the task of art space blogging. The purpose of this blog will be to create awareness of art space developments happening at home, and abroad. This is my very first blog.

You can also watch http://twitter.com/bhetherington
Here goes ...

The Waffle Shop:

This art space is an unusual late-night waffle emporium in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood that celebrates the lives and stories of its customers through the production of a weekly talk show on the premises. It also interacts with cyber-patrons. Unfortunately for the latter, the waffles can only be enjoyed on site.

Originally developed as a short-term art project by an art class at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, the space has become an interactive community hub with potential for a long-term existence. Whether this bricks and mortar/online experiment carries on as a non-profit or a for-profit business, it is an exceptional example of how an innovative idea can germinate into a refreshing community attraction. People can interact with the Waffle Shop talk show in person (if you happen to be in Pittsburgh) or by Facebook and Twitter.

Check out this article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09180/980548-437.stm?cmpid=entertainment.xml

Web site:
http://waffleshop.org./

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/waffleshop