the early days |
|
| home / opensewer / archive / the early days | |
 an early poster announcing an upcoming Open Sewer meeting
|
The original Open Sewer discussion group was started at
Kent State University School of Architecture in 1989 by Tom Sofranko,
Keith Andreyko and Bill Willoughby (all students of the program at the time). Originally,
it was a venue for student to student critique between architecture
students and anyone else interested in intellectual dialogue. In its
early heyday, there was quite a bit of interest in the group, as evidenced
by Open Sewer's coverage in the campus newspaper.
As the Open Sewer evolved, the focus of the discussions began to change from purely architectural to topics of a more philosophical nature. At that time, another KSU Architecture student, Frank Owens, was running the group. It was also about this time that I joined. Because of the new, more 'specific' nature of the discussions, attendance had decreased. However, all those who did show were just itchin' for good discussion. By 1995, partly because of lack of continuity during changes in leadership, participation in Open Sewer had started to wane. Attendance at the meetings was down to four. I graduated in 1996 and the group unofficially disbanded shortly after that. In late summer 1998, the 'sewer was about to re-open. Rose Merendino and I were together experiencing frustration at the lack of intellectual curiosity and discourse in the corporate world (of which we were both a part). I thought back to the days of the Open Sewer at Kent, and remembered the feverishly exciting level of dialogue. The desire to experience that again (and one very insightful article in the New York Times) was the impetus for us to start a new OPENSEWER. This one would be different: it would be a modern salon, open to all. The requirements for admission would be simple: 1) live on earth and 2) have an opinion about it. The first meeting of the new OPENSEWER took place on October 1, 1998. Four people attended. It was fantastic. The energy was there. It would keep going. Shortly thereafter (February 1999), OPENSEWER.COM was launched as a way to keep track of this new community. Now the website has evolved into even more: a venue for art, a resource for environmental and social activism, a soapbox... Attendance has multiplied at every subsequent OPENSEWER meeting, and has brought us in a very short time to where we are today: a regular "in real life" discussion salon with a growing body of dedicated members and a web audience of thousands. I can't wait to see what happens next...
<< Back to the archive | Opensewer main
|
