For Immediate Release: TEDxGowanus to be held on January 26, 2014 in Gowanus, Brooklyn

December 5, 2013 – Announcing the first ever TEDxGowanus, which will be held on January 26, 2014. The day-long event will take place on the banks of the Gowanus Canal at renowned event spaces The Green Building and 501 Union.

TEDxGowanus Organizer, Sean Gannet has a long track record working with TED Conferences, having been a producer on TEDMissionBlue and the TED Talent Search as well as video director for TEDActive.

"We are passionate about bringing TEDx to Gowanus because this area is a perfect representation of the culture, innovation, and change that are dominating the new Brooklyn landscape." –Sean Gannet, Organizer TEDxGowanus.

The theme of TEDxGowanus is INSPIRING COMMUNITY and 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.

While the inspiration for this TEDx began in Gowanus there will be a diversity of ideas to inspire and engage a broad audience. Some of the over 20 speakers presenting:

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.

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.

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.

Plus more to be announced!

This independently organized event licensed by TED will host a live audience of over 200 and will also be broadcasted live on www.TEDxGowanus.com. Attendees will have exclusive access to an exhibit providing an opportunity to network and interact with booths and activities provided by local businesses and organizations.

Tickets are available at Brown Paper Tickets starting December 5, 2013 at 12:00pm.

TEDxGowanus would not be possible without the help of our partners:

Video and Webcast Provided by Suite Spot

Design and Production Materials Provided by Film Biz Recycling

The Digital PhotoBooth by MVS Studio

Coffee provided by Crop to Cup

For more information visit tedxgowanus.com.

Follow TEDxGowanus on Facebook at facebook.com/tedxgowanus and Twitter @tedxgowanus. The official event hashtag is #gowanusinspired.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self organized events that bring people together to share a TEDlike experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local self organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four day conference in California almost 30 years ago, TED has grown to support those world changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The two annual TED Conferences invite the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes on a diverse mix of topics. Many of these talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi OkonjoIweala, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The TED2014 Conference will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia, along with the TEDActive simulcast in neighboring Whistler. TEDGlobal 2014 will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TED Talks are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TEDEd; and TEDBooks, short ebooks on powerful ideas. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world get help translating their wishes into action; TEDx, which supports individuals or groups in hosting local, self organized TEDstyle events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, helping world changing innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDNews, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED.

For information about TED's upcoming conferences, visit http://www.ted.com/registration