We're Creating a Bioluminescent Jungle
Why it makes sense in life, business, and community
In a few short days, May 23rd, we’re doing something a little crazy.
By crazy, I mean an electric-jungle themed pop-up – with music, art, and immersive experiences.
By we, I mean a talented crew of artists, techies, DJs, community builders, and maybe… you?
It’s an event called Electric Toucan.
Where it came from
Months ago, we hosted Acoustic Toucan — an art and music event in the Boston area. Gathering brought us so much joy and meaning that we began thinking our business should revolve around it.
In these early days of entrepreneurship, every bend of the river seems to rock the boat a little bit. But the ship has steadied on a purpose: gathering people and making gathering easier.
We’re in a season of rampant experimentation and maximum openness. Our compass has spun towards novel interactions, mixed reality, event apps, and technical integrations — from games, to hardware, to APIs.
Our client gigs are great, but none has leveraged our full potential — yet. To stretch the limits of our abilities, to show what we’re capable of, to show how cool events can be in Boston, we’re hosting Electric Toucan.
A collaborative canvas
When us LokBros dreamed up Electric Toucan, we grounded ourselves around the idea of creating a “collaborative canvas.”
Of course, this includes the venue, fabric artists, DJs, immersive installation builders, technologists, and those submitting 2D art which creates the space we’ll play in.
But attendees are collaborators too.
Creating origami at The Nest, drawing ephemeral Lightpaint images, taking photos in the Assimilation Photobooth, and watching how the dance floor responds to movement – Electric Toucan isn’t an experience meant to be consumed. It’s meant to be co-created.
This strange and bold plan of ours is a statement about creativity, and poses a question about what happens when we energetically gather together.
Commerce and Creativity
The best events facilitate magical connections. They’re containers for people to find themselves in one another. This is true in every sphere of life, including business.
There’s a lot that goes into making an event happen. A venue, caterer, and a marketing strategy is a lot, let alone adding creativity to the gathering itself.
What if there were more novel ways for people to share space, break the ice, and find play? What if attendees could be impacted profoundly? What if hosts had a better sense of how attendees felt, or which attendees interacted the most?
We play in the nebulous “what if.”
At Electric Toucan, we’re going all-out on our creativity to test our hypothesis: gathering matters, it can generate energy, and by watering seeds of curiosity and creativity, we’ll find opportunity in ways we haven’t dreamed up yet.
Will you be in Boston May 23rd? I hope to see you at Electric Toucan!
Not in Boston but curious about anything in this post? Let’s talk.
I love how unexpected connections lead to some of the greatest conversations. My calendar is open for curiosity calls: https://cal.com/saaliklok/curiosity-call]
Grab a spot or send me an email if you want to jam: saalik@thespoonful.blog