Edison Cinemabox

Today, many small former industrial cities still struggle with shared patterns of disinvestment, high poverty, and persistent inequality. These conditions have contributed to historically underserved communities with limited access to and representation within local art and cultural programs, which are documented as critical components to enhancing the social, economic, and civic life of low-income neighborhoods. With Newburgh, NY as our pilot city, we propose the ultimate, multimedia-equipped outdoor community theatre: Edison Cinemabox.

The Edison Cinemabox is a mobile pavilion hosting public screenings, performances, and exhibitions to provide direct access to and amplify the creative work of underrepresented communities. Combining flexibility, mobility, and timeshare programming into a compact form while leveraging vacant sites and strategic local partnerships, the Edison Cinemabox is designed to make a big impact: enhance cultural equity across the post-industrial world that millions call home. 

A 2017 University of Pennsylvania study shows that “in lower-income neighborhoods, cultural resources are significantly linked to better health, schooling, and security," underscoring the key role that access to arts and culture play in building equitable communities. Yet in most cities, these resources remain unequally distributed at the expense of impoverished neighborhoods. This problem is particularly acute in small post-industrial cities, which have grappled with dwindling cultural resources for decades along with increasing poverty rates at twice the national average.

In the City of Newburgh, NY, a majority of cultural venues operate in isolation, limiting accessibility to lower-income communities, artists, and audiences alike. Separated by socio-geographical boundaries or through inflexible programming and production prerequisites, the artistic and cultural expression in the City is not experienced by or benefiting communities in an equitable manner.

There are over 8,000 people (26%) living below the poverty line in Newburgh, with the majority concentrated within two neighborhoods that are consistently overlooked by public and private investment. Predominantly impacting historically underserved African American and Hispanic communities, who represent 80% of Newburgh’s population, the enhanced access to cultural resources can critically benefit the well-being of thousands in the City and millions globally throughout small post-industrial cities.

The Edison Cinemabox will engage Newburgh’s African American and Hispanic communities, who represent the majority of the City’s population, are the most economically disadvantaged, and live in neighborhoods that have been deprived of cultural opportunities for decades.

Moreover, there are longstanding institutions in the City where people feel shutout, reinforcing micro-segregation. Recently, a Newburgh hip-hop artist offered us a blunt reminder of the real and perceived barriers in the City: "There is no place to perform in the City. Not for us. Yes, I could sell out the local theater, but they would never open the doors for me."

Using a mobile platform that hosts artistic events as opposed to a permanent venue, the Edison Cinemabox Series aims to directly showcase underrepresented artists in the City to an already fired-up, local audience while rapidly expanding access to local cultural and arts activities.

To better engage with community-led initiatives and help program relevant artistic events, we have partnered with both well-established organizations and existing cultural institutions that seek to expand their outreach to areas with poor access to arts and culture. 

The Edison Cinemabox is a mobile pavilion that hosts public film screenings, performances, exhibitions, and workshops to amplify the voices and creative work of marginalized communities and expand access to arts and culture by leveraging vacant sites.

Measuring 18ft tall with a 12ft x 24ft footprint, the design uses two basic architectural elements, the frame and the attic, to create a new, technologically-equipped type of urban infrastructure. Modularly designed for convenient redeployment, the frame has an open pavilion as its base for staging events, and a steel structure supporting the attic. Made of foldable polycarbonate doors, the attic encases an innovative double-screen ultra-short throw rear projection system along with stage lights and audio equipment powered by solar energy.

The Edison Cinemabox represents a novel alternative to traditional infrastructure by creating a public realm component that performs a functional necessity while advancing access to arts and culture as essential to building equitable and vibrant neighborhoods. The prototype, which will provide lighting and shelter at its most basic level, will serve as a year-round cultural timeshare, responding to day-night and seasonal cycles, and activated by programmed or impromptu events.

Operated in partnership with established cultural and community organizations, the Cinemabox will host yearly series of cultural initiatives intended to showcase works from underrepresented emerging and aspiring voices in the local fields of film, music, performance, media, and visual arts; and to provide quality cultural programming not typically available locally for the benefit of underserved neighborhoods.

The Edison Cinemabox uses available technology to create an all-in-one, self-powered system that makes the collective experience of the arts possible for the first time in many areas. In movie-theater-mode, the innovative double-screen system will deliver an uncompromising viewing experience up to a thousand people. When closed, the display setup will run programmed content directly on the attic’s polycarbonate enclosure, forming a year-round display for the arts.

The Cinemabox will run on a fully integrated system that connects all its operable components - projectors, speakers, lights, solar panels, and security devices - via a remotely controlled home-area-network (HAN). This capability enables far greater mobility for the Cinemabox, allowing new stakeholders, curators, artists, and even daily users to partially access event-specific features. Ultimately, the Edison Cinemabox is about civic empowerment and cultural equity. It is not intended to simply solicit passive participation, but to generate new initiatives and inspire novel modes of expression. 

Infrastructure as Dual-Purpose. The Edison Cinemabox is a novel approach to traditional “infrastructure,” proposing it as a dynamic component of the public realm that performs a functional necessity while positioning social and cultural space as equally important to civic life. The prototype, which provides lighting at night and shelter from rain at the most basic level, expands as a community timeshare redefined by day to night, formal to improvised gatherings.

Mobility and Strategic Siting. A defining innovation of the Edison Cinemabox is its mobility, providing direct engagement to arts programs while building intra-community relationships. For small post-industrial cities with high inequality, the static nature of institutions, which are typically located outside of low-income areas, contributes to the real and perceived barriers to cultural resources.  

Physical Flexibility and Technology. By turning the arts venue model inside out, the Edison Cinemabox is designed to fit within a wide range of site conditions. The open pavilion can be flexibly configured to host receptions and workshops while the illuminated attic hosts a projection system for a 1-screen or 2-screen arrangement. The Cinemabox uses available technology to create an all-in-one, self-powered system, making the collective experience of the arts possible for the first time in many areas.

Prototyping Urban Visions. While cities employ a master plan, the drawbacks of a single, long-term approach include: inflexibility, expense, and stagnation. Evolving from a large body of research and on-site engagement, the Cinemabox uses experimental prototyping and deployment as a tactical method to test an urban design vision. 

The Edison Cinemabox combines available architectural, media, energy, and information technology to create an integrated, entirely new type of urban infrastructure. Importantly, the Cinemabox “borrows” techniques, processes and devices developed for domestic use to provide a public service, integrating technology in response to four needs: mobility, programming flexibility, self-sufficiency, and user-friendly operation.

Using resources and skills locally available, the Cinemabox employs steel modular construction and assembling techniques to streamline fabrication, transportation, and site redeployment without use of ultra-specialized machinery.

To achieve event flexibility in a compact design, the Cinemabox relies on a solar-powered “technological attic” whose multimedia capability will provide venue settings for multiple art forms that range from film screenings and live performances to exhibitions, workshops, and receptions. The attic uses short-throw rear-projection technology originally developed for confined spaces to power two 24ft by 12ft screens, which along with stage lighting and sound systems will turn the Edison Cinembox into the ultimate outdoor community arts and culture platform.

The Cinemabox will run on a fully integrated system that connects all its operable components - projectors, speakers, mixer, network-attached-storage, lights, but also doors, solar panels, and security devices - via a remotely controlled home-area-network (HAN). This capability enables far greater flexibility for the Cinemabox, allowing new stakeholders, curators, artists, and even daily users to partially access event-specific features via personal mobile devices. Specific access to features like content display selection, lighting configuration, or sound volume can be unlocked for users based on their role in the event, using a basic app. 

The success of the Edison Cinemabox to expand equitable access to and representation within community-focused cultural opportunities begins with the following incremental, hyperlocal actions: 

Fabricating with the Community. During the Design-Build Workshop, 10-15 Newburgh students will help fabricate the Edison Cinemabox and learn in-demand skills for the region’s highest employment sectors: construction, manufacturing, and professional services. As a piece of public infrastructure, the collective sense of ownership through expanded participation is essential to activating the Cinemabox from Day 1.

Installing a Dual-Purpose, Multimedia-Equipped Pavilion. In the Fourth Regional Plan (2017), the Regional Plan Association outlines the most pressing challenges for the tri-state area of New York-NewJersey-Connecticut. The report highlights that the “tri-state region is a global leader in creativity. Its world-class art institutions are essential to the region’s identity and vitality…Yet there is less support for art spaces in communities of color, and a lack of diverse representation in the programming of larger cultural institutions.” The Edison Cinemabox challenges the status-quo by showcasing diverse artists and making multimedia technology readily available.   

Leveraging Partnership Networks and Vacant Lots within Underserved Neighborhoods. As a strategy for expanding access, the Fourth Regional Plan suggests that “While the region has unmatched arts venues…art can also be experienced in a wider range of places, including the public spaces that tie communities together.” The Edison Cinemabox both transforms underutilized spaces into places of gathering and performance, and amplifies its local programming through partner networks, aiming to enhance cultural equity on a national level. 

The Edison Cinemabox is in the prototyping phase, with a scheduled completion date of September 2020. While currently not in operation, the Cinemabox will host a pilot art event series immediately following its completion to test anticipated participation based on daily, weekly, and event-specific attendance. The pilot will run two film screenings, one live performance, and one exhibition. Based on our data, which includes surveys, venue setup, site capacity, and observations conducted at similar events, the pilot program is expected to involve over 3,000 participants.

During our first full year of operation, we will inaugurate the Edison Cinemabox Series, a collection of cultural events using the full capabilities of our prototype, for which we estimate a total audience of 50,000 participants, involving work of from 100-200 artists.

Combining flexible programming, a multi-site strategy, and community involvement, the Edison Cinemabox Series will become a permanent platform for underrepresented artists and for promoting equitable access to arts and culture on a daily basis to over 8,000 people with lower-income. In the next five years, our organization aims to launch five further iterations of the Cinemabox within the Hudson Valley, leveraging the regional resources and building on the momentum generated by the growing artist community. We estimate that cumulatively, the prototypes will directly impact the lives of over 50,000 people living in underserved areas, with a total annual participation across all events estimated at over half-million people.

12-Month Goals: 

1. Secure funding to fabricate and equip the first Edison Cinemabox prototype

2. Fabricate the prototype through the Edison Cinemabox Design-Build Workshop

3. Complete the program framework for the inaugural Edison Cinemabox Series 

4. Install the prototype at 25 S Lander St. in Newburgh, NY and launch the inaugural Edison Cinemabox Series

5-Year Goals:

1. Install and curate programming for the first prototype on new strategic sites 

2. Secure funding to fabricate and equip 5 additional Edison Cinemabox prototypes

3. Install the Edison Cinemabox in an expanded network of partner cities across the United States

4. Host significant cultural productions including: film festivals, open studios, and conferences. 

12-Month Challenge: 

1. Secure additional funding for the materials, technology, and program series for the first Edison Cinemabox prototype

5-Year Challenges:

1. Establishing local, regional, and corporate sponsorship   

2. Forming new partnerships to install the Edison Cinemabox on vacant/underutilized sites in additional cities

3. Securing additional funding to fabricate and equip 5 additional Edison Cinemabox prototypes 

4. Building local teams to manage and maintain the Edison Cinemabox as we expand our network of partner cities

12-Month Challenge Strategy: 

1. With local partners to assist with providing fabrication space, developing creative programming, and locating a pilot site to install the prototype already coordinated, the Edison Cinemabox team will seek the remaining funding through grants and fundraising initiatives.

5-Year Challenges Strategy:

1. During and upon completion of the first Edison Cinemabox and inaugural series, the team will pitch to potential sponsors who share our mission of enhancing cultural equity and could mutually benefit from the prototype’s ability to promote sponsored content. 

2. With any remaining funding required, the team will continue to apply for grants and host fundraising initiatives.

3. To identify new partnerships and form boots-on-the-ground teams in an expanded network of cities is an essential component to scaling the Edison Cinemabox. Our efforts will focus on leveraging and building our existing networks  to connect to like-minded organizations currently operating in other small former industrial cities that have limited access to arts and culture opportunities to secure future sites and develop original program initiatives. 

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As a multidisciplinary team with an in-depth experience in design, fabrication, and civic engagement that is augmented by strong local partnerships, we are best-positioned to enhance equitable access and representation within community-centered arts and cultural initiatives through the realization of the ultimate, deployable multimedia pavilion.

Led by team members Amy Shell and Razvan Voroneanu, the Edison Cinemabox is the evolution of a large body of research, on-site interactions, and an experimental urban design vision that began in 2014. Amy and Razvan bring an iterative design method that is multi-scalar and overlaid with social, environmental, and economic lenses to identify disparities and momentum to address social equity and civic empowerment.  

Amy Shell, AIA, LEED GA. New York licensed Architect and Urban Designer; Co-Founder of Common Projects Newburgh; Co-Design Director of East Northeast Film Festival. 

Razvan Voroneanu. Architect and Urban Designer with 15+ years of experience, Design Director of Studio Link-Arc, Co-Founder of Common Projects Newburgh, Co-Design Director of East Northeast Film Festival. Razvan’s portfolio as lead designer includes museums, public libraries, theaters, and educational facilities.

Stuart Sachs. Sculptor, Furniture Designer, Architectural Metalwork Artist, Pratt Institute Professor of Fine Art leading a metal fabrication workshop. As a committed Newburgh resident, Stuart serves on many organization boards, including as the current Orange County Arts Council President, where he engages institutions and businesses to advance the arts in the City and the Hudson Valley region. 

The Edison Cinemabox’s diverse and longstanding community partners currently include:

Regal Bag Studios. Providing fabrication space for the Edison Cinemabox Design-Build Workshop 

Thornwillow Institute. Providing the pilot site for the Edison Cinemabox’s first year launch at 25 S Lander Street, Newburgh, NY 12550

Newburgh Community Land Bank. Coordinating potential vacant lots for future sites of the Edison Cinemabox 

Downing Film Center. Advising on audio and visual technology system integration; Assistance in programming public film screenings, broadcasts, and performances 

Various local youth organizations. Coordinating 10-15 local students to participate the Edison Cinemabox Design-Build Workshop

Orange County Arts Council. Outreach to emerging and aspiring underrepresented artists, filmmakers, storytellers, and performers within the community and region; Assistance in programming public screenings, performances, and exhibition series; Leveraging existing networks to promote upcoming events and expand audience reach

The Edison Cinemabox is a critical component of Common Projects Newburgh, a research and design initiative established to advance an equitable and sustainable future for the City of Newburgh and the Hudson Valley region.

We work with both private and public organizations to initiate common projects that leverage underutilized local resources to breathe new life into neglected spaces and underserved communities. Our aim is to create an inclusive platform for spatial interventions that catalyzes local and regional momentum to amplify cultural and social opportunities.

Key Beneficiaries and Timeshare. Open to the public year round, the Edison Cinemabox will (1) showcase and promote works from underrepresented, emerging and aspiring voices in the local arts, and (2) provide quality cultural programming not typically available locally for the benefit of underserved neighborhoods. All events, organized as an annual series, will be free-of-charge. When not in use for the Series, the Cinemabox will serve as (1) a pavilion open for impromptu community use; and (2) a rentable multimedia space for private events.

Implementation. To implement our vision we partnered with longstanding local organizations with diverse constituencies to help build and site the prototype; identify local talent and provide curatorial and logistical support for the Edison Cinemabox Series; and establish a sustainable relationship with the community.

Funding for year one is aimed at (1) building, operating, and maintaining the first fully operational prototype and (2) programming and running the inaugural Edison Cinemabox Series. The Edison Cinemabox prototype will be funded through a combination of grants and private donations, with already secured sites and funds to cover the cost of the design-build workshop.

Longer-term, we aim at establishing a revenue stream to fund the annual series and to build new prototypes in the region that includes a combination of sources:

Advertising and paid content using the prototype’s unique multimedia capabilities and the exposure to large audiences offered by cultural events.

Rental and service fees charged for private events or for events that are not free to the public. (These events are not included in the programmed Edison Cinemabox Series, which will always be free-of-charge and open to the public).

Grants, including state and private re-grant awards.

Sustained donations through fundraisers, and institutional and corporate sponsorship.

In-kind donations and support through sustainable partnerships with local businesses and organizations.

Financial oversight for the Edison Cinemabox prototype and series is provided through our fiscal sponsor, the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan.

The opportunity to join the Solve community would bring an invaluable level of visibility, access to technical and research support, and partnership building with impact investors that are leading civic and cultural equity development across former industrial cities. The Edison Cinemabox team is keen to work with the departments at MIT, particularly the Media Lab, to refine our business model, and utilize specialized data to map micro-levels of inequality, enabling us to further evaluate our site selection strategy. 

As a hyperlocal, cultural equity platform that will launch in a city unfamiliar to most, the greatest strength of the Edison Cinemabox also poses as its greatest challenge to attract funding and to scale beyond the Hudson Valley region. Solve’s access to key stakeholders and social investors that are spearheading preeminent cities initiatives would significantly advance our ability to scale the Edison Cinemabox, build a network of partner cities, and develop new iterations of the Edison Cinemabox model.

Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Initiative; Rockefeller Foundation 100 Resilient Cities Initiative; Kresge Foundation American Cities Initiative; Knight Foundation Communities Initiative.

• Seek funding and sponsorship opportunities 

• Partner with ongoing efforts to enhance cultural equity across post-industrial cities, significantly enabling us to scale and deploy the prototype within a network of partner cities

• Connect to local land banks and stakeholders with access to underutilized/vacant lots 

MIT Media Lab. 

• Collaborate on the Atlas of Inequality project through access to Cuebiq’s Data for Good program to map micro-level inequality within the City of Newburgh and our future city network 

National Public Radio. 

• Seek sponsorship and unique program development using the innovative features of the Edison Cinemabox 

• Leverage extensive audience network to promote the Edison Cinemabox's diverse programming and underrepresented artists in the fields of art, storytelling, film, and performance

Being selected for the GM Prize on Community-Driven Innovation would significantly kick-start our team’s ability to quickly fabricate and launch two Edison Cinemabox, doubling our impact and available programs for underserved neighborhoods with limited access to and representation within existing local arts and culture activities.

In addition, the Edison Cinemabox team would use the prize to start testing iterative models of the prototype in which the pavilion converts into an incubator space for micro-retail or a culinary lab, encouraging experimentation with new models of community engagement while simultaneously advancing cultural equity.

Being selected for the Morgridge Family Foundation Community-Driven Innovation Prize would significantly kick-start our team’s ability to quickly fabricate and launch two Edison Cinemabox, doubling our impact and available programs for underserved neighborhoods with limited access to and representation within existing local arts and culture activities.

In addition, the Edison Cinemabox team would use the prize to start testing iterative models of the prototype in which the pavilion converts into an incubator space for micro-retail or a culinary lab, encouraging experimentation with new models of community engagement while simultaneously advancing cultural equity.