10,000 Ways to Fail

How do we define and assess what constitutes failure in creative processes that hinge on investigation, discovery, and uncertainty? How can artistic research challenge the success/failure binary that permeates much of Western thought, and position failure as a generative point of departure? 10,000 Ways to Fail, Amplify’s next Alternate Currents panel discussion, picks up where these questions leave off and dives deeper into failure’s potential to instruct, illuminate, and enlighten.

Join artists and researchers Noni Williams, Anthony Gladamez, and Ken Heinze, and moderator Carlie Waganer, on Friday, April 11th from 12PM - 1PM at the Omaha Public Library’s Downtown Branch, for a conversation about the joys of following imperfect lines of inquiry. Together, they’ll trace the contours of failure and celebrate the contrasts inherent in mistakes, goofs, miscalculations, screw-ups, let-downs and all the other many spectacular ways in which we fail.

Free and open to all, space is limited. Please RSVP to attend.

Metered and service lot parking are available throughout the downtown area. Please use crosswalks for safety and enter through the doors on Jones Street where a member of Amplify’s staff will direct you to Meeting Room 206.

Omaha Public Library’s Downtown Branch is completely ADA accessible. If you have any accessibility needs, please reach out to us at least 48 hours in advance of this event at [email protected]

Alternate Currents programming is presented with support from the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

About the Panelists:

Ken Heinze is from Chicago where he attended Columbia College and served as a shop assistant and apprentice glassblower. He is now the Prototype Design Lab coordinator at Metropolitan Community College.

Anthony Galdamez is an educator, NASA Solar System Ambassador, and Program manager at Kiewit Luminarium. He is passionate about STEAM and strives to inspire learners of all levels working to explore and understand their worlds. He is a military veteran and holds a Master;s in Education with a concentration in STEM. He is also a certified NASA Endeavor instructor from Columbia University.

Noni Williams (she/they) is a senior data professional, a STEM communicator, a teaching artist, a poet, a mathematician, a philosopher born and raised in North Omaha, Nebraska. Noni has created an intentional space for the exploration of mathematical concepts like fractals and AI as a tool for understanding generational patterns in their poetry, and through collaborations within the community as a queer, Black artist and overall tech baddie. She spends most of her time mentoring, fencing, learning rugby, and fostering the joy of learning in others. Williams is a 2024 Ten Outstanding Young Omahan, 2024 Ten Outstanding Young American, and has created work featured by Opera Omaha, Kiewit Luminarium, Juneteenth JoyFest, AfroFest, Omaha Diversity Experience, Silicon Prairie News, JCI USA, and others.

About the Moderator:

Carlie Waganer is a collector, weaver, and perpetual novice. She received her BFA in Fiber arts from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and her work has been shown at Distillery Gallery, Gallery@ArtBlock, Women’s Studio Workshop, Store_Space Gallery, and the Nichols House Museum. Waganer has worked as an administrator at residency centers in Tennessee, New York, and now Nebraska. In her professional life, she considers herself an “artistic administrator,” where the support of artists and the realization of their goals are integral to her own artistic fulfillment. Her material practice includes categorizing, collage, coding, baking, drawing, fabric manipulation, journaling, list-making, marbling, and weaving. She is mostly interested in interconnectedness and impermanence.

Host or Publisher Amplify Arts