Aly Khalifa

Designbox - With a 6000 square foot facility in the Warehouse District of Raleigh, NC, The second Designbox location has become an anchor for creative culture. With office spaces, coworking, gallery, meeting spaces and events of 2000 people, Designbox has been credited with instigating life into a dead zone, fueling other spin-off activity that is now the cultural hub of Raleigh,

Designbox - With a 6000 square foot facility in the Warehouse District of Raleigh, NC, The second Designbox location has become an anchor for creative culture. With office spaces, coworking, gallery, meeting spaces and events of 2000 people, Designbox has been credited with instigating life into a dead zone, fueling other spin-off activity that is now the cultural hub of Raleigh,

SPARKcon - We set out to establish Raleigh as the Creative Hub of the South. This was accomplished through a unique open-source structure for embedded artists to organize their own events. In 2010, this involved hundreds of volunteers, 1700 performers spanning music to graffiti and fashion to street painting, and bringing more than 30,000 attendees. All without advertising.

SPARKcon - We set out to establish Raleigh as the Creative Hub of the South. This was accomplished through a unique open-source structure for embedded artists to organize their own events. In 2010, this involved hundreds of volunteers, 1700 performers spanning music to graffiti and fashion to street painting, and bringing more than 30,000 attendees. All without advertising.

City Plaza - At the request of Mayor Charles Meeker, we brought the community in to design the very centerpiece of downtown Raleigh. Utilizing SPARKcon workshop starting points, more than 110 local citizens and stakeholders were facilitated to creatively think on how to design City Plaza. The final solution was built to include most of the creative elements, including projection towers and programmable fountains.

City Plaza - At the request of Mayor Charles Meeker, we brought the community in to design the very centerpiece of downtown Raleigh. Utilizing SPARKcon workshop starting points, more than 110 local citizens and stakeholders were facilitated to creatively think on how to design City Plaza. The final solution was built to include most of the creative elements, including projection towers and programmable fountains.

Art-O-Mat / See Saw Studio - Having mentored students from See Saw Studio, Durham’s after school art program, we helped create an NEA funded project to mentor students to create artwork that could be sold in Art-O-Mat’s repurposed cigarette machines. Students had to focus on techniques that were both artistic and repeatable. The project was a hit and is now a fixture for See Saw events.

Art-O-Mat / See Saw Studio - Having mentored students from See Saw Studio, Durham’s after school art program, we helped create an NEA funded project to mentor students to create artwork that could be sold in Art-O-Mat’s repurposed cigarette machines. Students had to focus on techniques that were both artistic and repeatable. The project was a hit and is now a fixture for See Saw events.

Keep A Breast Raleigh - After attending ModArt’s Keep A Breast exhibit in Munich, Aly worked with Shaney Jo Darden to bring this compelling project to Raleigh. More than 70 torso casts were created by the community to be interpreted by local artists and exhibited in 22 locations. The seminal silent auction event brought in more than $10,000 for breast cancer awareness and research - becoming one of ModArt’s highest sums and largest participations.

Keep A Breast Raleigh - After attending ModArt’s Keep A Breast exhibit in Munich, Aly worked with Shaney Jo Darden to bring this compelling project to Raleigh. More than 70 torso casts were created by the community to be interpreted by local artists and exhibited in 22 locations. The seminal silent auction event brought in more than $10,000 for breast cancer awareness and research - becoming one of ModArt’s highest sums and largest participations.

Maximus Circus - The Raleigh Convention Center expressed the need for a circus element for the city’s biggest event: Raleigh Wide Open. Aly volunteered to create a circus using talent developed by SPARKcon. Using an aerial rig, stunt artists using LED’s and fire, the event ended up becoming a centerpiece that even led the Mayor to arrive and count down the fireworks during the grand finale.

Maximus Circus - The Raleigh Convention Center expressed the need for a circus element for the city’s biggest event: Raleigh Wide Open. Aly volunteered to create a circus using talent developed by SPARKcon. Using an aerial rig, stunt artists using LED’s and fire, the event ended up becoming a centerpiece that even led the Mayor to arrive and count down the fireworks during the grand finale.

CAM-A-DADA - After much anticipation Raleigh finally relaunched the Contemporary Art Museum. To celebrate the seminal opening, CAM hired Gamil to develop a proper avant-garde set of performances. The result was a Dada-inspired program. It entered with an emoticon protest march. The performances included theramin music, LED stunts, acrobatics and bubble art.

CAM-A-DADA - After much anticipation Raleigh finally relaunched the Contemporary Art Museum. To celebrate the seminal opening, CAM hired Gamil to develop a proper avant-garde set of performances. The result was a Dada-inspired program. It entered with an emoticon protest march. The performances included theramin music, LED stunts, acrobatics and bubble art.