Kickstart My Art by Chris Peterson SM '13

There was a great article in the Tech earlier this week about startup culture at MIT. MIT has a lot of students who are creative, self-starting people; cool ideas pop into their heads and off they go to make them into reality.

One such example is Mark Fayngersh ’15. Mark is an exceptionally talented web developer and photographer studying Computer Science here at MIT.

Now, Mark could do a lot of things in a lot of organizations, and all of them would be great and cool. But the project he’s currently working on is a kickstarter called The Institvte: A Photobook:

Hi! My name is Mark, and I’m currently a freshman studying Computer Science and Philosophy. When I’m not doing homework, I’m writing programs and taking pictures of objects and places around me. I need your help: I’m striving to create a photobook that encompasses environment and culture while focusing on architecture, people, and events representative of life at MIT.

 

The Institvte is a story about a school, its architecture and environment. Most of all, it’s a story about culture, mindset, and people. MIT is known as a rigorous research facility and one of the best universities in the world, but there’s more to the institute than numbers.

The goal of this project is to present MIT to the world under new light, exposing its multidimensional nature while telling a story from a fresh perspective. By helping Kickstart this project, you’re not just getting a photobook, you’re getting an experience.

 

 

 

Now I have no idea whether this kickstarter will be successful or not. But to some degree that’s beside the point (though I hope it will be, and am backing it, because I would like a copy of the book). The point is that this is an excellent example of a student just doing something simple, creative, and cool. Remember this! There’s no reason not to try to do cool things when the cost is low and the opportunity awesome.