Welcome to Campfire
The vitality of Tech, Art & Culture is at the core of what we do at ditto.
We bring together the leading voices, taste makers and opinion shapers in film, music, technology, fashion and publishing to share ideas. We call it Campfire. It’s our tribe, and open to all.
Join our weekly newsletter and keep up to date on our events and happenings.
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UPCOMING CAMPFIRE
Culture Clasher – With Legendary DJ and Film-maker – Don Letts
Thursday 26th August – Returning as our guest for his second Campfire, Don Letts – DJ, Broadcaster, Film-Maker, Musician and Social Commentator – has spent a lifetime defying conformity, infusing his unique style and attitude into his work on both sides of the lens as he lives up to his reputation as the ‘Rebel Dread’
Don’s exceptional life has recently been captured in the book – There and Black Again – telling his story through his work with others and co-starring the likes of Joe Strummer, Bob Marley, Paul McCartney, Nelson Mandela and Chuck D. in this refreshing and eye-opening story of a man who has never been afraid to tread his own path.
We invite you to join for what will be a fascinating look into the unexpected world of Don Letts that began alongside Rock Against Racism and continues as history repeats itself with Black Lives Matter.
Upcoming Campfires:
Wednesday 1st December
ditto presents… Our ‘Christmas Campfire Special’
View On-Demand:
Check out our exciting world of emerging tech events:
We work with the sharpest and most exciting emerging technology firms producing campaigns and events all over the world. From Low-Code, AI and Blockchain to Open-Source and Grid Computing. Check the event calendar and come along. The more the merrier.
Campfire Newsletter:
Our village voice. A weekly Tech, Art & Culture snapshot on upcoming events and happenings. Things that caught our eye, ear and imagination.
This week in...
Great Art Cities Explained
Expanding their superb series “Great Art Explained” James Payne and Joanne Shurvell combine their love of art and travel to take a look at some of the smaller, but no less important museums to be found in cities around the world. The series kicks off with three great collections in London that have passed from the private to the public domain - gifted to the nation from an era of patronage and far from today’s speculative investment - recommended.
Goliath, meet David
By scaling up some old school low technology the SpinLaunch kinetic launch system aims to simply slingshot a satellite into orbit, neatly bypassing those big ol’ dirty rockets. The prototype has successfully made the first suborbital test launches - with further planned for 2022 - before the first commercial launches in 2024 from the larger L100 Orbital Mass Accelerator, complete with the ability to launch several payloads a day, impressive.
Janette Beckman
With a four decade career photographing the underground and undiscovered, that started with the ‘70’s punk explosion before moving stateside as hip-hop took on the world, Janette Beckman has made a habit of capturing the zeitgeist - consistently. A new collection of her work is available with the publication of - Rebels - From Punk to Dior - following her path from the Melody Maker to the National Portrait Gallery. Read more from Blind Magazine here.
@0
Coldcut and Mixmaster Morris have joined forces to curate this blissfully musical masterclass covering the broad church that is ambient. Featuring new releases from Ryuichi Sakamoto, Suzanne Ciani, Sigur Ros and many more, alongside remixes of tracks by Imogen Heap, Specimens and Coldcut themselves, this 30 track compilation aims to offer a balance point - neither up nor down - a moment to breathe. Out now on Ninja Tunes, with 50% of profits going to the Campaign Against Living Miserably, Mind & Black Lives Matter. Sublime.
291
On this day in 1905 Alfred Stieglitz opened the “Little Galleries of the Photo Secession” - soon to be called simply “291” - at 291 Fifth Avenue, to promote photography as an art form. The mission soon evolved to introduce new and different artists to an unfamiliar America, with the works of Matisse - Rodin - Picasso and Duchamp amongst those from the emerging genre of what we now call modern art exhibited there. Only 12 years after it opened 291 closed its doors, having introduced America to the future.