We envision a flourishing city.

Norwalk 2.0 exists to engage residents locally, enhance public space and improve city quality of life. We are a consultancy using economic development, data, and creativity to create public engagement projects that make cities better.

 

We do this by bringing art and artists to public spaces, sparking ideas about how to make the city better, and creating fun.

 

What is public art and what can it bring to a neighborhood?

Public art is permanent or temporary elements of a public space that are designed by artists, reflect an awareness of the site, and often involve community engagement and collaboration.

  • Culture: Public art project contributes to the Norwalk’s identity as an arts and innovation hub and as a center for creativity.
  • Community: Public art project fosters community pride, ownership and a sense of belonging.
  • Design: Public art contributes to the quality of Norwalk’s built environment.

 

We engage residents, businesses, and community organizations to work together and create an authentic, creative, economically diverse, and sustainable future. We provide education and insights into supporting a new creative economy, organize events to encourage networking and the sharing of ideas, and promote organizations and initiatives in the greater Norwalk community.

Create landmark artworks that become part of the City’s cultural landscape.

We help make the most out of local experiences. That means getting past who has the best pizza, to understanding how to make sense of local issues and where to go for things that enhance the fun of living here.

 

We’ve been immersed in that journey ourselves, so we understand how to address this need. We realized that doing the same old thing over and over was a broken system. So we’ve made something different — media and experiences that are created by and with people, not just for them.

 

We are ‘hi-tech’ and ‘high-touch’ believing that community engagement is best achieved using a combination of in-person and technical interaction. Norwalk 2.0 serves area residents, businesses, and visitors.

 

Over eight thousand people have attended a Norwalk 2.0 project over the past nine years. Norwalk 2.0 has produced public art events, community-focused support for local non-profits, Street Beautification plans, and workshops, talks, explorations, and exhibits.

 

Big changes start with little projects and every project starts with a team.  Norwalk 2.0 is here to get your journey started.

Why Norwalk 2.0?

Norwalk 2.0 is more than just another non-profit, non-governmental agency. Norwalk 2.0 represents a new way of tackling big problems and the little details, and a pragmatic approach to getting things done. We believe in social equity, we represent a reimagined future of Norwalk and its hundreds of neighborhoods.

TEAM MEMBERS

Jackie Lightfield and Maribeth Becker co-founded Norwalk 2.0 in July of 2010. Norwalk 2.0 is a 501(3)c.

Jackie Lightfield, Chief Problem Solver

Jackie is a civic entrepreneur who has lead tech startups as a writer, coder, designer, and futurist. She co-founded Norwalk 2.0 in 2010 and has led civi tech projects through The Stamford Partnership from 2013-2019. She experiments in digital media and develops strategic frameworks on how tech, the arts, and everyday living intersect.

 

Jackie is a hands-on technical leader whose expertise in IoT, AI, and ML blend practical applications with a civic focus. She has led and initiated projects that include; bringing Smart City applications to the City of Stamford and the City of Philadelphia. She designed an autonomous shuttle pilot project for the City of Stamford along with a LiDar and LoRa Wan backbone, introduced free public WIFI, and developed an IoT infrastructure pilot for real-time information tracking utilizing low powered sensors.

 

She is a strategic thinking troubleshooter with a track record of delivering solutions to complex problems. A background in tech development, management, and marketing allows her to easily work within a wide range of organizations and industries. Strong leadership abilities with a focus on amplifying the skills of those around her. She has worked with tech companies; MECA Software, blowtorch studios, US Daily Digital, AOL-Patch, Mainstreet USA, Inline Software, Microtech International, and SunStar on projects that helped companies like Schick, PowerSmart, Dun and Bradstreet, Iomega, Apple, and Disney, develop products.

Jackie Lightfield has produced interactive media applications including websites, mobile apps, and interactive exhibits. She specializes in information architecture and user interface.

Maribeth Becker, Chief Dot Connector 

Leaving no stone unturned, Maribeth Becker uses her inquisitive powers to solve the eternal questions that stymie most organizations. A community leader with hands-on experience, Maribeth blends intuitive analysis with her unique style and a flair for strategic planning. Her experience developing and organizing various groups is based on facilitating communication, increasing participation and effecting change. Her stints on diverse boards such as Connecticut Friends School, Norwalk YMCA, and the Norwalk Arts Commission play to her strengths of strategic thinking, vision, and finding connections between seemingly unrelated things. She is the Chief Dot Connector for Norwalk 2.0 and irresistibly bossy. She speaks marketing, collaboration, and English fluently, and often finds herself turning impossible dreams into fabulous projects.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT

Maribeth Becker


VICE PRESIDENT

Bruce Beinfield


CORPORATE SECRETARY

Diana Lenkowsky


BOARD MEMBERS

Suzanne Ancona

Lenny Dinardo

Jackie Lightfield

David Waters


News

5 Marketing Tips For Restaurants

The restaurant industry is reeling right now with the mandated shutdowns of dining rooms all across Fairfield County. But here are some tips and a marketing toolkit to help amplify your local reach. 1. Social Media Likes Won’t Pay the Bills. The algorithms are designed for the user, not for the businesses that try to reach their followers. You need to use social media to get people to sign up for your email list. Your email list will always reach more of your customers. 2. Nothing Else Matters

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Norwalk 2011 Cultural Assesment Survey

Now here’s a blast from the past. Robert Campbell produced this cultural assessment survey when the newly formed Norwalk Arts Commission was still trying to figure out what it wanted to be when it grew up. Since then, long after Jackie Lightfield resigned from chairing the organization, the Commission became an official commission, with appointments by the Mayor. But did anything change for the arts in Norwalk? Here’s the key findings: There is no comprehensive list of artists living in Norwalk Having a staffed Commission

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Winners of Iconic Norwalk 2018

Norwalk 2.0 congratulates winners of the Iconic Norwalk 2018 project and launches 2019. Iconic Norwalk is Norwalk 2.0’s initiative to engage residents, businesses, and visitors in capturing unique and iconic places in Norwalk and sharing them on Instagram. Using, Instagram as a platform, people are asked to submit photos, videos or artwork using the #iconicnorwalk2018 hashtag.  Winning entries in the following categories: PRIZES Grand Prize, The Grand Prize Winner will receive $300 cash. Paul Zullo …not easy to find this shot. #iconicnorwalk2018 @norwalk2 First Place Winners in

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Iconic Norwalk 2018

Creative placemaking; Norwalk 2.0 launches Concert Series at Constitution Park in Liberty Square Art events in Constitution Park highlight waterfront We’re back with the Iconic Norwalk Instagram contest. This year we’ve tweaked the categories and the #hashtag. So pay attention. If your account is private, we can’t see the entries. If you upload albums we can’t see all the entries, submit each photo individually. Follow the #IconicNorwalk2018 hashtag, and of course @norwalk2. Norwalk 2.0 announces the launch of Iconic Norwalk 2018, the second year of

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Join Us June 21

We’re celebrating the launch of the #iconicnorwalk exhibit on June 21st at the ArtWorks Gallery ont he Green from 6-8 PM. Please join us and see the project winners as well as over 840 images contributed to the project.  

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Iconic Norwalk 2018

With over 2500 images submitted over two years, this project has really highlighted the best places in Norwalk. Thank you to all the participants who submitted entries. Now the fun part, we are running the contest again in 2019. Come join us on May 17th at 6pm at the Norwalk Library to hear the details, and see the winning entries, plus all the rest of the entries.  See you there. [instagram-feed num=4 cols=4 showfollow=false] HOW TO ENTER 2019 VERSION Head over here.

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Connecticut’s Commission on Aging

Our field trip to the CT Main Street peacemaking workshop resulted in coverage over at the Connecticut Legislative Commission on Aging. Check out the article: At their April workshop, the Connecticut Main Street Center featured these “placemakers” — cities developing public spaces that attract people, build community by bringing people together, and create local identity. … In Norwalk, the folks from Norwalk 2.0  are the grassroots movers and shakers behind creative public spaces where people gather and connect. Using inexpensive strategies including a mural art trail, storefront dance, “fence art” and colorful adirondack chairs, Maribeth

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SONO Beach

Its been a long road to get a site for Norwalk’s first mobile arts center. The two Norwalk 2.0 pink shipping containers customized to be anything from workspace, an exhibit venue or performance space turned out to be the easy part. Locating a site, and then working on making the site work proved to be a bit more challenging. But we did it, and while we hoped we would be up and running during the summer, we instead turn to the fall as our launch

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Call For Artists

It is that time again, and we are looking for artists who would like to exhibit at SONO Beach, and at the SONO Arts Celebration. Let us know if you are interested by filling out a short form. The link is here.

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SONO Beach

Well it’s been awhile since we’ve updated our news feed with actual news. We have been busy building a beach. Yep, you read that right. We are in the process of creating an urban art beach, we’d like to think that it is the first of its kind in the world, but safe to say at least Connecticut and definitely Norwalk. Stay tuned, and here’s something to whet the appetite.  

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Spring into Music, Art, Food & Fun with the Artist Village

Spring into Music, Art, Food & Fun with the Artist Village Norwalk 2.0 unveils spring line up of downtown boosting programming In a true sense of spanning all multimedia options, Norwalk 2.0 announces several projects due for release this spring. As part of the kick off to all of the fun, Norwalk 2.0 will be showing the world premiere of the trailer for Norwalk’s Future: Right Here, Right Now, a documentary about the past, present and future of downtown Norwalk, filmed and produced by The

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Holiday Artists

We’re spouting up with our latest incarnation of the POP with a locally made and produced theme. Starting on Friday November 29th we are featuring pop ups with a local vibe. The lineup is below: Friday November 29th 10 am – 7pm The Kultjah Pop Up Shop Saturday November 30th 10 am – 7pm The Kultjah Pop Up Shop Sunday December 1 10am – 7pm The Kultjah Pop Up Shop Wednesday December 4 5:30 pm HoHo Yoga (free) with Melissa Slattery and Virginia Semeghini Friday

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Freese Park Concerts

A nice report on our Freese Park concert series. For 10 weeks Norwalk 2.0 sponsored live music in Freese Park. Thanks to David Lindsay, whose Tuesday Night Open Mic Jam brought musicians from all over Connecticut to perform in our downtown park.

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