Foo Conner Explained

Birth Date:8 September 1985
Birth Name:Andrew Conner
Birth Place:Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.
Years Active:2001–present
Known For:Occupy Wall Street, Randyland
Movement:Occupy
Father:Glenn Conner
Module:
Embed:yes
Channel Name:GreekGadgetGuru
Silver Year:2014
Silver Button:yes

Foo Conner (born September 8, 1985) is an American activist, entrepreneur, and journalist. He is known for his work on Occupy Wall Street, Randyland, Social journalism, and as a YouTube personality.[1]

Personal life

Foo Conner was born in Charleston, West Virginia. He grew up on a small subsistence farm right outside of the city in Mink Shoals, West Virginia. His father was a photojournalist for United Press International and taught Foo the craft at an early age.[1]

Although he has been called Foo since childhood, Conner officially changed his name to Foo in 2018.[2] Foo squats an otherwise abandoned house to advocate for housing rights.[1] Touring bands often play there.[3] In February 2016, babies born in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania were gifted prints of Foo's artwork.[4] Conner is a Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Carnegie Mellon University since 2020.[5]

Career

Conner got his start producing free punk rock festivals at Skatopia.[6] The anti-authoritarian atmosphere of his events caught the attention of Rolling Stone.[7] Upon hearing the call to protest, he became a core organizer for Occupy Wall Street movement speaking out against Economic inequality.[8]

On the weekends he co-hosts the G3AR YouTube channel, where they build super hero gadgets and test them similar to the Mythbusters. The channel has amassed over 600,000 subscribers.[1] [9]

In 2015, Conner became the co-director of Randyland, an outsider art museum promoting happiness.[10] [11] Leaning on his skills as a photographer, he overhauled Randyland into a Selfie Museum. His curation was wildly applauded. The New York Times described it as, "an expression of joy and an extraordinary piece of public art."[12] Conner left the museum in February 2020.[13]

Occupy Wall Street

In 2011, Foo helped plan the Occupy movement online.[14] He would move to Zucotti Park in the fall. Though a leaderless movement, Conner would be recognized as a core organizer [15] and speak on behalf of the movement.[16] During his time at Occupy, Conner played rolls in the social media strategy and coordinate street protests.[8] Towards the end, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chris Hedges told Conner, "a real activist would get into the news". Conner would use his experiences and that advice to go on to found Jekko, a news website covering current events and technology news.[9]

Journalism

Foo is a prolific journalist covering upwards of five hundred events a year through social media.[1] [17] Conner's society photography is reminiscent of late American photographer Bill Cunningham who took candid photos and traveled to events by bicycle.[18] The uniqueness of the style has led other society columns to occasionally mention if Conner attends an event.[19] [20] In 2016, he was nominated for Blogger of the Year at Style Week Pittsburgh.[21] He is known for his gonzo journalism "activistartist-journalist" style.[22] His work aims for a neutral point of view. This applies to his technology commentary too, which he has been doing for over a decade.[23] [24] [25]

Awards

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Old journalist meets new journalist. Ain't that tweet? . O'Neill . Brian . October 5, 2017 . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . February 25, 2019. Conner squats in an otherwise abandoned North Side house and bikes to about 600 events a year, shooting photos and writing for his website, Jekko.
  2. Cullen . Lynn . August 15, 2018 . Lynn Cullen Live with Foo Conner . Radio broadcast . Pittsburgh City Paper . 00:49 . February 25, 2019.
  3. Hughshows w/ Morgan Erina . February 14, 2019 . Hughshows . Hugh . Twyman . PCTV 21 . 6 April 2016 . 1 . 2 . 19:30 . English.
  4. Web site: Start with Art . Malak . Lisa . Allen . Shaina . Jul 21, 2016 . WFRV . March 20, 2019 .
  5. Web site: April Foo's Day Proclamation. 1 April 2022. Allegheny County. 13 October 2022. He has collected and preserved local culture;.
  6. Web site: Silver Eye's Photo Exhibits Tell Strong Stories . Trib Staff . January 17, 2015 . Pittsburgh Tribune-Review . March 20, 2019 . Foo Conner, former event organizer for Skatopia....
  7. Welcome to Skatopia: Eighty-Eight Acres of Anarchy in the USA . Binelli . Mark . August 1, 2008 . Rolling Stone . February 25, 2019.
  8. Book: Gerbaudo, Paolo . October 11, 2012 . Tweets and the Streets: Social Media and Contemporary Activism . j.ctt183pdzs.8 . Pluto Press . 129 . Chapter 4: The Laborious Adding Up to the 99% . 978-0745332482. Foo Conner, one of the core organizers, managed to leave before police encircled the camp. After meeting up with others at the office space, Conner helped direct the dispersing crowd to a common re-gathering area..
  9. News: The Tao of Foo: How this Northside entrepreneur Uses Tech to Build Community . Green . Ashlee . February 1, 2019 . The Northside Chronicle . 35 . 2 . February 25, 2019 . February 28, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190228024558/http://www.thenorthsidechronicle.com/the-tao-of-foo-how-this-northside-entrepreneur-uses-tech-to-build-community/ . dead .
  10. News: Randyland, an ever-changing art space with a familiar face . Bonk . Carley . June 29, 2018 . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . February 25, 2019.
  11. News: After Randyland's Namesake Loses Partner, Friends Chip in with Crowdfunding . Hanz . Joyce . January 28, 2019 . Tribune Review . February 26, 2019.
  12. Web site: Built on Steel, Pittsburgh Now Thrives on Culture. Peterson. Lucas. 12 April 2017. The New York Times. 13 October 2022. expression of joy and an extraordinary piece of public art..
  13. Web site: Randyland 'therapy museum' honored with Mayor's Public Art Award. Eberson. Sharon Eberson. 18 June 2019. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 13 October 2022. Mr. Conner, the co-director of Randyland for the past four years, received the award.
  14. News: Occupy Movement Holds National Gathering in Philadelphia . Clozel . Lalita . July 4, 2012 . The Daily Pennsylvanian . February 25, 2019 . "Foo Conner, who helped plan the initial Occupy Wall Street movement on the internet.".
  15. News: Wall-Street-Rebell bläst zum Banken-Sturm . Bauernebel . Herbert . October 19, 2011 . Bild . German . February 25, 2019 . "One of the leaders of the Occupy movement, the media consultant Foo Conner".
  16. News: . Occupy Wall Street Protesters Return To Zuccotti Park After Thousands-Strong Times Square Turnout . Associated Press . New York, NY . October 15, 2011 . February 14, 2019.
  17. News: NEXT Up: Foo Conner . Baron . Jennifer . September 14, 2014 . NEXT Pittsburgh . February 25, 2019.
  18. Web site: Foo Conner, New Media Pioneer of Pittsburgh . Watson . Aaron . October 9, 2017 . Going Deep with Aaron Watson . February 26, 2019 . February 26, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190226234131/https://www.goingdeepwithaaron.com/podcast/252-foo-conner-new-media-pioneer-of-pittsburgh . dead .
  19. Web site: City's Plan for Strip Flummoxes Vendors . Trib Staff . September 20, 2014 . Pittsburgh Tribune-Review . March 20, 2019.
  20. Web site: Mattress Factory Celebrates 40th Anniversary . PQ Staff . June 18, 2017 . Pittsburgh Quarterly . March 20, 2019.
  21. Web site: Style Week Pittsburgh heads Downtown for annual Style Awards . Bauknecht . Sara . August 20, 2016 . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . March 20, 2019 . August 25, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170825110437/http://blogs.post-gazette.com/living/stylebook/47235-style-week-pittsburgh-heads-downtown-for-annual-style-awards . dead .
  22. The Art and Soul of Pittsburgh . Heilman . Jeff . August 7, 2018 . Passport . February 25, 2019 . Conner, an activistartist-journalist with punk-vagabond spirit.
  23. News: Coming to Grips With Lugging an iPad . 8. Lee . Jennifer . December 15, 2010 . The New York Times . February 25, 2019.
  24. Web site: 16 Experts Predict the Future of Virtual Reality . Shah . Nidhi . May 14, 2016 . Arkenea . February 26, 2019.
  25. Web site: Apple or Android? For Software Developers, it's Usually Both at Work, One at Heart. . Linder . Courtney . January 28, 2019 . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. February 26, 2019.

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