Celebrating Creativity, Computation, and Culture: Street Code Jam Fest

​The inaugural Street Code Jam Fest, hosted by the Center for Creative Entrepreneurship at 2112 Chicago celebrated the talent, creativity, and culture of young people working at the intersection of music and computer code. The ​James R. Jordan Foundation was a proud community partner for the event.

Making Waves With Music Coding

Izaiah Wallace, a PhD candidate at Northwestern University brought the Street Code Jam Fest to life with the help of the ​TIDAL Lab research group, which is part of the School of Education and Social Policy and the Department of Computer Science in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Wallace's interest in combining computation with creativity launched a series of Coded Beats Club after school sessions at partner CPS schools in partnership with the James R. Jordan Foundation.

Pictured Above: Izaiah Wallace at the Street Code Jam Fest
Photo Credit: Carolina Sanchez (www.carofotos.com)

The James R. Jordan Foundation collaborated heavily with Northwestern University Professor and JRJF Advisory Board Member, Dr. Michael Horn, to provide students at partner schools with access to the technology needed to ensure they could engage during the virtual Coded Beats Club sessions.

During Coded Beats Club sessions students learned how to use TunePad. TunePad is a learning platform that combines music creation with python computer programming. Kids express themselves creatively by remixing popular music or coding their own beats from scratch. Whether it's connecting to the internet or needing an iPad to use, the James R. Jordan Foundation believes that it is imperative that every student has equal access to learning opportunities like the Coded Beats Club.

The Coded Beats Club culminated with Street Code Jam Fest on June 12, 2021

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Watch the Event's Livestream Here:

During the event, students presented music videos with a focus on computation, culture, and creativity. Students also got the chance to tour a real music studio space used by music producer Bravo, and hear from other tech leaders and creatives based right here in Chicago.  And you can't forget the raffle with Beats Headphones, the perfect prize for a future music producer.

Pictured Above: 8th Grade Students from William H. Brown, Deion and Omar, make beats with music producer Bravo at the Street Code Jam Fest
Photo Credit: Carolina Sanchez (www.carofotos.com)
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The inaugural Street Code Jam Fest event was hosted at 2112 Chicago in partnership with many great organizations, foundations, and schools:

• Project Exploration
• Digital Youth Divas
• R. Nathaniel Dett Elementary School
• Sherman School of Excellence
• William H. Brown Elementary School
• Jordan Community Elementary School
• Henry H. Nash Elementary School
• Austin College and Career Academy High School

Funders for the event included the Verizon Foundation, My CHI. My Future, 
and the National Science Foundation (grants DRL-1837661). ​

Pictured Above: Students and families from CPS partner schools with Dr. Horn and Izaiah Wallace.
Photo Credit: Carolina Sanchez (www.carofotos.com)

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