PICNIC '09 KICKS OFF THE FIRST

CREATIVE SALON IN NEW YORK

Amsterdam, 25 June 2009 – PICNIC will be hosting the first edition of PICNIC Salon New York on Monday, 29 June 2009 in New York City. This one-day gathering will unite top creatives, brand innovators and thought leaders from Amsterdam and New York to promote creative and commercial collaboration between the two cities.

PICNIC Salon New York is a gathering of city officials, major brands, and cutting-edge creative minds from the Netherlands and New York. Participants include Waag Society (NL), Mediamatic (NL), Heineken (NL), Eyebeam (NY), Ogilvy (NY), Johnson & Johnson (NL) and Nike (OR), plus over 140 other creative innovators.

The program for PICNIC Salon New York will kick-off with a welcome keynote from the Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam, Carolien Gehrels. The guest keynote speaker will be Russell Shorto, the author of "The Island at the Center of the World" and contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. Shorto will focus on bridging the gap from historical to digital collaboration. Other featured speakers include Kevin Slavin of New York’s leading game design studio Area/Code, Ben Cerveny, Senior Strategist at Stamen Design and Michael Johnson of Pixar Animation Studios. The program will also include a special presentation from the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge and a closed creative workshop focusing on the future of digital cities, bringing together top designers and innovators from New York and Amsterdam think tanks.

"This creative workshop is the first of its kind," says Marleen Stikker, Director of Waag Society. "PICNIC is all about creative collaboration and mutual business opportunities. The conversation about the future of these two creative cities will start in New York and continue on September 23-25 in Amsterdam, during PICNIC '09."

PICNIC Salon New York is associated with NY400, a full year of special events, exhibits and activities celebrating the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's arrival in what is now New York City on the Dutch ship "Halve Maen." NY400 is an opportunity to build upon the shared history and enduring friendship between the Netherlands and the United States.

PICNIC Salon New York is made possible by the support of our partners: Amsterdam Partners, amsterdam inbusiness, Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and G-Star International.