[-empyre-] Media lab as an open space

[Gisela Domschke]

Hi  All

During the years I taught in the MA Interactive Media programme of
Goldsmiths College I had students from various different backgrounds -  some
were more interested in experience design, others in media art, others in
hybrid forms. Each year I customised my course according to theirs
interests. However, one subject I never left out was digital activism. I
think it's important to remind  people about the strengh of technology as a
social tool.

LABMIS is part of a public institution, and I believe it will only be a
really meaningful space if it is open to the different communities that
might possibly be interested in using it as a creative meeting point. I am
inclined not to exercise a curating role, but rather let the public do it.
When we launched the space 20 days ago, we were still finishing the
infrastructure works in the mixing room and the auditorium. Since then, and
despite the dust,  we have already run five successful workshops. It's a joy
for me to see these moments when the second floor of the museum is alive.

I very much appreciate the value of independent organisations, which exist
for the efforts of volunteer immaterial labour. However, I don't believe
this implies the government shouldn't invest in "open spaces" where these
various autonomous nodes could meet up and interact. The work we are doing
here could be somehow labeled "volunteer immaterial labour", if we consider
the number of  hours our team is working. And although I understand the risk
we take by being part of an institution, I still believe we can make it
happen, as far as we treat it as the "open space" it should be.




Gisela Domschke
Head of LABMIS

www.mis-sp.org.br | tel +55 11 30629197
Av. Europa 158 | São Paulo | SP |  01449-000 | Brazil
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