[-empyre-] Fwd: 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
their interests. However, one subject I never left out was digital
activism. I think it's important to remind  people about the strength
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