----------empyre- soft-skinned space---------------------- Carol, Many thanks for writing about your projects with Concert-Urbain. This is a quick post but could you give us a bit more information about how the association works? What is your role? Who innovates the ideas that are supported? Thanks! Renate
On Sat, May 4, 2013 at 6:55 AM, Carol-Ann *Braun <carolannbr...@free.fr> wrote: > ----------empyre- soft-skinned space---------------------- > Hello to all - nice to participate this first week of May in a discussion on > the balancing act between artistic activism and "real time alliances"Šor, as > I understand it: the ³wicked problem of designing for social change" ? > (Ritter, early 70¹s!) > > > The projects of our association, Concert-Urbain, based in Paris, are at the > frontier between design and social work. Our software development, > prototypes, ateliers, shows, conferences, have been enabled by the French > government. Exceptionally motivated functionaries have helped us with > budgets, ateliers, reports from the field. They have been our business > angels in the launching of an ³art-start-up². > > > In France, government policies contribute extensively to innovation in the > arts. The policies reflect the programs of thousands of citizen's > associations, some run by activists in what is called here ³l¹education > populaire², ie, schooling for the people by the people (the movement is > vast, at the heart of France¹s social fabric). > > > Our design challenge includes interlocutors at every level of society. This > entails a special kind of salesmanship: choosing modest words to describe > what you want to do as an artist; adapting technology to existing > educational methodologies; answering questions others have asked; getting > elected officials to define and then accept the risks digital technologies > might represent for them; saving face when no one answers the call to > participate... The negotiation process is long-term, with changing > interlocutors as time goes by. It is painstakingŠand sometimes just a royal > pain. It also brings esthetic breakthroughs of particular significance to an > artist working with digital technologies. > > > I have several examples of collaborations and collective initiatives that I > can share with you. Each raises different issues: > > > 1. A collective fiction, with a chat space at its core: carried by officials > in the city of Troyes who wanted to bring city employees and citizens > together around a shared ³multimedia² project. > > > 2. Measuring utopia: an art project on the subject of happiness, with a > methodology that involves an alternative approach to data-base design. Our > main partner: the CIRASTI, a federation of associations to engage kids in > scientific projects. > > > 3. An urban renewal initiative by the Conseil general du Val de Marne, that > includes an on-line debating platform designed to include those who suffer > from intellectual disabilities. It is linked to the "participatory design" > of neighborhoods by including inhabitants > (see http://www.maitrisedusage.eu/). > > More on its way throughout the coming week, > > > Carol-Ann BRAUN > Association Concert-Urbain > http://concerturbain.wordpress.com/ > > le 04/05/13 06:37 Renate Ferro r...@cornell.edu wrote: > >> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space---------------------- >> We are most grateful to Ana Valdes for agreeing to guest moderate the >> May discussion with Tim Murray and myself and welcome her back to >> -empyre- as a guest moderator. We also wish to thank Erin Manning who >> has agreed to make the transition from last month's discussion to this >> month highlighting The Sense Lab. Erin will be making a few posts >> specifically about her own experiences with collaboration. She will >> be joined by Carol-Ann Braun. Biographies for Week One guests are >> below. We look forward to the month with you. >> >> >> Tim Murray and Renate Ferro >> >> >> Week 1: >> >> Erin Manning (CA) is a philosopher, visual artist and dancer, and is >> currently a University Research Chair at the Faculty of Fine Arts, >> Concordia University, Montreal. She is also a founder and director of >> The Sense Lab, an interdisciplinary laboratory on research, creation >> and an international network focusing on intersections between >> philosophy and art through the sensing body in motion. Erin Manning >> received her Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Hawaii >> (2001) and has been teaching philosophy, political theory, visual >> studies, cultural studies, and film theory. She is a member of the >> editorial board for the online journal Inflexions and the author of >> works on movement and ephemerality, for which she frequently >> collaborates with Brian Massumi. >> >> Carol-Ann BRAUN (US/FR) is a Paris-based American artist who has been >> working with digital technologies since 1985. Her work ranges from >> still images to animations to interactive immersive text-based >> environments (inner-media.org). Closely affiliated with the Atelier du >> CUBE (lecube.com ), she has extended her artistic practice beyond >> esthetics to include ³social media². The first prototypes involved >> chat spaces as a search engine. This led to the design of polling >> technology (http://cie.acm.org/articles/braun-phones-kids/). Last >> month Concert-Urbain launched a poetic polling platform on the subject >> of happiness: lebonheurbrutcollectif.org. The project¹s intention is >> to find contribute to defining new criteria for measuring the >> ineffable nature of happiness...It will be gathering momentum over the >> next three years. The Ministry of Culture and the Region Ile de France >> have taken a particular interest in ³Le Bonheur Brut Collectif, ² >> which is also being followed by a research team at the CNAM >> (Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers), Paris. >> >> >> -- >> >> Renate Ferro >> Visiting Assistant Professor of Art >> Cornell University >> Department of Art, Tjaden Hall Office #420 >> Ithaca, NY 14853 >> Email: <r...@cornell.edu> >> URL: http://www.renateferro.net >> http://www.privatesecretspubliclies.net >> Lab: http://www.tinkerfactory.net >> >> Managing Co-moderator of -empyre- soft skinned space >> http://empyre.library.cornell.edu/ >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empyre >> _______________________________________________ >> empyre forum >> empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au >> http://www.subtle.net/empyre > > > _______________________________________________ > empyre forum > empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au > http://www.subtle.net/empyre -- Renate Ferro Visiting Assistant Professor of Art Cornell University Department of Art, Tjaden Hall Office #420 Ithaca, NY 14853 Email: <r...@cornell.edu> URL: http://www.renateferro.net http://www.privatesecretspubliclies.net Lab: http://www.tinkerfactory.net Managing Co-moderator of -empyre- soft skinned space http://empyre.library.cornell.edu/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empyre _______________________________________________ empyre forum empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au http://www.subtle.net/empyre
