When Systems Fail
Tuesday,
29 April 2014
1pm
(Helsinki Time)
6pm
(Manila Time)
7pm
(Tokyo Time)
An
online radio discussion on autonomous organizing systems addressing
alternatives to our consumerist culture with artists and organizers from
Manila, Tokyo, hosted by Korppiradio in Helsinki.
"When
Systems Fail" is a discussion on autonomous organizing systems in
Helsinki, Manila and Tokyo on the specific context of alternative solution and
direct action to our contemporary problems (Ecology, economy, politics). These
include discussions alternative to consumerist culture within the context of
the cities (Manila: Disaster Management/Haiyan, Tokyo: Nuclear Power/Fukushima,
Helsinki: autonomous food production and/or ecology-economy concepts).
As
human beings we are united in our own capacities for philosophy, science and
self-education. The ecological landscape that persists in our own
consumerist culture cannot be addressed by the pervading standards of our
current societal behaviors. As individuals, we do not find the urgency in
confronting and acting upon our current ecological crisis. As a
traditional neoliberal society, the focus is more on competition rather than
cooperation. A few collectives and individuals focus on the human beings
capacity for directly addressing and confronting our ecological crisis this may
include a community radio, book store, political writer, researcher or artist
which has directly worked on in an individual or collective capacity to foster
a cultural transformation for the self or the community directly.
The
focus of this discussion is on autonomous organizing systems in three different
cities (Helsinki, Manila and Tokyo) and their specific context of an
alternative solution and direct action to our contemporary problems (ecology,
economy, politics). Helsinki's resource person will be defined by the
purpose and platform of the discussion, Korppiradio, a community radio network
which operates autonomously without any censorship or intervention, dedicated
to creative cooperation not owned by anyone, and Mustarinda an organization
which fosters the relationship of art, economy and ecology. Manila's key people
are artists who are working on discussions and meetings on disaster and
survival as a sculptural project, as well as an important writer (Bas Umali),
who researched on pre-colonial concepts of autonomous organization as well as
an initiator for climate crises campaigns. Tokyo's participants will be
writers, artists, and organizers within the discussion of alternative actions
to nuclear actions since the Fukushima nuclear fallout.
The
discussion over the radio platform is an artistic endeavor, which in itself is
an autonomous organizing body on its own. The resource people include
artists and organizers that are recommended by community book stores and
infoshops in their pervading cities.
Profiles of Participants:
Korppiradio (Helsinki) is a community Radio in Helsinki located in
Vallila dedicated to creative cooperation not owned by anyone, or in any way
and cannot be privatized. Its operates autonomously without any
censorship or intervention. It has an emerging and growing audience consisting
of Helsinki residents, and young adults who are interested in local cultural
forms in the city engaged in a dynamic communication channel of critical art
forms, events, the Finnish Music scene, and healthy political dialog and media
analysis.
Paavo Järvensivu (Helsinki) is a postdoctoral researcher of economic culture.
He has taken part in the critical discussion on economic growth through various
events, lectures and writings. He is a member of Mustarinda, a nonprofit
organization founded in 2010 in Finland to foster ecological and cultural
diversity. Mustarinda investigates the cultural and socio-economical structures
of society, largely dominated by different aspects of the ecological crisis.
Since its founding, the organization has produced several fruitful
collaborations with professionals of art and research, taking part in the
residency program and in the variety of events and exhibitions organized by
Mustarinda.
Jong Pairez (Manila) is a media artist based between Manila and Tokyo.
He is the founder of Civilization Laboratory (CIV:LAB) a tactical space
dedicated to research and design sustainable and alternative living, acting as
a site to engage civilization and find ways to survive through shared
experiences of man-made and eco disasters.
England Hidalgo (Manila) is an artist based in Manila. His work discusses
the deluge of information and repetitiveness of "transferred"
symbolic meanings and recurring headlines in the news stands. He has also
created works for graphics and images in punk bands and records of flyers in
punk events in the Bay Area (San Francisco, US) and Manila, Philippines. He is
the founder of "Over and Out" a sculpture and concept for a
collapsible infoshop and library of Southeast Asian Zines.
Bas Umali (Manila) is writer and organizer makes strong contributions to the anarchist
movement in the Philippines. He is the founder of Onsite Infoshop and has
written the concept paper, "Re-emergence of Philippine Anarchism"
which combines the principles of the traditional Philippine communities, the barangays,
with a grassroots confederation. He is involved with mobile education
initiatives for flood awareness/preparation and climate crises campaign and
publications, and programs which apply solar technology to marginalized
communities.
Wataru Tsurumi (Tokyo) is a former magazine editor and author of the book
“The Complete Manual of Suicide (1993).” His recent book "Post Capitalism
Declaration" is a book that criticize global economy and the principle of
economic growth. Tsurumi is now living in Kunitachi, West Tokyo advocating
self-sufficiency and radical sustainable living by doing subsistence
agriculture and gardening. He is also very active in anti-nuclear actions.
Harpee Harada (Tokyo) is an activist, graphic designer and illustrator.
Along with her activist neighborhood in Kunitachi, West Tokyo they manage a
community garden and regularly run a flea market dubbed as "zero yen
market" – where people exchange goods using the principles of gift
economy.
Keisuke Narita (Tokyo) runs an anarchist infoshop in Tokyo named Irregular
Rhythm Asylum (IRA). The infoshop is located in the heart of Shinjuku and been
serving the anti-authoritarian communities since 2004. Narita is also a graphic
designer and organizer. He co-organized the No! G8 Infotour and designed its
graphics.
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