During last few weeks PD workshops have been held at ‘Ibrasotope‘ (Instituto Brasileiro de Sonologia Toto Perros). Ricardo Palmieri held workshops on basic PD and PD for VJs.
Beginning of May PD international meeting ‘Primeiro Encontro De Puredata‘ will be hosted at same place. You can find a map here >>
USP is one of the biggest universities in Brazil besides UNICAMP in Campinas (both in Sao Paulo state). USP is established 1934. hosting more than 70 000 students and covers the area of 76 799 555 m2 with 4 museums and 4 hospitals. Here is the map >>
I was invited to give a lecture on artistic production in GentleJunk collective and to talk about art and culture in general at Escola de Comunica̤̣o e Artes РECA (School for Communication and Arts) on Friday 25th of April. As students were mainly from department of sculpturing, their professor and my host, Mario Ramiro invited me to present Circuit Bending as a way of handling electronic devices as objects. Discussion and lecture went on to many different questions including free culture, free media and ways of artistic production today.
At one moment a digital photo camera went in a circle so everyone got a chance to take one photo. This is a photolg of that little experiment >>
Lots of thenx to Rosa and Mario for giving me a chance to have this experience.
Após a semana de estudos em eletrônica e circuit bending, fomos participar do festival chamado Nepokoreni Grad, que quer dizer cidade não conquistada. Eles pretendem fazer um festival paralelo e alternativo ao da cerveja Karlovacko que realiza tipo um Skol Beats que fica lotado da plaibozada croata (eles estão em todo lugar) com atrações populares. Bem ficamos em um prédio que é cheio de ONGs, e a ONG que organiza esse festival é uma delas. A cena de diversos festivais que acontecem na Croácia patrocinados pela Ministério da Cultura de lá, e que no primeiro momento é bem empolgante, revelou poder ser bem artificial. Como dito, é impressionante a quantidade de festivais que conseguem grana por lá, para coisas não populares, tipo música experimental onde o público são os próprios organizadores (e isso é legal,
porque na verdade é grana pra fazer festa) . Mas para eles era mais importante que estivéssemos no catálogo e que recebecemos a ajuda de custo para constar na prestaçao de contas do que a nossa participação efetiva. E isso rendeu alguns momentos de estresse, pois no final da semana de estudos em eletrônica que você pode ver no pouste abaixo, rolou uma tensão por apresentar um produto nesse festival, apresentar
alguma coisa “consistente”. E isso estragou o final da semana que estava produtiva e divertida. E no final, nem valeu, porque os caras cagaram pra gente, e valia mais a pena ter continuado a pesquisa lá, como um laboratório aberto. Mas isso também levantou questões de como o onguismo (que teve um boom após a queda do comunismo por lá) e a busca por financiamentos governamentais e suas justificativas (os produtos artÃsticos) podem esvaziar processos e burocratizar relações em uma produção que pode ser coletiva. O perigo de cair nas teias da burocracia e ficar refém de financiamentos e planilhas eletrônicas, e deixar pra trás aquilo que a gente quer fazer realmente, integrar processos, produzir novas relações, destrinchar pensamentos. Em conversa com o Kruno depois, discutimos muito isso, porque ele percebeu bem nesse festival esse sistema funcionando. 
E ele faz parte disso. Mas identifica isso, e é um passo inicial pra ser crÃtico e criativo com essa situação. Questionamento válido pra Descentro e outras ONGs e Associações aonde tem galera que tá correndo atrás de fazer projetos por aÃ.
Mas emfim, em Karlovac, apesar de ter sido decepcionante nesse sentido, foi legal, pois montamos mais uma rádio no telhado, e fizemos uma festa para celebrar a morte do Toninho Malvadeza. Aquela coisa nossa com direito a muanba e hino ao reverso, troca de Cds Piratas. Tudo no pouste acima.
No final, também rolou uma reunião do Stanica MIR, a rede de web rádios de lá, eles estavam debatendo como melhor esquematizar o estrimingue deles (que tem só um ponto de montagem, que é usado por várias pessoas de diferentes cidades) com um softiuere chamado CampCaster. Vale uma estudada por aqui, pode ser interessante pra rede de rádios livres, pra trocar conteúdo.
Lá também, fizemos boas entrevistas com organizadores desse festival, e pessoas da Stanica MIR e de outras ONGs presentes.
This year’s MMKamp is all about the free travelling radio (or Putujuci Slobodni Radio) and our first stop was at the iSummit in Dubrovnik.
We set up the radio station, interviewed some iCommoners, set up an art performance about the value of money and free culture and had lot’s of fun at a radio party!
On sunday the Birds of a Feather session was held about structuring further Brazilian <-> Croatian free culture exchange. Only two people from the summit showed up, but we also had a couple of brazilians on-line (valeu cris e machado). With renewed ideas we think that this exchange is only going to get better!
PPC_T/Farkadona is an interdisciplinary, self-administrated collaborative project. It consists of a series of cultural activities, workshops, devices of interaction with territory and public events. Moreover, it focuses primarily on Emergency Case Situations as seen at the settlement of the repatriated community of Greek-Pontians from the former Soviet Union in Farkadona, in the district of Trikala, Thessaly-Greece.
The settlement was created in the early 90s as a result of a state policy of peripheral dispersion of refugees in organized camps and units. Fifteen years after their rehabilitation the residents of the community still live under conditions of degradation, ghettoization and “exception”.
Based on the significance of territory as a “reception” of human activity, PPC_T/Farkadona examines the ways in which the marginalized community can be rehabilitated and incorporated in the existing landscape, the local society and in the economic, cultural and political life. The material that will be presented at the exhibition is a result of our collaboration with the inhabitants of the community.
PPC_T/Farkadona is an interdisciplinary team that is based on collaborative actions together with an extended network of
collaborators, architects, artists and activists from Greece and abroad.
Digital policy coordinator of the Brazilian Ministry of Culture, Claudio Prado gives an overview of the digital culture department and how it works. Digital department looks on technology as a tool of social and cultural transformation.
On Thursday 05/04/07 an event has been organized by Drica Velose, Gastao Frota, Junia May Teixeira, Tanja Topolovec and Kruno Jost. Event was a collaborative work that included multimedia installation, audio and stage set, with digital visualization including feedback image.
During the evening some of the visitors followed Gastaos performance influence and started interacting with the visualization and stage set. In the atmosphere similar to Fluxus event, with naturally inborn feeling for interacting with the surrounding and taking part in action, visitors were discussing, reacting, taking part and helping with ongoing changes of the event.
Different possibilities for live audio performance were shown in softwe such as: Jack, Creox, Jack Rack, Freebirth, Mixx and Darksnow on Linux as well as Rektor and Battery in Windows. Basics of audio editing and recordning were done in Audacity and Ardour.
Preparation for the event that is planed for the weekend are in progress – sugesstion to make an interactive event, party and multimedi exhibition, all in one, went on to brainstorming with the group of artist and activists.
Possibilities of using digital video cameras, mobile devices, digital sound, software such sa Resolume for VJing, as well as analoug devices and recyicled material for scenography are all carefully scetched.
Alexandre Freire, one of the participants on the Upgrade!Salvador gives a 10 minute insight into history and preasent of the workgroup des).(centro.
During lat week of March 2007. a meeting was held in Salvador, Bahia. DesCentro members have met in order to make a firm base (functional as well as legislative) on further development of this network.
DesCentro is de-centralized organizational node of collaborative actions, inserted in broader context of Brazilian media activism. This context is formed by group of organizations, researchers, activists, teachers, hackers and artists coming from all regions of the country. More details on DesCentro.
Main DesCentro’s goal is to develop the methodological structural and approach to optimize network that has been working together for more than five years, avoiding the downsides of common institutionalization. Even the way DesCentro was established is deep criticism to the well-known NGO “show business”. Another situation DesCentro intends to provide is ways for people to carry out independent research and practice and still earn for their living, respecting the principles of collaboration, de-centralization, diversity and freedom.
History of DesCentro has been a collective work of different groups and collectives. Through meetings and online contacts good conections were established inside Brazil as well as in the world, mainly India and Netherlands. Members took part in events such as Media Tactica Brasil, Next5Minutes4 in Amsterdam, Alternative Law Forum and Submidialogia.
In October 2005. Submidialogia happened in Campinas, Brazil. A group formed by members of Metareciclagem, Tactical Media and SubmÃdia emerged and decided to work together within the perspective of developing an organizing node for the Brazilian critical media networks, in to order to promote the development of tactical media exchange and projects.
Invitation for international DesCenters
