[NetBehaviour] The strange tale of Rhizome and its Arts Council funding (better version)

[Ana Valdés]

I was the "inmigrant" alibi in all those funding organizations and I accepted after discussions with many comrades. I felt at the beginning I was used but I did my best to take to the surface alternative anarchist individuals or groups unknown for the most of my colleagues.
I was not among the ones taking decisions but one of the consults they hired to broad their knowledge and get to know other groups.
But all these organizations, Rhizome, the Thing or Eyebeam, Turbulence (it has been quite silent from them now, maybe they tired), Furtherfield itself, are part of the history of digital Arts and should be kept afloat with public money, the same money the councils or the EU spend lavishly in Le Louvre, Tate or el Prado.
Ana

Skickat från min iPhone

> 30 okt 2013 kl. 15:10 skrev marc garrett <marc.garrett at furtherfield.org>:
> 
> Hi Ana,
> 
> I have been thinking about this a lot today,
> 
> The article itself on emprica and the hacking was interesting. But I'm 
> not sure who this really serves.
> 
> We live in strange, horrible & difficult neo-liberal times - and if 
> anything happens that brings about possible forms of emancipation beyond 
> the branding of the more highly marketed, mainstream art culture 
> dominating this world, I'm happy with that - the more the merrier.
> 
> I do not know how it all went at the Barbican with Rhizome on the day. I 
> hope it all went well :-)
> 
> If we deconstruct too much what other individuals & groups are doing 
> without looking at the bigger picture, we are in danger of being 
> oppositional with the wrong things for the wrong reasons. And creating 
> the conditions of what the left (in the UK) used to do a lot, which was 
> pull each other down and lose sight of the greater issues that they 
> could collaborate on, and collectively critique.
> 
> I may have misgivings regarding Rhizome's past antics with its 
> relationship with its community in the early days, but I actually like 
> their current articles & not everyone should be the same as each other 
> anyway.
> 
> Furtherfield also gets funding from the Arts Council and we are trying 
> to find other avenues of income to survive. I'm not going to have a go 
> at them, when we have been supported by them to do all the great stuff 
> we do.
> 
> Yes, the Arts Council did cut the arts, and it was sad to see groups 
> like Mute, Access Space & many others lose their funding - which I am 
> still unhappy about to this day. However, the motives behind these cuts 
> were imposed by the current libcondem government who through their shock 
> and awe strategy of blaming the people for the bankers crisis, decided 
> to hurt others with austerity cuts which is shameful, of course.
> 
> I would hate to be put in the position to deciding these things. 
> sometimes, we can view things too simply and react too quickly.
> 
> And I don't mean you Ana, I mean 'myself' & others.
> 
> wishing you well.
> 
> marc
> 
> -- 
> --->
> 
> A living - breathing - thriving networked neighbourhood -
> proud of free culture - claiming it with others ;)
> 
> Other reviews,articles,interviews
> http://www.furtherfield.org/reviews.php
> 
> Furtherfield – online arts community, platforms for creating, viewing,
> discussing and learning about experimental practices at the
> intersections of art, technology and social change.
> http://www.furtherfield.org
> 
> Furtherfield Gallery – Finsbury Park (London).
> http://www.furtherfield.org/gallery
> 
> Netbehaviour - Networked Artists List Community.
> http://www.netbehaviour.org
> 
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> 
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