When Systems Fail
Tuesday, 29 Apr
il 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.
The program is part of the research and curatorial residency HICP of Lian Ladia (Manila, Philippines) at HIAP/Frame.
Online Radio Streaming at http://korppiradio.net/
“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.
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.
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.