[wsfii-discuss] ENGAGED ENGINEERING: THE POLITICS AND AESTHETICS OF COMMUNITY WIRELESS NETWORKS [workshop]

Sun Aug 19 23:42:03 UTC 2007

hi!

i will coordinate this workshop in Bratislava at the end of the month,
on the theory and praxis of wireless networks. join us if you are
around.. :)

http://13m3.sk/?id=749#en

--
maxigas at anargeek.net
Indymedia / IMC Hungary [indy.media.hu]
Kitchen Budapest [www.kitchenbudapest.hu]
Zöld Pók / Green Spider [www.zpok.hu]

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ENGAGED ENGINEERING: THE POLITICS AND AESTHETICS OF COMMUNITY
	WIRELESS NETWORKS [workshop]

Facilitator: Maxigas (hu) 

Date: 27 – 29 August

Language: English (sorry for the hegemony)

Workshop structure

The workshop aims to combine hands-on tinkering with theoretical
discussion. We build an interesting wireless network on site (bring
routers!) and make it visible through installations. The idea is that
the horizontal/rhizomatic structure of a mesh network is both
politically desirable and aesthetically pleasing.

During the discussions we will focus on the political economy of the
network as a medium. Community wireless networks can change the
ownership regime of Internet infrastructure and they can be examples
of self-organisation and projects for a self-sustaining autonomous
life. They are good breeding environments for community created
culture and a threat to the alienated subjectivity of neoliberal
capitalism. 

In a mesh there are no clients and hosts, or masters and slaves; but
the routing is resolved by the cooperation of equal devices. However,
in real life Temporarily Autonomous Zones are under constant siege by
the powers-that-be, so our network will also have a hierarchical part
where it connects to the backbone. Think of it (if you can) as an
allegorical puppet play with network packets.

We connect several nodes with self-built cantennas and set up a mesh
network extending the already existing hierarchical Internet
infrastructure. We set up a file server and a captive portal on the
local area network. Experimenting with different setups, we learn the
ways of the airwaves.

At this point, the services are there for the people to use for free!
But how do they know it? How they realise the possibility in the
present situation? How is it possible to express the beauty of a
horizontal structure? *We have to make the invisible visible!* 

Gathering the data which flows in the ditches we have built and
subverted, we will try to give physical form to the airwaves. The
tools for that are based on the different affinities of the
participants. We can use sculptures, real-time architecture, audio and
video, and even text messages...

The result of the workshop are public art installations which
visualise network traffic and propagise network services. 

Participants

The project is founded on the artist-geeker unity, but architects are
not left out either. Linux hackers are robotic sculptors more than
welcome. Bring your own wireless / media / computing / building
equipment. If we cannot combine different skills, proficiency levels
and interests, we are doomed to failure!

Number of places: 10

About facilitator

A cyberpunk and anarchist studying aesthetics, film, English and
squatting. He is boiling his evil plan to take over the world in the
Kitchen Budapest, and the ingredients are the Internet, wireless
networking, independent media and the Multitude. The plan of his
project for a community wireless network is here. When he grows up he
wants to be a hacker.