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Symposium:
Session Title:
- Share Workers: The Techniques and Meanings of Sustainable Digital Networking – Open Discussion
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Abstract:
Chair Person: Charlotte Frost
Presenters: Bridget McKenzie, Jack Hutchinson, Dougald Hine, Marcus Romer & Ruth CatlowThe information sharing abilities of the internet has vastly extended a pre-existing capacity among artists to communicate with each other about their work and lifestyles. With the arrival of social media and the wave of internet use known as Web 2.0, the ability to share has grown exponentially, becoming a subject in and of itself, and generating experts in the techniques and meanings of sharing. And now, economic down-turn and drastic cuts to funding, these free networks have become invaluable for helping people sustain their practice. This panel brings together a set of experts in the practical and theoretical use of digital networks and infrastructures for sharing. Working across a range of areas from visual art to music, performance and beyond, they are united by their use of collaborative digital tools and driven by their propensity for positive social change. From consolidating connections between artists and arts policy-makers to rewiring our educational and economic circuitry, this panel has collectively developed a wealth of skills for reaching out to others through technology. After an introduction from the panel chair, participants will each be given ten minutes to describe the projects and practices that comprise their ‘share work’. Following this, the chair will question them on the intricacies of what they do as well as its impact on the wider art world – a field not normally known for its inclusiveness. As a group they will unpack successful models (alongside some of the inevitable obstacles) to ‘share working’, addressing both the very practical – as well as some of the philosophical – implications of openness in an advanced information age.