The AIR InSILo call for the round 2022/23 aims to meditate on the present state of technology. The task of the residence – which is a space, an entity, a future community that urges us to be aware of issues of consumption, energy, climate, and equality in a non-capitalist way – is to provide a proper environment that can maximally render the potential of the invited artists. But if we speak about technology, which strategy to choose? We focus on and put the clash of two approaches, degrowth and acceleration, in the centre of our discussion.
This time, we decided not to write a lengthy curatorial statement but rather to let the thoughts flow using the form of a dialogue that opens up the concepts in an accessible way. The full version of this text is published in the InSILo Mag. And please, check our Telegram Channel to find the reference sources.
The development of every single technology we use was spurred by weapon technology. War has, for a long time, seduced thinking as the most efficient way to speed up progress and get rid of all redundant. Let’s assume that this type of thinking is profoundly wrong at its core. Avoiding libidinal drives of military complexes, we will focus on the left accelerationism that has proposed its way of thinking about technology as something that should serve society, not corporations.
We focus our attention on the idea of the radical democratization of technology, on control of the society, not corporations, over technologies. But we see a significant problem in the generic division of accelerationism and degrowth, considering it narrow-minded to perceive accelerationism as speeding up, as identical mistakenly to perceive degrowth as slowing down. What if we perceive accelerationism as intensification? The most crucial proposal will be to point to the intensification of thinking. Whereas by ‘slowing down’ we could mean reconsideration of time and speed and purpose of labour, production and consumption.
For the AIR InSILo call, the term intensity starts to bridge several essential aspects and finally unwraps them to the state of playfulness: a condition of liberated mind containing action at its core, a clear drive, and strong potency, which to remain such has to be secured by a particular economic condition. Funny enough, the adepts of degrowth and acceleration have a consensus: commons, basic income and communal currencies have their general idea that the distribution of an economy’s wealth must begin by ensuring that everyone has ‘enough’ to live with dignity.
AIR InSILo is looking for artistic and curatorial contributions :
– Which work with, use, and critically discuss technology in an Anti-Promethean and anti-capitalist way, and in this sense, can bridge the gap between accelerationist and degrowth concepts;
– Have the idea of intensity at their core, in its meaning of work devoted to sustenance, reproduction, relations and the creation of a proper umwelt for playfulness;
– Which are based on or integrating awareness and care as a substantial part of artistic practice;
– Which intensify thinking and slow down the speed and purpose of labour, production and consumption;
– Which can disenchant economics and consider ecological, social, political, a.o. dimensions as a base of artistic practice;
– Which can contribute to the sustainability of the residency by involving different levels of socio-technical innovation.
AIR InSILo provides:
– Free stay in AIR InSILo;
– Travel costs from 100 Euros up to 600 Euros;
– Honorarium from 500 to 975 Euros;
– Production costs up to 525 Euros;
– Opportunity to come with partners or/and children;
– Per Diem 30 Euros/ day for the short-term residency;
– Transport costs from 75 to 150 Euros;
– Usage of the facilities provided by the AIR InSilo, an opportunity to make purchases up to 3000 Euros;
– Featuring in the InSilo Magazine;
– PR support by the digital means of AIR InSilo.
DEADLINE JUNE 20, 16:00 (CEST)