New Website for Art-Activism and Inflatables

Hey Ho,

I made a new website for old- and new artivist inflatable projects.
Please check out:

Tools for Action (www.toolsforaction.net) .

all the best,

Artur

Some useful questions approaching activist art: Stephen Duncombe and Steve Lambert

an inspiring and clarifying read, check it out:

'...we don’t have a developed vocabulary with which to understand,
and criteria with which to evaluate, political art and activist artists.
In an effort to develop a language and criteria with which artistic
activism can be usefully criticized,
we offer the following seven questions for the critic to consider.'

-Stephen Duncombe & Steve Lambert

http://artisticactivism.org/2012/10/an-open-letter-to-critics-writing-about-political-art/

Giant inflatable 'Hungarian Orange' at the Milla Demonstration and in the hungarian right wing TV

The lemon is referring to an old hungarian film about socialist times
where the commander wants an orange. As oranges where rare and the last
one is accidentally eaten, they gave him a lemon, saying:
"this is an hungarian orange - its a bit yellow, a bit savour, but it's
ours." and the commander eats it. 

The hungarian orange became a well-known joke all over hungary and
became politicised, as the ruling hungarian party Fidesz, has an orange
circle as its symbol.

Thats why we decided to take the Hungarian orange as a symbol for the
gap between the current political promises and hungarian reality.

Támadás a felfújt magyar narancs ellen

Budapest, 2012.10.23

Támadás a felfújt magyar narancs ellen

Magyar és külföldi művészek és aktivisták közreműködésével készült el a
magyarországi politikai megmozdulások történetének eddigi legnagyobb
transzparense, ami ráadásul háromdimenziós: egy 'magyar narancs'.


Az aktivisták csatlakoztak a Békemenethez a Kossuth téren, hogy
egyértelműen és megkérdőjelezhetetlenül kifejezzék a politikai
kommunikáció és a társadalmi valóságok közötti óriási különbségeket, egy
óriási, öt méter átmérőjű transzparenssel.


A békemenet néhány résztvevője dühösen támadt a "magyar narancsra".
Megdöbbentő, hogy ilyen heves és negatív reakciót váltott ki egy
felfujható szobor. Jogosan felmerül a kérdés; miért olyan feszültek az
emberek, hogy egy éretlen narancs ilyen gyors, ellenséges reakciót
váltson ki belölük?  - kérdezte Kiss Beáta, az egyik résztvevő müvész.

"A magyar narancs üzenete az volt, hogy felhívja a figyelmet a
mindenkori és egyben a jelenlegi pártpolitikai propaganda és a megélt
mindennapok különbözöségére. Mint külföldön élő magyar állampolgárt,
felkavarnak az itthoni változások, ezért próbáltam meg tenni valamit. A
felfújható szobor az eclectic electric collective budapesti
workshopjának végeredménye."
- Artúr van Balen, az eclectric electric collective tagja.



Video Links: https://vimeo.com/52027937



További információ:

Rónai Péter
06202018958

Artur van Balen
inflammable-glove@riseup.net


eclectic electric collective
www.eclectic-electric-collective.blogspot.com

Interview No Plaza, Budapest

Készíts felfújható szobrot a MüSziben!

A workshop célja, hogy felfújható utcaköveket és egyéb 3 dimenziós tüntetőtábla-objektumokat hozzunk létre az október 23-ai “Egy Millióan a magyar Sajtószabadságért” tüntetésre. Ez egy ingyenes kreatív aktivizmus workshop az eclectic electric kollektív-töl.

Szeretnénk nektek megmutatni, hogyan lehet egyszerű eszközök és olcsó anyagok, mint ponyva, kétoldalú ragasztó és a szelepként funkcionáló pet-palack segítségével felfújható szobrokat készíteni, hogy későbbi akcióitokon saját üzeneteiteket is meg tudjátok formálni. Müszi forradalmi workshop interjú Artúr van Balennel, a workshop szervezőjével.

Az eclectic-electric collective egy nemzetközi csapat, hogyan kerültetek kapcsolatba egymással?

2008-ban kezdtük Skóciában Jakob Simcikkel; a Glasgow School of Art művészeti főiskolán tanultunk, és kapcsolatba kerültünk különböző természetvédelmi csoportokkal. Angliában nagyon frissen, érdekes módon tüntettek: különböző akciókat csináltak, amivel felkeltették a média figyelmét. Ez nekünk nagyon inspiráló volt, sok viccel, humorral együtt. Az egész testükkel vettek részt az akciókban, nemcsak álldogáltak az utcán. Láttuk, hogy milyen nagy a média szerepe a tiltakozásokban. Így kezdődött, velük együtt csináltuk az akcióinkat, elmentünk Koppenhágába a klímavédelmi tüntetésre, utána Mexikóban szintén klímavédelmi tüntetés volt, amire nem tudtunk elmenni, de szerettük volna kifejezni velük a szolidaritásunkat. Ezért készítettünk egy 12 méteres felfújható kalapácsot, amit beletettünk egy kofferbe, és elküldtük egy mexikói klímavédelmi csoportnak, és ez az ottani tüntetés szimbólumává vált.

A művészet nem a realitás tükre, hanem egy kalapács, amivel alakíthatod.  

Erős kezdet volt, nemzetközi hír lett: Németországban, Mexikóban, Angliában a híradóban szerepelt. Azóta is csináljuk ezeket a felfújható szobrokat tüntetésekre, és új megközelítést szeretnénk, hogy szórakozás, vidám dolog legyen elmenni egy tüntetésre, mert fontos, hogy milyen médiamegjelenést érünk el ezzel. Többféle funkciója van a felfújható szobroknak. A kulcsfogalom a „taktikus frivolitás.” Az egész ötlet a felfújható szobrokban erős vizualitást képvisel: nagy, de mégis nagyon könnyű.

Hogyan merült fel, hogy e konkrét tüntetés kapcsán megszervezitek ezt a workshopot?

Voltam egy Politics of small act wokshopon Lipcsében – arról szólt, hogy mi történik mostanában Magyarországon. Ott volt a Milla, A város mindenkié, a Hallgatói Hálózat. Az emberek apatikusak, nem érdeklődnek a politika iránt, nagyon nehéz őket mobilizálni, hogy kimenjenek az utcára, de évente kétszer, március 15-én és október 23-án azért sikerül, és mivel a Milla szevezi ezt a tüntetést, gondoltam, jövünk segíteni. Nekem személyesen azért is érdekes, mert félig holland, félig magyar vagyok, megnézzük, hogy amit csináltunk Németországban, Angliában, hogyan működik Magyarországon, milyen lesz a reakció a művészeti aktivizmusra. Emelett nagyon fontos a kapcsolatok építése, több ember összejön együtt, és ezáltal egy csapat jön létre.

Mennyire művészet és mennyire politika ez?

Szerintem nem kell szétválasztani a kettőt, mint ahogy a művészetet sem az élettől.

Olvasom a müszi honlapján a workshop kapcsán, hogy "3 dimenziós tüntetőtábla objektumok" ez elég rejtélyesen hangzik. mit takar ez a kifejezés?

Berlinben május elsejére 3x3x3 méteres felfújható kockákat csináltunk; ez az utcai kockakövet jelképezte az ottani kontextusban. A berlini tüntetéseket 25 éve a média úgy mutatja be, hogy a tüntetők kockaköveket dobálnak, ami egy médiasztori, konstruált kép. Ezért találtuk ki, hogy fújjuk fel kockakövet levegővel, megmutatni mennyire abszurd ez és ezzel dobálóztunk. De Budapest más közeg. A többi legyen meglepetés.

Magának az aktivizmusnak, magának a tárgyaknak volt-e, van-e visszhangja?

A mexikóinál  a tárgy irányította rá a tüntetésre a figyelmet és reméljük itt is így lesz. De az a fontos, hogy a tiltakozásokat máshogy is meg lehet élni, mint ahogy eddig, interaktívabban. Nem akarjuk megkülönböztetni melyik vonatkozás a fontosabb. Mi csak azt szeretnénk megmutatni, hogy a tüntetések lehetnek interaktívabbak, és másképp lehessen részt venni rajtuk.

A tüntetés néhány óra alatt lezajlik, mi lesz a tárgyak sorsa?

A város mindenkié csoporttal együtt készítünk egy kockát, tovább tudják majd használni ők is. Megtanulják a technikát, ez alapján kitalálhatnak egy saját szimbólumot, amely nekik még jobb, és meg is tudják építeni. Újra fel lehet használni és tovább lehet gondolni. Mi azt szeretnénk, ha egész Európában használnák ezt a technikát. Open source vagyunk és azt szeretnénk ha egész Európában használnák ezt a technikát. Ez egy kreatív aktivizmus kampány.  

http://noplaza.hu/hirek/2012/10/21/keszits-felfujhato-szobrot-a-musziben/

Workshop in Budapest 21&22.10.2012

We give an inflatable workshop in MÜSZI,an artist centre in Budapest to prepare for the demonstration at the 23rd of october. The 23rd of october is a national holiday as the hungarians commemorate the insurrection against the Soviet Union in 1956. The demonstration is against the present right-wing Fidesz government that in its "centralisation policy" in f.e. the field of education, media, law is showing autocratic traits.    


Workshop: Sunday 21.10 & 22.10.Müszi, Blaha Lujza Square 1
Start: 12am noon till 8pm.

See also http://www.millamedia.hu/2012/10/18/felfujhato-workshop-muszi/

Interview e.e.c. by Johanna Rainer from Truth is Concrete

“You cannot give instructions to a gigantic inflatable”

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Johanna Rainer

A conversation with Artúr van Balen and Verena Meyer of the eclectic electric collective about inflatables as tools in strikes and the concept of tactical frivolity.

Berlin,  April 13^th, 2012

One of your projects is the creation of inflatables – huge objects filled with air to use at demonstrations etc. Was the Climate Conference in Cancún in 2010 the first event you built them for?

No, we had made inflatables before. And for the Climate Conference it was actually a Mexican painter mentioning that they haven’t any inflatables in Mexico what got us motivated. We made an open call and brainstormed with many people which objects we should send. Then we got inspired by the quote “Art is not a mirror to hold up to society, but a hammer with which to shape it.” and created different hammer-prototypes. It was a ten day intensive workshop with theoretical and technical input. We created a gigantic hammer and went to different demonstrations in Germany. Then we packed it into a suitcase and gave it to a friend who went with it to Mexico and who gave it to a Mexican activist group.
The 7th of December 2010 was the big day of demonstrations against the United Nations Climate Conference and their green capitalist policies. The protesters inflated the hammer and ran with it to the fence and threw it over – the police tore it to pieces. This was a dramatic act that fed the media spectacle as a lot of journalists were present. The hammer became an iconic symbol for the protests of that day.

In Barcelona at the festival Cómo acabar con el mal you presented a reflecting cube.

We presented a 1,5 x1,5 meter inflatable cobblestone that we tested at the general strike in Barcelona. The ambitious initial idea was to make a hundred of them for the May 1st in Berlin.
In Berlin, May 1^st has become something of a ritual, with heavy repression from the police and protesters often acting in quite pre-determined roles how they respond to this. We wanted to do something that would disrupt this ritual by bringing a new form of creative protest to the day. Our intention was also to subvert the image of the “stone-throwing demonstrator” which the media spectacle around May 1 feeds off so much.
We are interested in tactical frivolity, in finding new ways of protesting. And we are interested in how the opposition between police and protesters can be subverted. So when we playfully throw an inflatable cube at a police line and they, not knowing what else to do, throw it back, suddenly they are engaged in a game with us and their image as tough riot cops is broken. We are interested in finding new forms of creative activism, and we hope with this we can also inspire other forms of protest. We also want people experience the fun of inflatables! We noticed that people are really happy to play with them. A spontaneous crowd volleyball starts. The inflatables also have a strong visual impact when people carry them.
During the general strike in Barcelona, the police jumped in and out of their cars just for seconds and hit everybody who was in their way. But when they saw this cube, they first hit that. People around us ran away, but we were safe behind the cube. It was amazing to see: the police became so aggressive towards the cobblestone, they wanted to destroy it and that turned their attention away from us.

They didn’t focus on you, but…

… on the shiny thing! It is like with fish and the lure.

But using the inflatable as a barricade was not the original plan?

It is one of the many side-functions of it. There was this funny situation when we threw it towards the police. And there was the spontaneous game when they the police kicked it back, protesters again kicked it to the police, police kicked it back, etc. – and suddenly they realised they were part of a game. So they threw it behind the police line where children found it and began to play with it.
So the inflatable has a lot of connotations: It looks very massive but it is very light so it has also this almost poetic quality. It makes the situation absurd. Even if they shot rubber bullets at it, it would make the situation absurd. The photos and films would be in favour of the protesters. Because it is also about the politics of images: What kind of images do we create? Which kind of stories?
It is really nice that a lot of people joined in the inflatable building for the action at the 1th of May this year, and that everyone has her/ his own motivation for it. It is an important part of the process that they all get together, get to know each other and create something collectively. The workshops are functioning as mobilisation processes.

Everyone can bring in own experiences and abilities?

Right. The workshops are also for people who want to become instructors and show others how to make inflatables. And we will make a instruction video, so it can be an inspiration to other groups in Spain, in New York – everywhere.

So how do you imagine the role of inflatables in, let’s say, five years?

Well, in five years we will have to do something else; but for this year and the next, it would be great to see this idea spreading. Like the clown army did. It would be great if people used inflatables everywhere.

So maybe let’s sum it up: What is the impact of inflatables on demonstrations, protests etc.? What do they create?

Inflatables are like giant puppets. They strike the imagination. You remember them. David Graeber, an anthropologist, made an interesting observation: Police – mostly in the US – hate these giant papier-mâché puppets that are used sometimes because they are a symbol of collective creativity. People who are smashing windows are easier to control because you can criminalize them; but a symbol of collective creativity is much harder to denounce. And: You can not give instructions to a gigantic inflatable or puppet. It transforms the situation into a carnivalesque celebration. Inflatables embody the idea of tactical frivolity.

Interview by Johanna Rainer

The eclectic electric collective (Germany) is an artist group exploring new grounds on the thresh-hold between art and media-activism.In 2010 the collective created “El Martillo”, a 12 meter inflatable hammer that was sent to Mexico to the UN CoP 16 as a weapon of mass-media communication. Reflective inflated cubes by the eclectic electric collective were tested as a tool of protest in the General Strike in Barcelona Collective on March 20^th 2012 and were introduced as inflated cobblestones at the May 1 Revolutionary demonstration in Berlin. The M15 movement used inflatables for the reflective block in Barcelona on May 15th.

CHECK also here: http://truthisconcrete.org/interviews/you-cannot-give-instructions-to-a-gigantic-inflatable/

interview eclectic electric collective and presentation at Truth is Concrete, 28/09/2012 Graz

Hello,

we will give a tactic talk at the amazing political art festival Truth is Concrete on friday 28th of september, 12.30h in Graz, Austria! Check the program out here:

http://truthisconcrete.org/programme/

Above: Self-sustainable chair from JooYoun Paek

Inflatables at Blocupy Frankfurt

Here a video report of Left Vision on Blocupy Frankfurt.
In the end a magic inflatable cobblestone also shows up..

Cop beating an inflatable..

New footage on youtube turned up how cops beated a dangerous inflatable to death..
In a way it looks a bit absurd, doesn't it?

Inflatable cobblestones in the fight against evil in Spain

from Enmedio collective, Barcelona Spain

Under the pavement, the beach! Gigantic inflatable cobblestones at the May 1 Revolutionary demonstration, Berlin.

On the 25th revolutionary 1st of May demonstration in Berlin-Kreuzberg, protesters were throwing huge inflatable cobblestones, made of silver-reflective foil and tape. The creative intervention was initiated by the art-activist collective “Eclectic Electric Collective” (EEC) and was meant as a celebration of an object which is both a symbol and a material weapon of anti-authoritarian struggle everywhere. It also aimed to bring new strategies of tactical frivolity into the demonstration. 

Image 1: Gigantic cobblestone at the revolutionary first of may demonstration. (Source:Verena Meyer 2012)

 A member of the collective explains:
“Through 25 years of riots, the cobblestone has become an icon for protests at the May 1 in Berlin Kreuzberg. The use of cobblestones in social uprisings is however much older: from ancient Rome, to the Paris Commune in 1871 to the ´68 movement, cobblestones have been used for barricades and as a weapon of defense. Taking stones out of the pavement is a favoured act of those who refuse to consent to an oppressive social order.”

Image 2: Cobblestones used as barricades in the Paris Commune, 1871

The May 1st demonstration in Berlin has long been a testing-ground for police tactics of crowd control and restrictions on protest. This year, 7000 highly-armed and aggressively shielded cops matched some 15 000 protesters, who were warned that a new water cannon, with a 10 000 L water-capacity, would be ready to be used against them. The inflatables are a collective creative intervention against this growing repression of protest and dissent, in ways that are both concrete and as well as symbolic. The experiences of the inflatables on May 1 proved their many uses in situations of protest, which can be summarized by the term “tactical frivolity”. Inflatables bring celebration and play to a demonstration while at the same time having strategic functions in situations of conflict... Cops can be easily perturbed by the unpredictable and un-categorizable. 


 At first the cubes appear to be shiny, desirable, playful objects; a visual spectacle which attracts little suspicion from cops looking for glass bottles and stones. The gigantic 3 x 3 x 3m cobblestone spontaneously attracted a crowd of people bouncing it up in the air. This brought a strong visual element to the demonstration1 similar to the use of giant puppets in protests. The advantage of inflatables in contrast to puppets however is that although they look massive, they are lightweight and easy to handle. Carrying a giant inflatable together creates a sense of crowd unity, while it can also keep the group moving forward despite a demo having been attacked and dispersed by cops. 






Movie above: Aufblasbare Pflastersteine bei 1.Mai-Demo Source: Berliner Morgenpost TV, 1.May 2012 


 We laughed at the cobblestones as they were thrown into the air above us, the absurdity of their size in comparison with a small traffic light and their uncontrollable nature seeming ridiculous in contrast with the sharp, directed throw of a stone. But we laughed even harder when the cops began to beat these cubes of air with their batons, glad that the inflatables were there to take the blows instead of our bodies.




Movie above: Protesters and cops fighting with an inflatable in-between them. (Source: anonymous) 



 When the biggest cube was thrown towards them, not knowing what else to do, they responded by throwing it back. In this moment, despite their shields and their weapons, despite their uniforms which are meant to give them the appearance of scary robots, their power vanished as suddenly they were engaged in a game of beach ball with the people they were meant to control. This situation provoked loud applause and cheers from the crowd. 


 The inflatables action also had the aim of ridiculing the mainstream media images of “stones throwing trouble-makers”. By throwing gigantic inflated stones, we exaggerate this empty media spectacle ad absurdium. This image also subverts the strategic division of protesters into “violent” and “non-violent” and makes it harder to justify police brutality.

Image 3: Cops and inflatable at May 1st demo (Source: Berliner Morgenpost/ dadp)

 Not everyone at the demonstration liked the cubes. Early on some tried to break them with keys, and shouted things like “hippies!”, ”this is only distracting us” or "this is not a party-event!”. These responses were unfortunately not surprising. We limit ourselves when political protest is viewed as only being able to follow one pre-determined trajectory with fixed identities of what may or may not constitute radical action. Many others welcomed the inflatables as an element of creativity in a day of protest that all too often feels like a script whose rules of performance are closed and pre-determined. 


 Strategically combining art with anti-capitalist action does not entail a distraction from other more obviously militant forms of action. Our actions can only stay one step ahead of repression by constantly expanding into a multiplicity of forms, remaining unrecognizable and unpredictable to the forces we seek to challenge. We see the inflatables as a new tactic in the toolbox of already existing practices. 


 Inflatable cobblestones have also been used at the March 29th General Strike in Barcelona. Art-activists in Spain are now building a super hero army (“los reflectantes” i.e. the reflective block) who, dressed in silver reflective clothes, will be using large inflatables during the May 12 action day in Spain. 


 Inflatables are cheap and easy to make. EEC run workshops on how to build inflatables for protest. The collective, of course, strongly discourage the inflatables being used for anything illegal. 


Links: Video and images of action:





  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE8EB4hd-BI&list=UU7Z2Z_qjp3iDp9Ek5Vi6Xqg&index=8&feature=plcp Inflatable 

Tutorial by the Eclectic Electric Collective in Barcelona, Spain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w-8JYZLub-A

Image 4: Inflatable cobblestones in between protesters and riot police on the general strike in Barcelona on 29.03.2012 (Oreana, Enmedio)

Inflatable Tutorial

Inflatable Tutorial by the Eclectic Electric Collective in Barcelona, Spain:

The rise of the Reflective Block

Here some news of the 15 May Newsletter, involving inflatable actions for the 12th and 15th of may..

*4. BARCELONA IS PREPARING THE #12M15M WITH A TOUCH OF CREATIVITY... *

Barcelona has been preparing the *Global May* actions for one month and
a half. A demo on the 12th and blockings and actions on the 15th are
planned. In Spain, May the 15th is also the first anniversary for the
15M movement.

A mass mobilization is expected (it could be bigger than the 350.000
people that took the streets on 15O). A circular route will start and
end in Plaza Catalunya, where the square will be taken again and
self-organized: a camp will be settled during 3 days with assemblies and
conferences to show the work done all along this last year and call more
people towards the 15M movement.

The */Forum dels pobles/* (/people's forum/) will embrace those days of
debates on the streets, focusing on 5 central themes: 1) No more money
to rescue the banks; 2) Public education and health care; 3) We say no
to the work reform and to job insecurity; 4) Decent housing for
everyone; 5) Universal basic income.

A lot of projects are on their way, like the */Reflectantes/* one.
Following the "Como acabar con el mal" (How to end evil) workshop -see
NL8- a workgroup has been creating reflective armours with the aimof
giving a funny and happy air to the demos and, at the same time, to
create protective and calming bodies: dressed in a brillant costume,
looking for a superhero aesthetics, and equiped by any kind of
reflecting devices, they are going to reflect all the evil that the
capitalism throws to the people and their lifes. Thanks to the
German  */Electric electric collective/*, and to their workshop of
inflatables, the Barcelona group is preparing inflatable cubes of 4
square meters that could become giant baloons to play with and also
protection against police violent charges.

Other cities such as Madrid, Malaga and Berlin are working on similar
projects.
A website is collecting the tutorials on how to make these structures,
as all the cities and towns could work with his "reflectantes" improving
and creating new tactics of creative activism.




*LINKS:*
Web for Barcelona's 12M15M
campaign: http://12m15m.acampadadebarcelona.org/?lang=es/
Web for global May: http://globalmay.org/
Global call from Barcelona in
English
http://acampadabcninternacional.wordpress.com/2012/04/21/call-for-12m-from-barcelona-12m15m/
Presentation of the reflectant
team: http://www.enmedio.info/los-reflectables-ya-estan-aqui/#.T5SrnXiA8UQ
Video: How to create a reflectocube
[EN] http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w-8JYZLub-A

Blog de Electric Electric Collective
Testing the reflective armours http://bambuser.com/v/2573904

CREATIVE ACTIVISM WORKSHOP: how to build inflatables for protest actions

Hello,

we would like to invite you to our open participatory workshop "how to build inflatables for protest actions". The aim of the workshop is to build many inflatables for an action in a short period of time. At the same time, we want to teach the participants how to make inflatables with simple tools and cheap materials, using foil, double sided tape and a drinking bottle, that serves as the valve, so they can apply this knowledge for their own actions.

WHEN?

FRIDAY        27.04.2012        5 pm - 11 pm

SATURDAY 28.04.2012        2 pm - 10 pm

WHERE?

Studio EdelSchimmel
Oranienstrasse 185, 3th backyard, cellar
D-10963 Kreuzberg Berlin (two houses away of SO36)


The workshop lives from the input of the participants.
During the workshop we also want to have a potluck*
Please bring food, drinks and friends!


ABOUT US:
We are an open source, horizontally organised network, consisting of artists, activists and other like minded people. We explore and develop different forms of creative activism and currently promote the use of inflatables for protests. For previous projects, please check our blog:
www.eclectic-electric-collective.blogspot.com
or view our book "The El Martillo Project" online under this link.

looking forward,


Eclectic Electric Collective

Inflato-Workshop in Barcelona at creative activism conference

We are just back from our trip to Barcelona, where we gave a workshop in the building of inflatables at the art activist conference "Como Acabar con el Mal", that was organised by the spanish art-activist group Enmedio. Our prototype, the invincible inflatable CUBE was also tested at the general strike on 29.03.2012 in Barcelona. Below some impressions of the workshop. Thanks to Kim Smith for making the pictures.

Something is up in the air..

Hello hello,

After the direct action training with Plane Stupid and the book release, new exciting brainstorm farts are in the air. If you want to get involved, please do contact us and check our blog for exciting news.

The E.E.C. also got invited to hold an inflatable workshop at the creative activism conference: How to end evil in 5days, in Barcelona. A few eclectic electricians will go there next week. The festival is crowd funded and they did not reach the critical minimum amount, which means that they have to pay back the money to all the people who funded already. However, they almost made it, just a few pennys, cents or dollars.. so if you have something left to donate...

check it out. here is their viral video:
http://vimeo.com/37311580

How to End Evil is an self-organized international gathering of creative activism, organized by Enmedio (http://www.enmedio.info/) at the Antic Teatre (http://www.anticteatre.com/) of Barcelona.

Here to inspire us will be a number of cultural agitators and activists from around the world (New York, Buenos Aires, Hamburg, London, Sevilla, Barcelona, Madrid…). Each of these participants will come loaded with creative tricks and tools for social change, and ready to share their tactics that have made their actions so effective. With their help, and with your help, How to End Evil could become an ideal concoction on how to face a crisis with creativity, and have a great time doing it.

http://comoacabarconelmal.net/en/

Here is our crowfunding campaign:

http://www.goteo.org/project/como-acabar-con-el-mal/home?lang=en

Music: http://filastine.com/

Strategien des Protests // 29.02.2012 // New Yorck in Bethanien //

The elusive 29th February 2012, the extra day for mischief

you, and all your tools and toys, are invited to

‘Strategies of Protest

from London to Berlin’

what creative tools can we share to put a spanner in the works of injustice?

Plane Stupid meets Eclectic Electric Collective

29.02.2012 14h – 22h

Venue:New Yorck im Bethanien,

Mariannenplatz 2, Berlin

www.yorck59.net

ENTRANCE FREE

14h Book Presentation “The El Martillo Project”

with members of the Eclectic Electric Collective

www.eclectic-electric-collective.blogspot.com

15h Presentation Creative Activism & Aviation Justice by UK activists Tilly Gifford and Dan Glass

aviationjustice.org

16h – 19h Direct Action Workshop

“What creative tools can we share to put a spanner in the works of injustice?”

with Plane Stupid UK mischief makers

www.planestupid.com

20h Suppe Vokü

Book Launch of “The El Martillo Project” from the Eclectic Electric Collective, published by Minor Compositions (ISBN 978-1-57027-250-9).

+ Video screening + Performance of the Collective

Who are we?

Plane Stupid (U.K.) are building in Germany. Aviation is the fastest growing cause of global CO2 emissions and we are a direct action network to tackle the injustices caused by the industry. The campaign against the third runway at Munich could become the German Heathrow where community action successfully brought the government to it’s knees. Determined local residents are coming together with climate change activists to stop an unnecessary runway. Together with the protests at Frankfurt and Berlin it could bring about a big change in Germany aviation policy.

www.planestupid.com

Eclectic Electric Collective (Germany), an artist group exploring new grounds on the treshold between art and media-activism.

In 2010 the collective created “El Martillo”, a gigantic inflatable Hammer that was sent to Mexico for the UN CoP 16 as a weapon of mass-media communication.

El Martillo’s short, but glorious life, climaxed when protesters from Marea Creciente (Rising Tide) stormed the conference complex fences with the gigantic hammer above their heads. In full view of the press, Mexican police tore the inflatable to pieces. Within an hour global the media corporations declared El Martillo a symbol of the climate changes protests as it’s image traveled across the world. The book is published by Minor Compositions, ISBN 978-1-57027-250-9

www.eclectic-electric-collective.blogspot.com

www.minorcompositions.info/?p=357