Renewing the Anarchist Tradition
Archive: Summer Conference 2005

Saturday, September 24th

• 9:15 to 10:30 pm
  
  

  Sustaining the Struggle: Anarchist Reflections on Building Lasting Cultures of Resistance Helen Hudson What sustains social struggle in the moments when movements seem to fade, organizations disintegrate and lose focus, and individuals grow increasingly inactive as a result of state repression or burnout? This workshop grew out of a panel discussion held during Montreal's Festival of Anarchy this past May that dealt with the same question, during which many audience members expressed an interest in furthering the discussion. After a brief presentation, participants will share ideas about the sorts of movements, institutions, and practices anarchists and anti-authoritarians might nurture in order to contribute to the creation of lasting cultures of resistance able to sustain the struggle for freedom and justice over many years. The presentation will address the question from an "internal-to-the-movement" perspective: What challenges do we face? What skills can we build? What internal discussions do we need to have? What structures do we need to put in place within our formal organizations, as well as in our "movement communities"? Helen has been organizing in urban Canada for a little over a decade. Although committed to the frontline struggles and campaigns she has been involved inÐincluding political prisoner support work, migrant solidarity, antisexism, and queer liberationÑher real focus has been internal to the movement, such as facilitating workshops, organizational development, and peer counseling. She is currently pursuing a degree in nursing.

  
  
  

  Global Resistance and Inter-Power Rivalry Kolya Abramsky We are currently witnessing increased rivalry between the United States, the European Union, and China. In parallel, important international realignment processes are underway. Social (class) struggle within the states contesting for hegemony is also intensifying. These dynamics are likely to increase in the future, raising important questions for global anti-capitalist struggles. How do social conflict and interstate conflict interact with each other? How should movements in the European Union and Asia relate to their regions "becoming strong"? How should movements in the United States react to that state's decline? How can class struggles in the different regions mutually support each other and the worldwide circulation of struggle rather than seeking protectionist solutions that further exacerbate the competition between the regions? Finally, could there ever be another global war between major powers at some point in the future? How did radical social movements respond to inter-power rivalry in the past? This presentation aims not to answer these questions but rather to initiate collective discussion on the issues raised. Kolya has been active in international anti-authoritarian anti-capitalist networks in Western Europe, most recently Spain. He is currently researching the interrelationship between global anti-capitalist struggles, interstate conflict, and energy politics at Binghamton University.

  
  
  

  Sidesteps toward a Theory of Anarchism Howard J. Ehrlich Is there a body of propositions that could be called an "anarchist theory"? What would it look like? How would an anarchist theory inform anarchist practice and vice versa? How do we build an anarchist practice that will get us from here to there? How will we know when we arrive? What are the obstacles to an anarchist practice? How does our theory and practice lead us to cope with the pathologies of U.S. society, including war, poverty, the concentration of wealth, racism, sexism, andÑyour entry here? How do we know we are doing the right thing? We'll explore some of the provocations. Howard made his way around the track as a ladies shoe salesman, sports writer, bread baker, sociologist, social psychologist, health and safety executive, author, radio producer, and today, editor of Social Anarchism. He is also a Baltimore IndyMedia collective member and the coordinator of an antiracist think tank known as the Prejudice Institute.

  
  
  

  Palestine and International Activism: Are "We" Most Effective at the Margins of Empire? Ben Certainly we can be effective working within our own communities, but does international activism offer an extra effectiveness worthy of the resources needed to be physically present with communities in struggle in places like Palestine? This talk will include a framing of Palestine as dual struggleÑanti-colonial (vs. Israel) and anti-imperialist (vs. the United States)Ña brief update on current on-the-ground resistance, and a discussion of these and related questions. Listen to this presentation courtesy of A-Infos Radio Ben is a founding member of BostontoPalestine, which sends internationals on solidarity delegations to the West Bank and also to actually join indigenous nonviolent resistance to the occupation. Returning activists inform others of what they learned from their experience in order to activate their home communities.

  
  
  

  Preserving Anarchist History Adam Roark Like any ideology, anarchism's longevity is dependent on its rich history of success and failure. Contemporary anarchism is shaped largely by our memory of this history. How well has anarchist history been preserved through years of mutation and repression? The North American anarchist movement in particular inherited a wealth of knowledge from the early twentieth-century radical labor movement and the Spanish Civil War. In the meantime, other inspiring events fade into obscurity. The lingering uncertainty of "what do we do now?" is symptomatic of collective amnesia in a movement that needs to preserve and distribute as much of its history as possible in order to maintain versatility and relevance. Adam is the cofounder of zinelibrary.net. He is an activist and writer, involved in a variety of side projects at any given time.

  
  

• 10:45 am to 12:00 pm
  
  

  Anarchy at the Border? We Wish Rich Macgurn and Jacobo Blumenfeld As migration becomes the "specter haunting empire," it is critical for anarchists to take part in the struggle for freedom of movement. The o.r.g.a.n.i.c. collective is a no-border anarchist collective located at San Diego and elsewhere, confronting the rising wave of against immigrants embodied publicly by the Minutemen and structurally by the border itself. We will show video clips from our recent actions at the border confronting the Minutemen, and then critically reflect on it in relation to migration, white supremacy, vigilantes, the war on terror, and anarchism. We want to discuss positive and negative ways anarchists think about borders/race/migration, asking, How is the border a perpetual "state of exception" in the war on terror? What is the meaning of freedom of movement, and how is the autonomy of migration possible? How can we move toward a radical no-border movement in the United States? How is the struggle against borders critical to overthrowing capitalism? Listen to this presentation courtesy of A-Infos Radio Rich is a San Diego anarchist with the o.r.g.a.n.i.c. collective, which has been organizing against the Minutemen, triple fence, and border for two years now. His collective recently organized a No-Border Encuentro in San Diego. Jacobo has worked with radioActive sanDiego, San Diego Indymedia, and the o.r.g.a.n.i.c. collective. He recently spent some time in Chiapas and Mexico City with the Centro de Medios Libres.

  
  
  

  Derrida's Radical Reimaginings Nina Belmonte Radical thinkers often seek philosophical grounding for their analysis in the work of Michel Foucault and other traditional neo-Marxists. This presentation offers the critical "deconstruction" of Jacques Derrida as a more productive theoretical base for radical thought by virtue of its critique of the age-old conspiracy of Being and Oneness, and a consequent reimagining of democracy that has its roots in Marxist critical theory, but takes us beyond it. Nina is an independent scholar with degrees from Georgetown University, Boston College, and Stony Brook University. She teaches and writes on critical theory and the history of philosophy, and maintains a passionate interest in literature and film. Her current project is a book on Derrida and Critical Theory.

  
  
  

  Taking Play Seriously: Space, Culture, and Critique Charlie Clements From Emma Goldman's dancing to the bicycle plans of Holland's Provo movement, anarchism has been concerned with more than simply the economic activity of the individual. In the last decades, however, anarchists seem to be taking fun more seriously. Carnivals against capital, street parties as protest, and political parody bring new meanings to issues of space, prefigurative politics, and propaganda by deed. Yet there is another strand in this thinking: the individualist "fun for fun's sake" of CrimethInc springs from all angles. This presentation hopes to point toward an understanding of play that surpasses an econo-centric understanding of human life as well as that of today's nar-do-well liberationistsÑone that arises from the work of Henri Lefebvre, Johan Huizinga, and the Situationists. This view will do more than simply direct us to burn all our possessions in an orgy of "freedom" and hit the road; it will show how a politics of enjoyment, adventure, and play has the potential to form community, develop space outside of capitalism, and function as an active critique of all that anarchism stands opposed to. Charlie lives in New York, and is trying to finish a degree and figure out what to do with himself.

  
  
  

  Jane WTO: Jail Solidarity, Direct Action, and the Global Justice Movement Beverly Yuen Thompson The Global Justice Movement has reinvigorated its tactical repertoire to include continued protest inside the jails and courts. This presentation is based on interviews with direct action participants, arrestees, and legal workers. Since Seattle, in response to mass arrests at demonstrations outside the WTO, IMF, and World Bank summits, we have seen the use of "jail solidarity" achieve results ranging from mass release from jail with the charges dropped to increased police brutality behind bars. This presentation exhibits the voices of the global justice movement as they recount their stories of protest, arrest, imprisonment, court cases, and ultimately success in fighting for justice. Beverly has earned degrees in political science, women's studies, and sociology, and is currently completing her doctorate on the topic of this talk. She is a student of sociology at the New School University in New York City.

  
  
  

  Against Apocalyptic Anarchism Mark Lance Many anarchists see the goal of anarchism to bring about the "Big Revolution." Both classical theorists like Bakunin and Kropotkin, as well as many contemporary anarchists, take this to be almost a matter of definition. I believe that working for the Big Revolution is, to borrow an insult from Lenin, infantile. Intellectually, it ignores our best understandings of the nature of freedom and aliena-tion. Strategically, such a focus is inevitably elitist and vanguardist. Emotionally and psychologically, it encourages some of the worst elements of religious superstition. We divert our attention from concrete creative activity, toward a faith in an all-things-changing event, not unlike the Christian rapture. This in no way denies that anarchism must remain radical, striving for fundamental social and political change. There is a very real danger that our work will devolve into mere reform. Much of the discussion of this session will focus on how to understand the difference between reformist and radical work, while at the same time understanding that this distinction has little to do with revolutions. Mark is professor of philosophy as well as justice and peace at Georgetown University, and a board member of the Institute for Anarchist Studies. He has also been an activist for over twenty years on a wide range of social justice and peace issues. This talk is drawn from his book-in-progress, tentatively titled Awakening Reason: Toward a Constructive Anarchism.

  
  
  
• 2:00 to 3:30 pm
  
  

  Political Action in the Age of Advertising: Anarchist Influences on Cultural Organizing Dara Greenwald and Josh MacPhee We will discuss how recent U.S. cultural practices have been rooted in or influenced by anarchist ideas of both social and political organization. We will argue that anarchists would benefit from thinking deeper about how to influence our visual and social landscapes, two possible locations of struggle often dismissed for being not political enough. We will draw from our experiences working with/on the Autonomous Territories of Chicago, the Department of Space and Land Reclamation, LadyFest Midwest, Pilot TV, the Pink Bloque, and StreetRec, among others. Listen to this presentation courtesy of A-Infos Radio Dara is an artist who recently relocated to Troy, New York. She has been committed to participating in collaborative, political cultural work for many years. Josh is an artist and activist who had his first book, Stencil Pirates, published in 2004, and is currently coediting a collection of writings on art and anarchism for AK Press. He also runs a radical art distribution system called Just Seeds.

  
  
  

  Why Nietzsche? On the Conjunction of Friedrich Nietzsche and the Anarchist Tradition Spencer Sunshine The collapse of the classical anarchist movement also meant the collapse of the anarchist theoretical tradition. Since anarchism's revival after the 1960s, much of its theoretical scaffolding in the United States has been an either an outgrowth of or borrowing from various strains of Marxism (for example, primitivism, social ecology, white privilege theory, the pro-Situs, attitudes toward nationalism and imperialism, and theories of labor and class). For those wishing to make a fundamental break with the Marxist paradigm, it makes sense to look to Nietzsche, perhaps the most radical critic of the modern capitalist world. Some of Nietzsche's themes that are of potential interest to anarchists include his views on history, Christianity and morality, creativity and negation, nationalism, the state, hostility to authority and the market, and the "transvaluation of values." But appropriating Nietzsche raises problems as well, such as his misogyny, elitism, and acceptance of violence and domination. If there's time, we'll look at the way that anarchists (such as Emma Goldman, Rudolf Rocker, and Frederica Montseny) have historically used Nietzsche's thought. Spencer is the associate editor of I Am Not a Man, I Am Dynamite! Friedrich Nietzsche and the Anarchist Tradition (Autonomedia, 2004), a member of the Fifth Estate editorial collective, and a librarian at the ABC No Rio Zine Library in New York City. He lives in Brooklyn.

  
  
  

  New Autonomous Social Movements: Is the Anarchist Framework Appropriate? Marina Sitrin and Andrej Grubacic This panel will explore the politics of the various autonomous social movements around the globe. We will pay particular attention to the last ten years, specifically looking at the Zapatistas in Chiapas, the autonomous movements in Argentina and Bolivia, the Conaie in Ecuador, and aspects of the global justice movement in Europe. Each presenter will examine the politics as people in movements articulate them, focusing on the new social relationships they are creating, and want to create. We will also attempt to place these movements in a theoretical framework based on their commonalities, such as ideas of autonomy, self-organization, other concepts of power, and horizontality. Then, we will then look at where these ideas and relationships overlap with anarchist ideas and practices, and where they do not. We will ask why these movements do not explicitly identify as anarchist and if it would be useful. Marina is a New York City activist, teacher, student, and writer. She has recently completed an oral history of the autonomous movements in Argentina, Horizontalidad: Voices de Poder Popular en Argentina, with an English version out with AK Press in the spring. She has recently returned from Argentina and Bolivia. Andrej, a historian and social critic who has authored books and many articles, works with Planetary Alternatives Network, Z Communications, and Peoples Global Action, and was active in a post-Yugoslav movement coalition of anti-authoritarian collectives. Due to his political activism, was forced to leave the University of Belgrade and move to SUNY Binghamton.

  
  
  

  - cancelled - The Multitude Disrupts Downtown: The Recent History and Possible Future of Mass Action in Financial Centers Carwil James What happens when mass direct action moves from targeting institutions to disrupting a city, from targeting decision makers to the political system itself? Where can the daily fabric of our compliance be torn, so that it can begin to unravel? These are not questions of theory but of experiment and practice. I will look at the global justice movement, and the San Francisco and Spanish state antiwar movements as arenas where this shift tentatively happened. For a glimpse of larger-scale possibilities, I turn to the growing creation of grassroots power in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Argentina: trajectories that have led from rural base building to disruption to changing national political life. These episodes combine several forms of power. Public anger physically interrupts "information-based" financial capital. As these interventions multiply, more autonomous and often more diverse, decentralized, and participatory forms of organization are given space to grow. And by interrupting daily life and effectively creating public holidays and (re)claiming public space, these efforts sketch out a constituent power that can set its own priorities. Carwil, an Oakland-based activist, researcher, and educator, participated in Direct Action to Stop the War, a directly democratic resistance effort committed to uprooting the system behind war and empire. He worked for two years at Project Underground, supporting indigenous resistance to oil exploitation. Some of the ideas pursued in this presentation appear in a self-published chapbook, Shattering Consensus and Disrupting Downtown (2005).

  
  
  

  Toward an Anarchist Theory of Women's Human Rights Activism Christina LaRose Human rights activists generally concur that a legalistic framework is necessary to advance women's human rightsÑactivists lobby to ensure that domestic violence is criminalized in national penal codes; that domestic violence is included in the international definition of torture; and that governments allocate funds for survivor services and shelters. In addition, international human rights conventions such as the UN CEDAW treaty mandate signatory states to implement "temporary special measures" to advance women's human rights in political, economic, social, cultural, and family life. Conspicuously absent from theoretical discussions of women's human rights activism, however, is the question of whether it is desirable for states to implement measures to advance women's human rights. As anarchists, should we embrace human rights discourse for its ability to document state violations of women's human rights, or should we condemn any attempt to utilize the state system as a patriarchal protector of women's human rights? By seeking to answer these questions, this talk will advance an anarchist theory of women's human rights activism. Christina is a student activist at the University of Michigan in Dearborn, where she researches the intersections between international relations, human rights, gender, and anarchist theory. She is active in the women's human rights movement as a Stop Violence against Women campaign coordinator for Amnesty International, a volunteer for the Michigan Battered Women's Clemency Project, and a mentor at Robert Scott Women's Correctional Facility in Plymouth, Michigan.

  
  
  
• 4:00 to 5:30 pm
  
  

  Class in Contemporary Capitalism Max Lavine, Charlie Clements, and Wayne Price Class has come under renewed questioning in the last half-century. With the supposed" postmodernization" of capitalism, or perhaps as an effect of globalization, class may include a "multitude" or it may no longer exist, or perhaps nothing has changed. Things may be the same, and all apparent changes are the effects of ideology or the mires of bourgeois postmodern caprice. This panel will continue to question the category of class, hoping to clarify a somewhat contentious issue, and maybe unmask an enemy. Max attends high school and lives in Chicago, where he tries to carve out enough time to occasionally read or write something interesting as well as participate in the anarchist community. Charlie lives in New York, and is trying to finish a degree and figure out what to do with himself. Wayne is a member of the Northeastern Federation of Anarchist-Communists. He writes for the Northeastern Anarchist, the Utopian, and the international Anarkismo Web site.

  
  
  

  The Canadian State and Its Relation to Empire: Changes, Challenges, and Resistance Mostafa Henaway, Megan Hope, and Liisa Schofield This workshop will examine Canada's role as a state in empire, and some of the strategies taken on by anti-imperialists and anarchists to challenge the Canadian state. The Canadian antiwar movement did not provide any avenues to challenge Canada's role in imperialism because demands were placed onto the U.S. government while Canada was viewed as a peace maker for not officially waging war against Iraq. In many cities across Canada, anti-imperialists began to confront and expose the role of Canadian corporations in war and occupation. Corporations such as SNC Lavalin and the Canadian Commercial Corporation unofficially represent Canadian foreign policy as they invest and profit from war and occupation. The analysis of this trend, the work around it as well as the shifting of the Canadian state to take on a more prominent role in imperialism with troops in Afghanistan and the occupation of Haiti will be explored. Listen to this presentation courtesy of A-Infos Radio The panelists are all members of the Toronto Solidarity Project/June 30th Organizing Committee. Mostafa and Liisa are also involved in the Ontario Coalition against Poverty.

  
  
  

  Perspectives on David Graeber's Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology Alejandro de Acosta David Graeber's Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology is clearly meant as a challenge to anthropology and academic disciplines generally in their presumptive political neutrality. How can we creatively expand Graeber's proposals so as to rethink anarchist theory in and out of the academy? How can we further realize an anarchistic intellectual activity that is critical of, yet not separate from, movements and peoples? What can anarchist theory and practice contribute to ideals of multiculturalismÑor "multinaturalism"? Alejandro teaches philosophy at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. His interests are in Latin American philosophy (especially questions of language, territory, history, and cosmology), and the theoretico-practical intersection of anarchist theory, experimental therapeutic practices, and assorted "limit-experiences".

  
  
  

  - cancelled - Queering the X: James Baldwin, Malcolm X, and the Third World Kazembe Balagun This talk is an intellectual intervention in the debates over gender, race, and sexuality. By promoting an intertextual dialogue between Malcolm X and James Baldwin, the talk will foreground the queer influences in both men's analysis of racial oppression. It will also show how both Malcolm and James's vision of a just society included aspects of the erotic, shifting much of the rhetorical essentialism from both men's work and illustrating means in which radical/revolutionary activists can use both in an anti-authoritarian framework. Kazembe is a black/queer/writer/educator engaged in the ancient art of revolutionary Afro-hermeneutics. He studied philosophy/Africana studies from Hunter College, where he was a member of the Student Liberation Action Movement. He is a member of Estaci—n Libre (a people of color organization in solidarity with the people of Chiapas), a staff writer with the NYC Indypendent, and a contributer to Left Turn.

  
  
  

  Intentional Aesthetics: Anarchist Media and Movement Building Kyle Harris Anarchists have a long history of using art to terrorize audiences. Our performances frequently represent our most aggressive, guttural, and fragmentary tendencies. From Antonin Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty to Indymedia documentaries about Anti-Facist Action, we depict our madness, aggression, victimization, and self-destruction. Our wild media production has the potential to excite and activate audiences, yet frequently; our careless approach to aesthetics, form, and narrative interferes with our ability to movement build. Through this presentation, I would like to consider aesthetic strategies for maximizing outreach by cultivating intentional aesthetics rather than accidental rants that demoralize, embarrass, and fragment our movement. Ultimately, I would like to propose strategies for improving anarchist video production by cultivating intentional, crafted anarchist aesthetics informed by both classical and radical theories of narrative, poetics, and craft. Listen to this presentation courtesy of A-Infos Radio Kyle is currently programming documentaries at Free Speech TV and completing postproduction on The Patriarchs, his queer-anarcho-eco-epic movie reinterpreting Plato's Symposium against a backdrop of graffiti, AIDS politics, and direct action. He has shown his short videos internationally at festivals, galleries, and community centers, and lectured on topics such as aesthetics, history of animation, and queer militancy.

  
  
  
• 7:45 to whenever we feel like
  
  

  - A couple of the panelists had to cancel at the last minute; and Jaggi couldn't participate because he was denied entry from Canada to the United States at the border - Anarchist Praxis: Organizing Dilemmas, Strategy, and Vision, or How Do We Get from Here to There facilitated by Camilo Viveiros; with Jaggi Singh, Mostafa Henaway, Rafael Mutis, Jason Winston, Tanya Waters, Caty Simon, and Matt Feinstein. Do you feel frustrated by the lack of anarchist strategy and organizing? Do you think a fundamental shift in contemporary anarchist organizing methodology is needed? Panelists will explore what we might learn from various organizing models, community struggles, and diverse political movements as well as the obstacles to applying anarchist theory. Following the presentations, we will have a discussion on the intersections between anarchist theory and organizing strategy, and the gaps between vision and practice. Share your experiences with the limits of academic activism and organizing issues from your community. We hope to have a constructive dialogue about the tensions between mass-based work and explicitly radical political efforts. This includes the ways mass movements, community organizing, and traditional trade unionism can dismantle and repress the potential for radical change, and the way "radical" sectarianism can contribute to the demobilization of the growth of broad-based movements. Listen to this presentation courtesy of A-Infos Radio Jaggi will draw some reflections from recent organizing around immigrant rights as part of No One Is Illegal and Solidarity across Borders in Montreal, Canada. Mostafa will speak about the role of anarchists in his work with the Ontario Coalition against Poverty, and in the Muslim community through taxi driver organizing and youth organizing in Toronto, Canada. Rafael is a member of Critical Resistance New York City and the lead organizer for the Seven Neighborhood Action Partnership working to repeal the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Jason and Tanya are cofounders of the Vermont Workers' Center. Jason has been a union organizer, community organizer, and activist for twenty years. Tanya is currently focusing her energies on women's health and reproductive rights. Caty is active with the Freedom Center and Arise for Social Justice in western Massachusettts, and is an economic justice activist working on psychiatric survivor support issues and toward the decriminalization of prostitution. Matt works with the Worcester Global Action Network on community safety and police violence and a harm-free zone, and with youth and community gardeners toward food justice. Camilo has focused on community, youth, and tenant organizing toward economic and environmental justice.

  
  
  

  - cancelled - From Exodus to Complementary Antagonisms Stevphen Shukaitis and Jack Z. Bratich Since the publication of Hardt and Negri's Empire, new attention has been brought to a previously ignored current of revolutionary theory and practice, namely that of autonomist Marxism. A great majority of readings of Negri have tended to neglect the vast wealth of engaged theoretical reflection contained within the history of autonomist thought and organizing. How do anarchism and autonomism converge and diverge over matters of power, the state, and subjectivity? The panel will explore the future behind our backs, focusing on issues such as class composition analysis, spatial articulations and enclosures, mobility and exodus, social production and reproduction, affective labor, and the overlaps and complementaries between autonomist Marxism and anarchist thought and practice. Stevphen is a PhD student at the University of Leicester, where he studies the relationship between forms of globalization and cultural discourses around worker self-management. He is a member of the Ever Reviled Records Worker Collective and the Autonomedia Editorial Collective. Jack is an assistant professor of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University. He has written articles that apply autonomist thought to such topics as audience studies, reality TV, secession, and popular secrecy.

  
  
  

  The Take, and Social Movements in Argentina Today Graciela Monteagudo Graciela will show The Take (87 minutes) by Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein. The film viewing will be followed by an open-ended dialogue about the social movements in Argentina today. Graciela, coordinator of the Argentina Autonomista Project, is an Argentine human rights activist and community artist. She holds an MFA from Goddard College and has recently started doctoral studies in anthropology at UMass Amherst. She has worked internationally with diverse communities both on her own and with Bread and Puppet Theater. Some of her work has included coordinating puppet and street theater actions in Latin America and throughout the United States.

  
  
  

  Cardboard Teck Institute Professor Matchstick and T-Cel Professor Matchstick shows "Impossible Box Toy Theater Presents," in which naughty children set fire to the whole institute! T-Cell tells "The Language of the Tecknitions," in which swallows, snails, and creatures fantastic spin their gory tales. Prof. M atchstick, CTI technikxon, has worked with Bread and Puppet and the bicycle circus. T-Cell, CTI tactixion, is a Black Sheep Books collective member and investigator of tall tales.

  
  
  

  Psycho-Motor Retardation Anicka Yi, Will Weikart, and Ben Florencio A seven-to-ten minute musical performance and electronic improvised noise. Anicka, an artist living and working in New York City, is a coordinating member of New York City Social Forum. Will lives in Brooklyn, and enjoys bicycle riding and noise/music/sound. Ben is a musician and editor, living and working in New York.

  
  
  

  Never Ever Work Curated by Erika Biddle This hour-and-a-half, give or take, cinematic sampling will focus on the site of work/nonwork and great depressions. It will include the noirish urban scapes of Blood of Abraham's Eyedollartree and its stark critique of consumer culture, a vast collection of historical events captured in Harun Farocki's Arbeiter verlassen die Fabrik (Workers Leaving the Factory), a moment of slapstick relief from Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times, idiosyncratic musings and machinations on Art Strikes by Gustav Metzger, Jean Vigo's nostalgia for his assassinated anarchist father in Zero de Conduite, and the regeneration (obliteration) of an old working-class London neighborhood in Year Zero's The Occupation. Erika is a founding member of the collective Artists in Dialogue, which is committed to the coarticulation of art and politics; and works with radical book publisher Autonomedia, May Day Books Collective, the multimedia magazine Arcade Project, the Siyahi Editorial Collective, and Fifth Estate, among others. She's also a new board member of the Institute for Anarchist Studies.

  
  
  

  The Voice of Authority and the Soundscape of Unfettered Being Orchestrated by Lex Bhagat A two-hour concert-in-the-dark of contemporary sound artworks as well as historical sound poetry and cinema sound recordings. The program will include works as diverse as horspiel (in English) from the 1960s by the Swedish sound poet Ake Hodell, to the helicoptor siege scene from Apocalypse Now, to Gregory Whitehead's Project Jericho, a mock-umentary about the Jericho Institute, where the U.S. Army is researching sonic weapon applications of the Voice of God. All this war dissolves at the end into a Siberian soundscape that should transition us back into Vermont nicely. Lex is dedicated to the destruction of authorship and authority through the cultivation of new forms for polyvocal sound, promiscuous conversation, and never-ending correspondence. He is coeditor, with Gregory Gangemi, of Sound Generation (forthcoming from Autonomedia), and serves on the board of the Institute for Anarchist Studies.

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