Networked Cultures is a forthcoming publication developed by the organisation of the same name, based in London as part of Goldsmiths, University of London.
The publication is a result of analysis/research into various art, architectural and urban practices across Europe to chart how networks today are changing our cultural forms of co-habitation and communication. These changes, put in effect by global economies, new technologies and transnational politics have defined the contemporary experience of social and spatial organisation.
Peter Moertenboeck and Helge Mooshammer (eds.) interviewed Igor Dobricic about the main goals of ALMOSTREAL as a networking project and the networked culture intrinsic to the funding and cultural cooperations of the ECF.
Networked Cultures
Parallel Architectures and the Politics of Space
Peter Moertenboeck and Helge Mooshammer (eds.)
Design: Thonik / Paperback, sewn with DVD / Illustrated (colour and b/w) / 320 pages / Size: 17 x 24 cm English edition / ISBN 978-90-5662-059-2 / € 35.50
In association with Goldsmiths College, London
The book traces a variety of strands along which the project itself has developed. First, attention is focused on the phenomenon of network creativity by following the routes of networks laid out by artists, architects, urbanists, curators and activists. Second, the interrelationship of space and conflict is investigated by mapping contested spaces across Europe and beyond, examining the architecture of conflict, and analysing models of geocultural negotiation. The focus then shifts to informal governmentality and self-organization by examining various forms of black markets, slum settlements and the accompanying parallel economy. Finally, the parallel worlds of mobility and migration, 'travelling' communities, digital worlds and other counter-geographies are discussed in relation to transient spaces and the 'archipelago of the peripheries'. Numerous interviews, visuals and a parade of urban interventions, public art projects and architectural experiments gathered from the groups, practices or initiatives encountered during the research provide a wealth of illustrative material and challenge the narrative. The book therefore extends current debates about architectural and spatial planning, addressing the emergence of new forms of urban engagement, re-evaluating the relationship between space and conflict, and establishing future trajectories for an architectural culture geared towards the formation of networks.
Public communication and presentation are an essential part of the project, in keeping with its special character. The Networked Cultures project is comprised of a growing database, a website with interviews, comments, news, round table broadcasts, and links to exhibitions, manifestations and online discussions. The book, accompanied by a DVD with audiovisual reports and other multimedia components, offers a highly comprehensive overview of the project.
Accompanying exhibitions, manifestations, debates and presentations include events in Rotterdam, London, Vienna, Istanbul, Moscow, Belgrade, Bucharest, Skopje, Berlin, Holon, Zurich, Barcelona, Linz, Antwerp, Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, Windsor, New York and Sydney.