I’m Building a Geodesic Power Structure. Clinic/Encounter on Print and Sound Self-Publishing
Museum d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona
25/01/2019 – 26/01/2019
This event is conceived as a discursive space, set midway between a clinic and a science fair, a laboratory to interrogate and expose the experience of producing spaces of encounter for independent managers and other agents involved in the production process of such content. The space we propose, with the idea of being participatory, allowing for a multitude of voices, seeks to stimulate debate and discussion on questions related to the management and autonomous production of publications and musical productions, which tend to be difficult to articulate, both for their complexity and for the lack of available structures to make them possible.
Curated by: Magui Dávila and Maite Muñoz
No wonder the recent rise of self-publishing, understood in its broadest sense, is taking place simultaneously to the painfully agonising disappearance of bookstores and record shops. Contradiction frequently goes hand in hand with activities that are not overly profitable in terms of capitalist utilitarianism.
The visibility and promotion that a variety social networks, online shops and omnipresent trade shows provide for these artefacts end up creating a mirage, which does nothing to solve problems related to distribution and the general sustainability of self-publishing projects and independent record companies operating from the edge.
This event is conceived as a discursive space, set midway between a clinic and a science fair, a laboratory to interrogate and expose the experience of producing spaces of encounter for independent managers and other agents involved in the production process of such content. For this reason, we have conceived of this call to participate in a clinic for organisers of independent festivals and events related to self-publishing. We will focus on the processes related to the conception, production, distribution and theorisation of self-publishing. The space we propose, with the idea of being participatory, allowing for a multitude of voices, seeks to stimulate debate and discussion on questions related to the management and autonomous production of publications and musical productions, which tend to be difficult to articulate, both for their complexity and for the lack of available structures to make them possible. In the same way, our objective, when put up against tensions in the institutional sphere and its relationship to this type of practice, is to contribute to the consolidation of a community. We also seek to favour a system of connection and distribution in consonance with this kind of activity, which tends to develop outside of hegemonic power centres. Our perspective is that independent musical production and self-publishing are common terrains, as their interaction points to the possibility that what they hold in common might enable things to happen.
It is therefore not a question of merely speaking to practical questions related to doing and selling (and gifting) publications, but of delving into the reasons why someone might set off on such cockamamie projects that are by definition unprofitable in monetary terms. Our aim is to explore the processes and affects related to the praxis of self-publishing, where personal relationships and ethical negotiations play a fundamental role. We are also committed to studying their connection to the playfulness and endless finality with which these kinds of activities contribute to alleviate the weight of our existence.
Thus predisposed, seeking to be therapeutic while simultaneously focussing on contributing to the construction of an eco-social system, questions will arise that will help us understand and map out the state of the art for independent practices in cultural production.
All this has the goal of bolstering editorial poetics and policies, establishing a common ground in an encounter meant to encourage thought and debate on how to continue publishing, trading and administering in this field.
Programme
CAMP-OUT FOR A PUBLISHER’S DREAM
– Friday 25 January at 5 pm: Clinic/encounter for managers and producers of self-publishing festivals*.
Encounter/camp-out with the aim of reflecting on the idea of print and sound self-publishing fairs, from the perspective of their conception and strategies related to montage and production. The format of this encounter with field agents in independent and self-publishing is conceived as an exercise in collective therapy.
Venue: Aula 0.
*Restricted event, participation by invitation only.
– Saturday 26 January from 4 to 8 pm: Public presentation of the clinic/ encounter
The result of the clinic will be a public presentation, conceived as a sequence of performative events and an ephemeral exhibition of publishing projects. Both ideas will be developed in the space, entering into play with other notions shared in the context of the clinic. The proposal is to focus on production and rehearsal in the space, using publishing policies to problematise the content dealt with in the clinic.
Venue: Atrium
Admission: Free MACBA Saturday, thanks to Uniqlo. Limited places
Permanent Installations:
– Irma Marco + Clara-Iris Ramos. IYP PSYOP
– Autoban. Comic Experimental Laboratory
4-4.15 pm VENDO ORO. TENDERETE
4.15-4.45 pm Plana + Oficina de Investigaciones Lentas. Los sueños de una acampada por el sueño editorial
4.45-5.15 pm Mancebía Postigo. FRESCA! Fira d’edicions casolanes al mercat de l’Abaceria
5.25-5.55 pm Ainhoa GoGreen and Marcos Parreño (OHETE). RRSS y Herramientas Online en la organización de un festival de autoedición.
5.55-6.30 pm Aristeo Mora, Natalia Gómez, Cecilia Guelfi and Luis Falcón. Covers
*In collaboration with SÂLMON< Festival.
6.30-6.40 pm Tropicana Dreams. Flashmob Tropical
6.40-7.15 pm Magui Dàvila and Maite Muñoz. Curators of ‘I’m Building a Geodesic Power Structure’
7.15-7.45 pm Semantica Records. Presentación cassette.
I’M BUILDING A GEODESIC POWER STRUCTURE
– Saturday 26 January, at 9 pm: Dj set by Svreca and Ángel Molina programmed in collaboration with Enrique Mena of Semántica Records.
Venue: Capella MACBA.
Admission: free. Advance booking required.
If tickets are still available, they will be distributed at the Capella MACBA before the event on a first-come, first-served basis; ticket limits may apply.
9 pm Svreca. Born in Madrid as Enrique Mena, this young DJ combines the coolest, most sophisticated electronic music with highly abstract and complex techno, frequently touching on acoustic experimentation, with textures and rhythms that are unusual for the dance floor.
semanticarecords.bandcamp.com
10 pm Ángel Molina. Ever since his beginnings as a DJ in 1991, Ángel Molina has played an essential role in the development of electronic music in Spain. This is largely due to his prodigious technique, unanimously lauded by critics and the wider public, which goes along with his exquisite taste, making him one of the most refined programmers of techno in Europe.
Two of the most important Spanish DJs will play at MOOG after the event at MACBA. + info