Dutty and FAT : /Rupture & Ripley go gold on Tuesday

On TUESDAY, April 2 from 7-9pm at the FAT Lab (hosted at Eye Beam) DA will be repping hard on a panel called “Rights, Rogues and Refugees” – as part of this week’s celebration, by the Free Art & Technology Lab, of over 5 years of “thug life, pop culture, and R&D.”

I’ll be moderating (Larisa Mann aka DJ Ripley), and the discussion features fellow DAer and former Eyebeam resident Jace Dj /Rupture Clayton, alongside Magnus Eriksson of the Swedish Piratbyran (Pirate Bureau, not to be confused with the Pirate Party), and Joe Karaganis, to discuss the implications of Karaganis’ recent study on “Media Piracy in Emerging Economies.” This is the first independent, large-scale study of music, film, and software piracy in emerging economies.*

This topic is near and dear to my heart, and /Rupture’s as well. As for the study (available at the link above) it’s nice to see a systematic work of research, investigating ideas of ownership, control, authority, sovereignty and power in the global context that highlights heavy histories of inequality and liberating, slippery networks of clandestine creativity. Our own experiences (and the experiences of many outside or at the borders of Western legal and cultural domination) already tells us some truths, but it’s good to rub those up against some formal scholarship and see what sparks. The first half of the event will bring out some key findings from Joe’s research, tossed up against Rupture’s experiences in New York and far beyond, Magnus’ deep knowledge of how these questions have been fought out in Sweden (and the broader repercussions), and a bit of my own approach which I learned mainly from Jamaicans (and my own conscience and desires) in the street dance during the couse of my own research.

We’ll have plenty of time for questions and conversation as well, so come through. It will also be livestreamed so you can tune in. Check Eyebeam.org and FATLAB for more info. Big thanks to Geraldine Juárez and Lindsay Howard for mistressminding this event.

*The most generous definition of “emerging economies” would be economies that are emerging from colonialism and exploitation. A more suspicious mind might wonder if these are economies or even communities and societies whose tender, private practices are being exposed to the harsh & commodifying light of the digital economy.