Slow Flow - Te Ia Kōrero

Published on 01/04/2009

Slowflow is a trip down the Whanganui River, Aotearoa/New Zealand between Feb 10th and Feb 16th 2009. Slowflow invites artists, technologists and environmentalists on a 6 day journey down the Whanganui River by double hulled 22 person waka haurua (canoe) and bicycle, creating a setting for a flow of conversations – Te Ia Kōrero.

Slowflow imagines living in a post carbon future where physical transport has slowed to human speed, energy use is constrained and renewable, production is collaborative and relocalised, and information communication is instantaneous, global and accessible. Taking a few days out from global hypermobility, slowflow models the contemporary ecotopian dream as a mobile temporary autonomous zone and paddles and cycles it through a landscape of narratives.

The journey starts high up the Whanganui River beneath the volcano Ruapehu and passes through the native bush for 3 days. Emerging from the forest and shifting to bicycles, it continues to sites of counter cultural interest, Jerusalem, the abandoned Ahu Ahu Ohu commune and the Wanganui Police Computer, before reaching the river mouth and the wider network of the sea.

On each day a local expert is invited to give a short talk about the historical context of each site. Particpants are asked to bring a project to make or experiment with on the trip. Whether it be a piece of technology, a piece of media, an art work, doumentation of the trip, or some writing, the collective common wealth of works will form the basis of an exhibition, a web site and a publication.

For more details see: http://greenbench.org/project/slowflow

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Residency 2009: Projects & Stories

Julian Priest

Julian Priest is an artist and independent researcher living and working in New Zealand. He was co-founder of early wireless free network community Consume.net in London U.K.. He became an activist and advocate for the free networking movement and has pursued wireless networking as a theme in fields of arts, development, and policy.

He has written and lectured extensively through Informal - an informal independent research framework. He was one of the instigators of WSFII, the world summits on free information infrastructures, an international series of events to promote grass roots information infrastructures.

Priest has commented on radio spectrum policy and co-founded policy intervention OpenSpectrum U.K. to advocate an open spectrum in the public interest, in Europe and the U.K.

Since 2005 he has developed an artistic practice around participatory and collaborative forms and has shown works internationally in the U.K., Latvia, Germany and New Zealand. He has worked with students and been peer advisor at the Banff New Media Institute in Canada

Priest is currently focused on art practice and his current interests are around the physical and cultural boundaries between technology and the environment. Most recently these have found expression in a new show “A Geekosytem”. He is based in Whanganui, New Zealand where he has opened a new public project room “The Green Bench”.

Web Sites

http://informal.org.uk

Julian Priest's Stories

Slow Flow - Te Ia Kōrero

Intercreate.org is a project based research centre which consists of an international network of people interested in interdisciplinary creativity. Project foci include interdisciplinary projects, education initiatives and residencies. Intercreate is a not-for-profit trust that is registered with the Charities Commmission of New Zealand.

About SCANZ
Solar Circuit Aotearoa New Zealand (SCANZ) is New Zealand’s premier art and technology event and involves a symposium, artist residency, and public exhibition. It occurs every two years, and has typically involved a mix of Aotearoa New Zealand and international artists, producers, theorists and curators many of whom are leading practitioners. Held in New Plymouth, SCANZ 2011 will be the third event.

SCANZ 2011: Eco sapiens
A symposium followed by a residency is to be held late January to early February 2011 in New Plymouth, Aotearoa New Zealand. It seeks to bring a range of knowledge groups together to investigate the cultural roots of climate change and seek out poetically pragmatic approaches to encouraging the cultural and behavioural shifts required. Initial expressions of interest are due 21 November, 2009. Please see here for more details.

SCANZ 2009 international participants included Nina Czegledy, Brett Stalbaum, Sally Jane Norman, Jacques Sirot, Sarah Cook, Andrew Gryf Paterson, Dan Torop, Melinda Rackham and Dominic Smith of The Polytechnic. Participants based in New Zealand included Lisa Reihana, Stella Brennan, Sean Kerr, Rachel Rakena, Natalie Robertson, Danny Butt, Herman Pi’ikea Clarke, Alex Monteith, Naomi Lamb, Caro McCaw, Jon Bywater, Julian Priest (UK/NZ) and many others.

Occurring along side the 2009 residency was a two day symposium (February 7 and 8), presentation evening & exhibition (opened February 7), and curatorial workshop.

Intercreate.org gratefully acknowledges the support and partnerships of:

Creative New Zealand

Govett-Brewster Art Gallery

Puke Ariki

Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (WITT)

TSB Community Trust

and...
Phosphor Essence Ltd.