Archives and the History of the Mazi: Distributed Spaces Sao Paulo

Distributed Spaces is the title of a series of events in Sao Paulo and a mode of engagement drawing on the vocabulary of distributed archives and more informal sites of learning and knowledge production. In late 2017 Elizabeth Wright, James Stevens and Anthony Davies developed a series of workshops and events in Sao Paulo, Brazil to facilitate connections between autonomous educational and cultural spaces. The resulting ‘Favelas Arise’ at Escola da Cidade and ‘Housing Occupations Convene’ at Mauá Occupation, brought together representatives from a number of Peripheries/Favelas and Occupied Houses to reflect on their programmes and consider commonalities in their respective practice and struggles. This was followed by a series of visits to host Peripheries/Favelas and the introduction of wireless and offline communication technologies (e.g Mazi)* to enhance and support existing modes of production and distribution with an onus on activating histories/archives and self-representation. The foundational principle in this case, has been to support the rights of those excluded from mainstream institutional representation to determine ‘visibility’ and engagement on their own terms. This contribution to Archives and Embodiment will give some background on the development of Mazi and its various applications, reflect on associated technologies and consider the role of historical material/archival activation in the service of autonomous space and contemporary struggle.

*Mazi is both the name of a 4 year European research project and a term used to describe a set of adaptable tools hosted on a localized platform. Its name, derived from the Greek word for ‘together’, communicates how Do-It-Yourself low-cost networking hardware, and free/libre/open source software ‘Floss’ applications can be assembled to establish MAZI Zones http://www.mazizone.eu/