Analogue Visual Communication Centre

In collaboration with the Critical Practice research group at Chelsea College of Arts, NODE.L, Wireless London and Mute Magazine.

"Inspired by Free Software, software that challenges conventional practices of authorship, ownership and distribution, our innovative congress explored the implications of those developments for art, visual culture and cultural production in general.

Open Congress took place at Tate Britain over the 7th and 8th October 2005, it was structured through three themes of Governance, Creativity and Knowledge. Participants shaped the Congress through simultaneous presentations, discussion, workshops and events."
Neil Cummings 2005, from the Critical Practice WIKI.

‘The event […] will not be invited experts on a podium
with a passive listening audience but thoroughly collaborative and interactive. We see this research as valuable as the symposium
itself’ (Cummings 2004: n.pag. in Bradfield 2023)

Participants included: Cory Doctorow- from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Johanna Gibson, David Berry & Giles Moss -The Libre Society, McKenzie Wark, Trebor Scholz, Toni Prug of Open Organizations, Bronac Ferran with John Bywater, David Heath and Luke Nicholson, Richard Barbrook, Ben White with Eileen Simpson, Loca Records, Kelli Dipple, Monica Ross, Tiziana Terranova, Julian Priest, Christian Ahlert – Open Business, Neil Cummings, smsTroika. David Goldenberg, Jamie King, Saul Albert - Wireless London, Pete Maloney, Armin Medosch and Shu Lea Cheang - Kingdom of Piracy, Paul B Davies, Max - Seeds for Change, Joasia Krysa with Grzesiek Sedek, Manuela Zechner, Corrado Morgana, Ilze Black, Mary Anne Francis - Part Art, Constant VZW, Linda Drew, Felix Stalder, Simon Yuill, Simon Pope, Ian Drysdale, Trevor Giles, Carles Guerra, Tom Neill, Wei-Ho Ng and Darrel Stadlen among many, many others.

The 'Analogue Visual Communication Centre' was part of my contribution to the day's event (an 'unconference'). It was a site for collection and collation running parallel to the discussion spaces, offering another layer of discussion and visual communication and facilitating communication between the attendees. It offered surfaces for creative recording and interaction in and between the spaces of the congress.