Fireythings

Fireworks Released on...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 11:22:04 +0000

Fireworks Released on Kindle

‘Fireworks’, a small book of provocational essays and research by Firestation Arts & Culture MD Dan Eastmond, has been mailed to 100 arts venues and organisations across the UK in an effort to offer a fresh approach to the current arts funding crisis.

As well as presenting studies and data on the current state of the arts, it also proposes that the current public funding model will end in the closure of all arts venues, that contemporary organisations should stop trying to present art at all and that many arts professionals operate in the “shadow of loss, of longing and sometimes wilful delusion”.

Dan Eastmond, who’s organisation Firestation Arts & Culture runs a number of cultural projects including Windsor’s Firestation Arts Centre, spent two years researching over ten thousand pieces of financial data from a selection of UK arts venues including Southbank and Barbican before starting work on the book.

“At first I was interested in getting some comparative data for my management team, but it became quickly apparent that you can’t analyse the numbers without looking at the culture and assumptions that give rise to it.” says Dan.

“I also grew tired of attending conferences and seminars where the same old arguments about funding would be dragged out. It’s a complicated situation based on years of politics, power and bad habits, if we really want to stop the rot we need to look at ourselves more honestly.”

The book was mailed out last week to public arts venues and organisations up and down the country, from Battersea Arts Centre to Cornerhouse, from Tate to The Arts Council.

“Some people will love it, we’ve had some positive feedback so far. Some people will no doubt hate it, but it’s ideas come from a positive place so I hope the sector finds it useful and it generates a little change.”

‘Fireworks’ is now available to download on Amazon Kindle here - Fireworks. A Limited number of hardcopy books are also available here- firestationshop.

What Digital Future(s)?- Going Forward.

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 11:44:00 +0000

A brief feedback »

Last Thursday saw our inaugural ‘What Digital Future(s)?’ Symposium at the Firestation Centre for Arts and Culture. The day saw contributions from ‘Capitalist Realism’ author Marc Fisher, Aaron Peters of Novara Media, Malcolm Napier of TVRRUG, Federico Campagna of the Through Europe Collective, The Wine & Cheese Appreciation Society (of Greater London) and director and senior lecturer at RHUL, Victoria Mapplebeck.

The event was attended by 35 people during the day (not bad for a working day in Windsor) and watched by 76 folks via Ustream. The level of debate was high and the conversation hopefully useful.

After a conversation with Marc Fisher, the Firestation now intend to keep the conversation going. Our plan is to organise a series of Symposia/dayschools under the ‘What Digital Future(s)?’ moniker.

These will be thematically tighter than our first event- focusing in on one aspect or implication of Digital Technology at a time, rather than attempting to be all encompassing.

So hopefully that will translate into one day dedicated to ‘the implications for politics in the age of digital networks’, one day on ‘the psychological implications of an online life’, one day on ‘recent technological innovations’, one day on ‘security culture’, one day on ‘work in the digital age’, one day on ‘the future of privacy’ etc.

These days will see fewer speakers than before (a maximum of 3 to 4 per day) in the hope that the debate and discussions after each presentation will be fuller and more nuanced for the allocation of more time.

We are also proposing to publish our contributors talks as short ebook essays that will be available to download - Our idea is to collate and expand this content into a physical volume at the end of the year.

Details of our next event will be posted here in the coming weeks, alongside some video/audio content from our initial effort.

Once again we would like to thank all those who participated in the discussion (in IRL and online) and look forward to taking this forward together.

What Digital Future(s)? Live feed

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:55:37 +0000

What Digital Future(s)? Live feed:

For those who cant make it, here is a Live feed for the ‘What Digital Future(s)? Symposium’. You can participate on #WDF

What Digital Futures? Symposium

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:45:10 +0000

So the symposium is almost upon us- Please go to the link below to register your interest/get your ticket.

Talks currently scheduled include-

3d Printing – Behind the Hype

A talk by Malcolm Napier, e-mpirical Ltd, 3forme and TVRRUG - @malcolmapier1

The Replicator Moment

A facilitated discussion led by Ben Lear, Shift Magazine @Ben_in_Manc

Bitcoin - finally fair money?

A talk by the Wine & Cheese Appreciation Society (of Greater London) @portandcheddar

Digital pathways to Happiness and Autonomy?

A talk by Federico Campagna, Through Europe Collective @FedCampagna

Inbox: Memory and New Technology

A talk by Victoria Mapplebeck

Breakdown in Doxa? Communication, Action and Politics within Network Culture

A talk by Aaron Peters - Novara Media , @aaronjohnpeters

Remote Presentation via Skype (title tbc)

A talk byDr. Garnet Hertz , Artist in Residence and Research Scientist ,Department of Informatics, Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California , http://www.conceptlab.com

Digital Dreamtime

A Screening of film and discussionwith Marc Fisher, Author of Capitalist Realism , @kpunk99

And more TBC.

Shift editor Ben Lear (@ben_in_manc) has written this fantastic...

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:28:00 +0000

Shift editor Ben Lear (@ben_in_manc) has written this fantastic essay, available to download now here.

‘In sci-fi, utopian technologies such as the replicator, which can produce most goods from molecules in the atmosphere, have undermined the material basis of the capitalist economy. With products able to be produced from thin air the labour processes of production which constitute capitalism no longer makes any sense. The replicator moment, that is the development of post-scarcity enabling technologies, has paved the way to a future beyond capitalism.

Whilst the replicator is, as of yet, a fictional device some see the same potential for a replicator moment residing in a suite of personal manufacturing technologies (PMTs) which already exist. The most lauded, and the subject of this article, is the 3D printer.’

Check it out.

What Digital Future? Symposium

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

A Day of Discussion, workshops and presentations.

The last 30 years has seen an increase in our understanding of the shift in society towards the digital age of networked production. The emergence of contemporary subjectivites, such as the ‘digital worker/cognitariat’ as well as generational demarcations such as the ‘digital native’, have received the attention of academics and those with a vested interest in understanding the potentiality of the present. These debates have often been framed inside the radical potential of unending and open knowledge production and its subsequent appropriation into capital.

But what are the material limits of the internet and any projected digital future? Can the internet really be decoupled from consumerism? What environmental factors exist that radically limit the expansion of the internet in real or utopian terms? How do we build a digital culture in the present, outside of the demands of growth and the waste of progress? What role could renewable energies play in the internet’s present or future? What possiblities exist for a ‘free’ internet inside the environmental constraints of the present? What are the psycho/social implications of a life lived on the internet?

You are invited to explore these questions with us, alongside academics and other interested parties. ‘What Digital Future?’ is a free event.

The Day is broken into 4 streams of discussion-

Technology and The Environmental Pressure Cooker

The environment is undoubtedly under pressure, can digital technology offer a salvation?

The Psychological Effects of Social Networks and a ‘Life Lived In Public’

Much is made of the empowering effects of social networks to connect individuals and enable social movements. But what are the negative psychosocial implications of our new found expression.

Work, Empowerment & Exploitation In The Digital Age

Liberalised markets, integrated global economies and internationally networked production sites have radically altered the composition of the labor force both domestically and abroad. Who are the winners and losers in the digital age, now and going forward?

Liquid Economics, Value and Power

From digital currencies to the monetary value of music, from piracy to crowd sourcing, it’s all changing. So as a society are we freer and richer now, or merely labouring under a ‘new face’ of old power structures?

Confirmed speakers so far include-

Mark Fisher - Author of Capitalist Realism -@kpunk99

http://k-punk.abstractdynamics.org

Ben Lear - Shift Magazine - @Ben_in_Manc

Bethan Michael, Lecturer in the Education Studies department at the University of Bedfordshire (research interest -the legacy of Postmodern Culture) - @bethan_michael

Cllr Henry Vann, councillor for dep Parys ward in Bedford - @Bedfordvann

Aaron Peters - Resonance Fm and Novara Media - @aaronjohnpeters

http://www.opendemocracy.net/author/aaron-peters

The Wine and Cheese Appreciation Society of Greater London - @portandcheddar http://junge-linke.org/en/bitcoin-finally-fair-money

Federico Campagna - Through Europe Collective - @FedCampagna

Prof. Monica Whitty - Media and Communication Dept, Leicester University

Others TBC.

Date: Thursday 7th February 2013

Venue:

The Firestation Centre For Arts And Culture,

The Old Court,

St Leonards Rd,

Windsor,

SL4 3BL

Time:

11am - 5 pm

Please register your attendance at:

http://whatdigitalfuture.eventbrite.co.uk

Suburban Campfires Vol 2 We are looking for recording artists to...

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:54:00 +0100

Suburban Campfires Vol 2

We are looking for recording artists to feature on the second volume of Suburban Campfires. Primarily we are looking for grime, hip-hop and electronica. Please send tracks for consideration to-

info@fireythings.com

You can purchase a digital copy of Suburban Campfires from here...

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:38:49 +0100

You can purchase a digital copy of Suburban Campfires from here - alternately you can purchase a physical copy of our limited edition release here- this includes two extra tracks not featured on the digital release, namely ‘Icarus’ by Bastille and ‘In the Sun’ by Wildeflower. Suburban Campfires Volume 2 is shaping up nicely. More on this soon.

We want to Publish you.

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 10:31:16 +0100

We are seeking projects to publish and promote.

Do you have a manuscript? An album of material? A review? A series of short stories? A novel? A couple of songs? A short film? Or an idea for any of the above?

then Contact us at info@fireythings.com for details of how we can help you realise your project.

Photo

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 12:13:06 +0100

Upcoming Projects.

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 12:08:46 +0100

We are close to completion on several publishing projects, the first of which is likely to be Dan Eastmond’s essay compilation Fireworks. Available to purchase from our shop in paper and electronic formats asap.

COMPUTERS ARE HARDWARE. APPS ARE SOFTWARE. HUMANS ARE WETWARE

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 12:06:07 +0100

Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

"To speak of the smell and feel of books, the erotics of the text, has begun to sound perverse One..."

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:32:22 +0100

“

To speak of the smell and feel
of books, the erotics of the text,
has begun to sound perverse

One by one, the old places of worship
churches, bookstores, Nature herself
become quaint and are vacated

In their stead a gleaming, ambitious screen
part shuttered window, part distorting mirror
full of wandering, restless spirits

Like so many ghosts in limbo -
free of the tyranny of bodies,
yet aching for their phantom limbs.

”

- Yahia Lababidi, “Shuttered Windows” (via berfrois)

Reading Group

Thu, 17 May 2012 12:51:00 +0100

We are currently toying with the idea of a reading group that will better inform our understanding of contemporary life in the age of ’networked culture’ (an never ending preoccupation and debate in the office).

Proposed texts could therefore be about the economy, present or future models of cultural production, the state of the arts, life and experience in the age of social media.

As an opening gambit, I’m proposing we read ‘A Grammar Of The Multitude’ by Paolo Virno. Translated from Italian to English and published by Semiotext(e) in 2004.

Despite the technological innovations of the last 7 years, the text remains precient, posing problematics that remain central to the promise of the utopia the network age promised, but has so far failed to deliver.

Let us know if you up for this, or if you wish to propose any other text- either via the twitter account or on here, then we can arrange a time.

Cheers.

Suburban Campfires launch party this Saturday. This Saturday,...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:41:00 +0100

Suburban Campfires launch party this Saturday.

This Saturday, The Firestation bar will host an informal launch event for the release of our first CD ‘Suburban Campfires’. Booze, assorted bar snacks and intimate performances are assured. 8pm til closing.

An Interesting essay on Digital/IRL futures by La Partita Imaginaria: The Crisis of Value in the Network Society - the biggest crisis of them all?

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:41:31 +0100

An Interesting essay on Digital/IRL futures by La Partita Imaginaria: The Crisis of Value in the Network Society - the biggest crisis of them all?:

partitaimaginaria:

‘The word ‘crisis’ seems a commonplace at present. It is a word whose ceremonial invocation by commentators and holders of public office alike is made with an almost merry abandon that borders on monotony. This should come as little surprise given the numerous crises of the present can appear…

The Maker Community and the Bio-crisis...

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:52:54 +0100

The Maker Community and the Bio-crisis...

Subculture or future?

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:28:46 +0100

Subculture or future?

Shop

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:46:00 +0000

Fireythings is opening an online shop with the aim of supporting the work of cultural producers by building a resilient support network and sustainable business model.

So, have you created some music recently? Written a novel, stappled a fanzine together, edited a journal, or created an artwork that you want to see distributed?

If so please dont hesitate to get in contact with us on contact our email address.

Works must be completed and ‘market ready’ ie- you have printed your novel/CD etc (self published.)

On The Graduate With No Future. Here is a link to a free pdf...

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:10:00 +0000

On The Graduate With No Future.

Here is a link to a free pdf version of a book edited by a fireythings operative that seeks to address the current wave of unrest gripping the globe - it also features contributions from future fireythings collaborators….