On June 18, 2009 internet theorist and author Clay Shirky joined us for a talk on the concepts of fork and failure in the open source process, particularly in the context of activism and creative practice. This event was part of the monthly Upgrade New York programming series, co-produced by Not An Alternative and Eyebeam.

Upgrade NY: Clay Shirky on Forking, Failure, and Open Source (Part 1) from Not An Alternative on Vimeo.

"Subversive Tech and Burma's Struggle for Democracy" involved a presentation by Digital Democracy on the use of technology inside and along Burma's borders, footage from the Sept 2007 Saffron Revolution, where mobile phones and the internet allowed protesters to coordinate and publicize the largest protests seen in a generation, and a Q&A with "Stanley", a Burmese computer programmer and chairperson of the All Burma IT Students Union.

This was the inaugural event of the 2009 Upgrade New York art and technology programming series, pertaining to open source activist and creative practices, co-produced by Not An Alternative and Eyebeam.

Subversive Tech & Burma's Struggle for Democracy (Part 1) from Not An Alternative on Vimeo.

Thursday June 4, 7:30 pm, free
@ The Change You Want To See Gallery in Brooklyn, NY
and streamed live at http://www.livestream.com/notanalternative

This Thursday evening artist and activist Martin Krenn will present his work that ranges from co-operative, socially committed and participatory projects to politically symbolic, provocative actions. Based in Vienna, Austria, Krenn is an artist, curator, filmmaker, and activist whose work focuses on strategies and methods of resistance to the governing relations of power. He uses different media such as photography, video and the internet to develop projects that are realized in exhibitions, the web and in public space. His talk will give insights in his newer projects where an extended concept of art, subversive techniques and testing the so-called 'freedom of art' are deployed mostly strategically.

Krenn is the Chair of the Austrian Artists Association - IG Bildende Kunst and since 2006 has taught Interventionist Art at the Department of Art and Communicative Practice/University of Applied Arts in Vienna. Current projects include "In between the movements - an ongoing video project about global justice movements", "Normality in [the] Crisis", "Democracy and Welfare for All" and "On the Tectonics of History" which can be seen in the ISCP-New York in Brooklyn till June 28.
http://www.martinkrenn.net

This event is co-produced by Not An Alternative and Pond: art, activism, ideas.

This Sunday survivors and activists from Bhopal will join us for a special screening of The Yes Men Fix The World (dir. Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, Kurt Engfehr, 2009), a new film in which they appear.

The Yes Men Fix The World follows a couple of gonzo political activists as they infiltrate the world of big business and pull off outrageous pranks that highlight the ways that corporate greed is destroying the planet. The film begins with the Yes Men's famous 2004 impersonation of a Dow Chemical spokesperson on BBC World News. In a broadcast that reached 300 million people, they took responsibility for the world’ largest industrial accident, causing Dow's market value to drop $2 billion in less than a half hour.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal Disaster. More than 23,000 have died as a result of the catastrophic gas leak and ongoing water contamination. To this day, residents and allies around the world continue fighting to force the company responsible to make amends. Key organizers from Bhopal will lead a Q&A about the campaign after the screening. This will be their first occasion to watch excerpts from the film in which they are featured.

Sunday, May 10, 6-8pm, free
The Change You Want To See Gallery
http://www.thechangeyouwanttosee.org
84 Havemeyer St, at Metropolitan Ave
Brooklyn NY 11211
(Directions)

ABOUT THE FILM