Worklab 2023 – Ricardo Ginés on ‘Aaron Swartz, Open Access movement’

Talk by Ricardo Ginés on ‘Aaron Swartz, Open Access movement’ during the mur-worklab 21-24.6.2023 @ KIG in Graz (Austria).

This program is part of the project series “Aaron´s Law” that includes various artistic-technical projects dedicated to Aaron Swartz and developed in close cooperation with ACOnet/net:art coordination center. Along with Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, Aaron Swartz is considered one of the most important Internet activists to date, who strongly shaped and influenced the development of the Internet in his short lifetime. As a programmer and advocate for the Open Access Movement, Net Neutrality and civic awareness, he defended the exchange of information constructively across geographic borders via the web. Aaron Swartz was conscious about the immense meaning of the words open access, open source and net neutrality for the creative development of art, design as well as science. 10 years after his death, we want to revisit what exactly happened and where are we standing today. Who is involved in these thought processes or is that all just wishful thinking?

For years the work-lab is a core format in the artistic research program of ‘mur.at’. Worklabs are “un-conferences” that can last for several days, to which people are invited to participate via a public open call. Work-labs create a temporary space in which artists (= specialists in the field of technology, design, art, etc.) and external guests can discuss topics from the field of digital technology, art and its social implications. The work-labs are both incubators for specific work and open think tanks where ideas, tools, as well as practical and creative approaches are developed and tested.

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