No subject

at Twente University in Enschede, Holland for the HAL2001 conference this
year.
The HAL2001 convention is the fourth in a series that has been running every
four years since 1989. Pankaj Kaushal and Supreet Sethi, 
programmers with Sarai, were excited participants in the conference
this year.

The Sarai team lived with the ASCII guys, and along with laying
plastic pipes for the optical fiber and volunteering for the security
team they , they attended lectures on issues as diverse (or similar!)
as cybercrime,  biometrics, BSD kernals, designing and maintaining
high security linuxserver appliances to digital banking, and how the
Amsterdam Internet exchange runs. HAL2001 was not just about a
celebration of the Internet and new technologies. Rather this
enthusiasm was moderated with the knowledge that all these wonderful
new technologies come with new risks to the individual and to society
as a whole.

To know more about HAL 2001, go to http://www.hal2001.org/hal/01Home
-------------------------------------------

3. Tech _2 Conference Report
http://tech2.southspace.org

Monica Narula and Supreet Sethi participated in the Tech_2 event at Bristol
from 17-25 of August. Originally meant to be held at the Cube,
the only independently run cinema space in the city of Bristol, the
event had to be relocated to the Windmill Hill City Farm due to a fire
at the Cube. No one was hurt...

"Tech_2, Bristol, was a series of events, workshops, seminars and discussions,
involving people using digital technologies for building
independent media structures, developing and exposing their own forms
of expression, and supporting interventions into social and cultural spaces.
Tech_2 emphasized skills and knowledge sharing and developing
networks, as well as an exploration of the social and political aspects of
digital technology.

Tech_2 participants were: digital artists, musicians, technical
experts, independent journalists, radio and video makers, researchers,
dancers, DJs, writers, poets,organizers...and many people who cross over these
categories and many people who
don't fit into any."

Monica Narula made a presentation on "Software from Below?", which
stressed the need for understanding the social context in which
software is produced and used and the role - or lack of it - of
marginal voices in technical innovation, with references to he ongoing
Cybermohalla project at Sarai.
The presentation is available at http://tronic.southspace.net

The documentation on other sessions such as SQUID, IPSEC, etc) is also
available here. Supreet Sethi was troubleshooter at large besides
configuring servers and writing shell scripts.

Monica Narula also presented an evening of films  from India @ the
Hatchet Pub, including "In the Eye of the Fish" ( a film by Raqs Media
Collective), and "Satya" (a film by Ram Gopal Varma).
------------------------------------------------------

4. New Media Art Practice Workshop

Mouseclicks in the Consciousness:Orientation Workshop on New Media Art
Practice @ Sarai

A four day workshop on New Media Art Practice at Sarai was held recently at
the
Interface Zone at Sarai. The workshop was held in collaboration with the
British Council and the Max Mueller Bhavan, Delhi.

It was accompanied by an exhibition of contemporary new media art practice
from
the UK, at the Queens Gallery of the British Council, New Delhi. The
exhibition
was curated by the Raqs Media Collective and the workshop was co-ordinated by
the Sarai Media Lab. The exhibition featured works by Graham Harwood
(Rehearsals of Memory), Mongrel (The Mongrel Tate Project) I/O/D (Web Stalker)
Audio Rom Collective (Audio Rom), Heath Bunting & Rachel Baker (Irational),
Hugo Glendenning & Time Etchells (Nightwalks),
c6.org, backspace.org  and Manu Luksch/Ambient TV (Broadbandit Highway).

Regular participants at the workshop included Subba Ghosh, Shukla Sawant,
Sheila Makhijani, Arun and Bharati Chaturvedi. Uma Shankar did a session on
sound for multimedia practice, and Inke Arns, visiting German curator and new
media artist and member of the Mikro collective in Germany, made presentations
about contemporary new media practice in Germany. From the Sarai Media Lab,
Mrityunjoy Chatterjee took sessions on basic HTML and free software tools for
artists, Jeebesh Bagchi  introduced the ideas behind free software culture,
Monica Narula and Shuddhabrata Sengupta made presentations on the conceptual
foundations of new media and net art. Supreet Sethi made a presentation on the
mechanisms of the Internet. The Media Lab prepared a selection of texts on new
media art practice and net art into a small Reader which was given to the
participants and to visitors at the exhibition venue.

This being an introductory workshop, there was more emphasis on the conceptual
foundations of new media art practice. Amongst the issues that were discussed
were the interactive, hybrid and transformative properties of digital objects,
the creative possibilities of collaborative practice, the ethic and aesthetic
of free software and social/political interventions through art practice on
the
Internet.

It was particularly interesting to note that one of the afternoon discussions,
initiated by Inke Arns, soon became focused on the role
of art practice in a climate of surveillance. The participants initiated
personal projects, which they hope to pursue at the Interface Zone and
familiarized themselves with Gimp, Star Office and other free software tools.

Simultaneously, the Media Lab had also arranged for screenings of a
selection of new media projects, CDs and websites. Inke Arns also showed a
selection of recent new media projects from Germany.

The workshop ended (3:30 pm, 15 September) with an Open Public Discussion at
the Queen's gallery at the British Council. This session was  well attended
and
included several students form the Delhi College of Art, the Fine Arts
Department of Jamia Millia Islamia and individual Artists. It was informal,
animated and lively. Some of the workshop participants (Subba Ghosh, Shukla
Sawant and Sheila Makhijani) also discussed a spectrum of issues, ranging from
masquerade, hybridity, and the search for a new language, to collaboration and
the difference between art "in, of and for the public domain" (Shukla Sawant).

Inke Arns spoke about the continuities between media practices and the
importance of the notion of "minor media". Jeebesh Bagchi spoke about free
software, the free art license and the cultural implications of open and
modifiable art practices. Geeta Kapur, noted art critic and historian, raised
very significant questions about the specific phenomenology of being located
online. This led to an animated discussion about connectivity and technology,
emancipation and entropy, fear and intimacy as being key terms by which we can
begin to speak of an online aesthetic experience. The discussion was moderated
by Shuddhabrata Sengupta. Monica Narula introduced the selection of British
new
media projects on display, and showed video interviews with Heath Bunting and
Rachel Baker which she had recorded during her recent visit to Bristol UK, to
participate in the Tech_2 Workshop.

The combination of discussion, critical input, exploration of software,
presentations, screenings, training and hands on activity - that the workshop
brought together - made for an atmosphere that was both intellectually
stimulating and creatively productive.
--------------------------------------------------------

5. New @ Sarai Website

A Concise Lexicon of/for the Digital Commons: Raqs Media Collective
http://www.sarai.net/compositions/texts/works/lexicon.htm
---------------------------------------------------------

6. Forthcoming Events

i). Writing the City: Electronic Workshop on Hypertextual Writing on
the City
October 1-5 2001
Interface Zone, Sarai, in collaboration with Nungu.Com

Writing the City Electronic is a workshop on experimental electronic writing
practices. Participants will render urban experience into bodies of online
text
through collaborative writing sessions, derives in the
city and learn basic html based writing techniques. the workshop will be
conducted by Beatrice Gibson and Vishal Rawlley from www.nungu.com (an online
space for artists and writers, Mumbai). Workshop animator from Sarai - Monica
Narula. Participation is by invitation. For more details contact
monica at sarai.net


ii) Curated Film Series III
St. Stephens College Cine Club is curating a festival of films from October
17th to 19th 2001. A total of five films will be screened, two each on the
17th
and the 18th of October, and one on the 19th of October. There will be a
discussion after the screening on the 19th,  coordinated by Ravi Vasudevan.
However the audience is welcome to initiate discussions on the first two days
of the festival. The screening will be held at the Seminar Room, CSDS, 29
Rajpur Road, Delhi - 54.

The Films in the order of screening are listed below. Please note that
not all the films are screened at the usual time of 4:30.

1. October 17, 2001
i)Time: 2:00 pm
Amarcord, 1974, 124 minutes
Director: Federico Fellini

ii)Time: 4:30 pm
La Chinoise, 1967, 15 minutes
Director:  Jean-Luc Godard

2. October 18th 2001
i)Time: 2:00 pm
The 400 Blows, 1959, 95 minutes
Director: Francois Truffaut

ii)Time: 4:30 pm
Trainspotting, 1995, 94 minutes
Director: Danny Boyle

3. October 19th , 2001
Time: 4:30 pm
Hate, 1995, 95 minutes
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz

Saumya Gupta
Coordinator, Research and Programmes
Sarai: The New Media Initiative
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 110054
Phone: 3960040, 3951190
Fax: 2943450
www.sarai.net 
--=====================_7841071==_.ALT
Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii"

<html>
<font face="Courier New, Courier"><b>1.Search for Programme
Coordinator<br>
2.HAL 2001 Report<br>
3.Tech _2 Conference Report<br>
4.New Media Art Practice Workshop<br>
5.New @ Sarai Website<br>
6.Forthcoming Events @ Sarai
<ul>
<li>Writing the City: Electronic Workshop on Hypertextual Writing on the
City
<li>Curated Film Series III</b></b>
</ul><br>
------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
<b>1. Search for Programme Coordinator<br>
<br>
</b>Sarai, an interdisciplinary programme with interests in cinema,
urban<br>
cultures,  digital media and free software, requires a Programme
Coordinator. You are expected to administer and coordinate the different
public programmes at Sarai - screenings, workshops,conferences and
outreach activities - and build networks.<br>
<br>
We are looking for a young, energetic and dynamic professional, with
a<br>
commitment to the idea of an active public culture and the freedom
of<br>
expression, a high degree of people skills, a desire to animate
public<br>
spaces with intellectually challenging content, and an interest in
the<br>
emerging alternatives in media cultures & politics.<br>
<br>
Familiarity with computers, ability to administer newsletters &<br>
databases and fluency in English & Hindi are necessary. The
applicant<br>
should be in the age range 25-35 with prior work experience
involving<br>
similar responsibilities. Competitive salaries will be offered.
Apply<br>
with a CV and a short statement (500 words) about how you see your<br>
role in Sarai. For more details about us, visit our website
<a href="http://www.sarai.net/" eudora="autourl">www.sarai.net</a><br>
<br>
Apply Immediately, last date for receipt of application: 15th
October,<br>
2001.<br>
<br>
Contact - Ravi Vasudevan, Sarai, CSDS, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110
054.<br>
Tel: (011) 395 -1190,  396- 0040<br>
E mail : raviv at sarai.net<br>
------------------------------------------<br>
<br>
<b>2. HAL 2001 Report<br>
<br>
</b>From August 10-12, almost 3000 hackers from around the world
gathered<br>
at Twente University in Enschede, Holland for the HAL2001 conference this
year. The HAL2001 convention is the fourth in a series that has been
running every four years since 1989. Pankaj Kaushal and Supreet Sethi,
<br>
programmers with Sarai, were excited participants in the conference<br>
this year.<br>
<br>
The Sarai team lived with the ASCII guys, and along with laying<br>
plastic pipes for the optical fiber and volunteering for the
security<br>
team they , they attended lectures on issues as diverse (or
similar!)<br>
as cybercrime,  biometrics, BSD kernals, designing and
maintaining<br>
high security linuxserver appliances to digital banking, and how 
the<br>
Amsterdam Internet exchange runs. HAL2001 was not just about a<br>
celebration of the Internet and new technologies. Rather this<br>
enthusiasm was moderated with the knowledge that all these 
wonderful<br>
new technologies come with new risks to the individual and to
society<br>
as a whole.<br>
<br>
To know more about HAL 2001, go to
<a href="http://www.hal2001.org/hal/01Home" eudora="autourl">http://www.hal2001.org/hal/01Home</a><br>
-------------------------------------------<br>
<br>
<b>3. Tech _2 Conference Report<br>
</b><a href="http://tech2.southspace.org/" eudora="autourl">http://tech2.southspace.org</a><br>
<br>
Monica Narula and Supreet Sethi participated in the Tech_2 event at
Bristol from 17-25 of August. Originally meant to be held at the
Cube,<br>
the only independently run cinema space in the city of Bristol, the<br>
event had to be relocated to the Windmill Hill City Farm due to a
fire<br>
at the Cube. No one was hurt...<br>
<br>
"Tech_2, Bristol, was a series of events, workshops, seminars and
discussions, involving people using digital technologies for
building<br>
independent media structures, developing and exposing their own
forms<br>
of expression, and supporting interventions into social and cultural
spaces. Tech_2 emphasized skills and knowledge sharing and
developing<br>
networks, as well as an exploration of the social and political aspects
of digital technology.<br>
<br>
Tech_2 participants were: digital artists, musicians, technical<br>
experts, independent journalists, radio and video makers,
researchers,<br>
dancers, DJs, writers, poets,organizers...and many people who cross over
these categories and many people who<br>
don't fit into any."<br>
<br>
Monica Narula made a presentation on "Software from Below?",
which<br>
stressed the need for understanding the social context in which<br>
software is produced and used and the role - or lack of it - of<br>
marginal voices in technical innovation, with references to he
ongoing<br>
Cybermohalla project at Sarai.<br>
The presentation is available at
<a href="http://tronic.southspace.net/" eudora="autourl">http://tronic.southspace.net</a><br>
<br>
The documentation on other sessions such as SQUID, IPSEC, etc) is
also<br>
available here. Supreet Sethi was troubleshooter at large besides<br>
configuring servers and writing shell scripts.<br>
<br>
Monica Narula also presented an evening of films  from India @
the<br>
Hatchet Pub, including "In the Eye of the Fish" ( a film by
Raqs Media<br>
Collective), and "Satya" (a film by Ram Gopal Varma).<br>
------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>
<b>4. New Media Art Practice Workshop<br>
<br>
Mouseclicks in the Consciousness:Orientation Workshop on New Media
Art<br>
Practice @ Sarai<br>
<br>
</b>A four day workshop on New Media Art Practice at Sarai was held
recently at the Interface Zone at Sarai. The workshop was held in
collaboration with the British Council and the Max Mueller Bhavan,
Delhi.<br>
<br>
It was accompanied by an exhibition of contemporary new media art
practice from the UK, at the Queens Gallery of the British Council, New
Delhi. The exhibition was curated by the Raqs Media Collective and the
workshop was co-ordinated by the Sarai Media Lab. The exhibition featured
works by Graham Harwood (Rehearsals of Memory), Mongrel (The Mongrel Tate
Project) I/O/D (Web Stalker) Audio Rom Collective (Audio Rom), Heath
Bunting & Rachel Baker (Irational), Hugo Glendenning & Time
Etchells (Nightwalks),<br>
c6.org, backspace.org  and Manu Luksch/Ambient TV (Broadbandit
Highway).<br>
<br>
Regular participants at the workshop included Subba Ghosh, Shukla Sawant,
Sheila Makhijani, Arun and Bharati Chaturvedi. Uma Shankar did a session
on sound for multimedia practice, and Inke Arns, visiting German curator
and new media artist and member of the Mikro collective in Germany, made
presentations about contemporary new media practice in Germany. From the
Sarai Media Lab, Mrityunjoy Chatterjee took sessions on basic HTML and
free software tools for artists, Jeebesh Bagchi  introduced the
ideas behind free software culture, Monica Narula and Shuddhabrata
Sengupta made presentations on the conceptual foundations of new media
and net art. Supreet Sethi made a presentation on the mechanisms of the
Internet. The Media Lab prepared a selection of texts on new media art
practice and net art into a small Reader which was given to the
participants and to visitors at the exhibition venue.<br>
<br>
This being an introductory workshop, there was more emphasis on the
conceptual foundations of new media art practice. Amongst the issues that
were discussed were the interactive, hybrid and transformative properties
of digital objects, the creative possibilities of collaborative practice,
the ethic and aesthetic of free software and social/political
interventions through art practice on the Internet.<br>
<br>
It was particularly interesting to note that one of the afternoon
discussions, initiated by Inke Arns, soon became focused on the 
role<br>
of art practice in a climate of surveillance. The participants initiated
personal projects, which they hope to pursue at the Interface Zone and
familiarized themselves with Gimp, Star Office and other free software
tools.<br>
<br>
Simultaneously, the Media Lab had also arranged for screenings of a<br>
selection of new media projects, CDs and websites. Inke Arns also showed
a selection of recent new media projects from Germany.<br>
<br>
The workshop ended (3:30 pm, 15 September) with an Open Public Discussion
at the Queen's gallery at the British Council. This session was 
well attended and included several students form the Delhi College of
Art, the Fine Arts Department of Jamia Millia Islamia and individual
Artists. It was informal, animated and lively. Some of the workshop
participants (Subba Ghosh, Shukla Sawant and Sheila Makhijani) also
discussed a spectrum of issues, ranging from masquerade, hybridity, and
the search for a new language, to collaboration and the difference
between art "in, of and for the public domain" (Shukla
Sawant).<br>
<br>
Inke Arns spoke about the continuities between media practices and
the<br>
importance of the notion of "minor media". Jeebesh Bagchi spoke
about free software, the free art license and the cultural implications
of open and modifiable art practices. Geeta Kapur, noted art critic and
historian, raised very significant questions about the specific
phenomenology of being located online. This led to an animated discussion
about connectivity and technology, emancipation and entropy, fear and
intimacy as being key terms by which we can begin to speak of an online
aesthetic experience. The discussion was moderated by Shuddhabrata
Sengupta. Monica Narula introduced the selection of British new media
projects on display, and showed video interviews with Heath Bunting and
Rachel Baker which she had recorded during her recent visit to Bristol
UK, to participate in the Tech_2 Workshop.<br>
<br>
The combination of discussion, critical input, exploration of software,
presentations, screenings, training and hands on activity - that the
workshop brought together - made for an atmosphere that was both
intellectually stimulating and creatively productive.<br>
--------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>
<b>5. New @ Sarai Website<br>
<br>
A Concise Lexicon of/for the Digital Commons: Raqs Media Collective<br>
</b><a href="http://www.sarai.net/compositions/texts/works/lexicon.htm" eudora="autourl">http://www.sarai.net/compositions/texts/works/lexicon.htm</a><br>
---------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>
<b>6. Forthcoming Events<br>
<br>
i). Writing the City: Electronic Workshop on Hypertextual Writing 
on<br>
the City<br>
</b>October 1-5 2001<br>
Interface Zone, Sarai, in collaboration with Nungu.Com<br>
<br>
Writing the City Electronic is a workshop on experimental electronic
writing practices. Participants will render urban experience into bodies
of online text through collaborative writing sessions, derives in
the<br>
city and learn basic html based writing techniques. the workshop will
be<br>
conducted by Beatrice Gibson and Vishal Rawlley from
<a href="http://www.nungu.com/" eudora="autourl">www.nungu.com</a> (an
online space for artists and writers, Mumbai). Workshop animator from
Sarai - Monica Narula. Participation is by invitation. For more details
contact monica at sarai.net<br>
<br>
<br>
<b>ii) Curated Film Series III<br>
</b>St. Stephens College Cine Club is curating a festival of films from
October 17th to 19th 2001. A total of five films will be screened, two
each on the 17th and the 18th of October, and one on the 19th of October.
There will be a discussion after the screening on the 19th, 
coordinated by Ravi Vasudevan. However the audience is welcome to
initiate discussions on the first two days of the festival. The screening
will be held at the Seminar Room, CSDS, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 54.<br>
<br>
The Films in the order of screening are listed below. Please note
that<br>
not all the films are screened at the usual time of 4:30.<br>
<br>
<b>1. October 17, 2001<br>
</b>i)Time: 2:00 pm<br>
<b><i>Amarcord</b></i>, 1974, 124 minutes<br>
Director: Federico Fellini<br>
<br>
ii)Time: 4:30 pm<br>
<b><i>La Chinoise</b></i>, 1967, 15 minutes<br>
Director:  Jean-Luc Godard<br>
<br>
<b>2. October 18th 2001<br>
</b>i)Time: 2:00 pm<br>
<b><i>The 400 Blows</b></i>, 1959, 95 minutes<br>
Director: Francois Truffaut<br>
<br>
ii)Time: 4:30 pm<br>
<b><i>Trainspotting</b></i>, 1995, 94 minutes<br>
Director: Danny Boyle<br>
<br>
<b>3. October 19th , 2001<br>
</b>Time: 4:30 pm<br>
<b><i>Hate</b></i>, 1995, 95 minutes<br>
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz<br>
</font><br>
<div>Saumya Gupta</div>
<div>Coordinator, Research and Programmes</div>
<div>Sarai: The New Media Initiative</div>
<div>Centre for the Study of Developing Societies</div>
<div>29 Rajpur Road, Delhi - 110054</div>
<div>Phone: 3960040, 3951190</div>
<div>Fax: 2943450</div>
<a href="http://www.sarai.net/" EUDORA=AUTOURL>www.sarai.net</a>
</html>

--=====================_7841071==_.ALT--