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vrsn.EXCHANGE <-+-> NODE <-+-> Version>04: invisibleNetworks April 28
+ April 29, 2004
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the vrsn.EXCHANGE NODE of Version>04: invisibleNetworks convergence @
the Chicago Cultural Center features an amazing array of people
representing projects + facilitating conversations that engage the
themes of the Version>04 convergence. 10 presentations + panel
discussions will occur in the Cassidy Theater on the second floor of
the Chicago Cultural Center located @ 78 E. Washington, Chicago IL
60602 USA.
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WEDNESDAY April 28 2004
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Open Loop - open-loop.org
11AM: Chicago Cultural Center - Open-loop - open-loop.org
Open-loop is a collective which has documented the growing number of
surveillance cameras that watch the streets of Chicago's loop
district. This documentation includes a map marking camera locations,
photos of the cameras, and descriptions of camera types. The
open-loop project is a continuation of a map that was created by Bill
Brown, of the Surveillance Camera Players, during Version>03.

Becoming Imperceptible: Secrecy as Spectacle and as Strategy - Jack Bratich
1PM: Chicago Cultural Center - Becoming imperceptible: Secrecy as
spectacle and as strategy - Jack Bratich
This presentation examines the role of secrecy in culture and
politics. Jack Bratich will discuss the current "state of
secrecy"–the fusion of generalized secrecy with a state of permanent
war. Given the current conjuncture of the "New Normal", where
State-power attempts to appropriate secrecy for its own strategies,
his paper asks can we think of secrecy as productive, and not
inherently a tool of domination? In an age where secrecy is virtually
everywhere as a strategy of domination, can we begin to experiment
with a becoming-secret that could be defined as an insurgent secrecy,
a minor secrecy, or a popularsecrecy? Invisible networks, currently
depicted as shadowy networks where terrorists lurk and where
criminals evade surveillance, can thus be reappropriated as a
political weapon.

The Romance of Clandestinity - Mary Patten + guests
2PM: Chicago Cultural Center - The Romance of Clandestinity: or, how
to disappear without a trace - Mary Patten + guests
This multimedia presentation will take a critical look at the allure
of masks and group uniforms, street theatre and media provocations,
tactics hidden and "known," to examine shifting desires across
generations of activists for a politics of anonymity, clandestinity,
or publicity. The format will include a video-clip and slide lecture
that "talks back" to the media images of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s,
as well as current movements for social justice and against global
capital.

Creative Resistance Round Table - Version>04 Art of Cultural
Interference participants
4PM: Chicago Cultural Center - Creative Resistance Round Table -
Guests TBD from Version>04 Art of Cultural Interference participants.
How do artists make an impact in the time of Bush and War? Can
artists present messages that can reach the "right" audiences? This
round table presentation and discussion will look at projects
presented and unveiled during the convergence. Participants will be
selected during the convergence based on the execution and impact of
their projects.

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THURSDAY April 29 2004
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Staring into a Void - Trevor Paglen
11AM: Chicago Cultural Center - Staring into a Void - Trevor Paglen
An experimental lecture about the secret nuclear war that has been
raging in the American west since the early 1950s.

Where do we go from here? i-Corp: project as strategy - Katherine Dodds
12PM: Chicago Cultural Center - Where do we go from here? i-Corp:
project as strategy - Katherine Dodds
"i-Corp" is the "social-marketing" arm of the film THE CORPORATION–
More than anything else – i-Corp is a multi-media strategy designed
to harness the film's momentum and use it to promote the issues
within the film, and in so doing build support for those groups
working on these issues. In this presentation Katherine will talk
briefly about the i-Corp project's evolution, show the beta test of
current state of the online component and invite participants to
brainstorm about content development, content partnering and
strategies for the upcoming US launch of both the film and new
website. (June 4th 2004)

Preface: A Handbook for forecasting social spaces - Amy Balkin
1PM: Chicago Cultural Center - Preface: A Handbook for forecasting
social spaces - Amy Balkin
Amy Balkin presents projects gleaned form her online project Preface:
A Handbook for forecasting social spaces. These architectures arise
from a transformative -generative approach to forecasting for social
spaces, resulting in a class of structures crafted to respond to the
everyday problems of living. When we undertook this project, our goal
was to create a compendium of this new architecture; a taxonomic
record is also pending. These shelters and places, while unlikely,
are probable some are currently in development.

Cultural Interference - Feel Tank Chicago, Ryan Griffis + guests
2PM: Panel: Cultural Interference with: Feel Tank Chicago, Ryan
Griffis + guests
Interested in imagining diverse, humorous, and creative ways of
disrupting or interfering in the tightly controlled realms of
public/private space, in academic discourses and disciplines, and
within the notion of affective potential of activism? The state of
political and cultural "dissent" in this country is a site of
contestation and these practices, employing traditional and more
experimental means, help to create critical openings in that site
that allow for often unexpected results.

Invisible Networks of Power - Josh On, Jack Bratich, Katherine Dodds
4PM: Panel: Invisible Networks of Power - Josh On, Jack Bratich,
Katherine Dodds
An examination of the networks of corporate power and secret societies.

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vrsn.EXCHANGE @ the Chicago Cultural Center exists as a NODE of the
Version>04: invisibleNetworks convergence April 16 - May 1, 2004. on
April 28 + April 29, 2004
the Version>04: NFO-XPO runs concurrently in GAR Hall.
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for complete listings, further information + other NODES, aspects,
projects + participants:
http://www.versionfest.org/
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//jonCates
—> Version>04: invisibleNetworks organizer
NODES: vrsn.NET_WORKS, vrsn.NET_HUBS, vrsn.EXCHANGE, …
http://www.versionfest.org