This year, legendary San Francisco nonprofit arts organization Southern Exposure is operating out of a temporary location, during a retrofitting of their space. The move has prompted a season of programming, entitled 'Off-Site,' that investigates artists' 'strategies for exploring and mapping public space.' Among the eight projects supported is 'Radio Cartography,' by Neighborhood Public Radio, a group borrowing their logo and acronym from the better-known National Public Radio. The former NPR has had a fruitful, ongoing relationship with Southern Exposure, and were highlighted on Pamela Lee's 'Best of 2004' shortlist, in Artforum, when they participated in an earlier exhibition there. This time around, the group continues their mission of 'providing an alternative media platform for artists, activists, musicians, and community members' by once again reaching out to the community, using their mobile production unit to engage the public not only in artists' original broadcasts, but also in learning to transmit their own voices. NPR intervenes in the airwaves just as they intervene in the streets, believing that both are public platforms. From November 10, 2006 through June of 2007, they will jump onto existing FM frequencies to transmit daily, weekly, and monthly broadcasts that 'map' the city by asking listeners to communicate about their physical and emotional states and addressing questions of nomadic living, displacement, and relocation. SoEx will host an in-gallery radio station, but these broadcasts can also be heard by tuning in throughout the bay area or visiting NPR's website. - Marisa Olson
