Autonomous Republic Declared in Dublin
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Friday February 20, 2009 01:34
by Citizen of the Autonomous Republic of Creative Practitio
Series of autonomous zones expected to follow Dublin independence declaration
An previously unknown anarchic group of artists are believed to be behind the proclamation of an autonomous republic on O'Connell Bridge in Dublin yesterday.
The newly formed collective, intent on preserving creative autonomy and artistic freedom, claimed temporary ownership of a section of the famous Dublin landmark and named it 'The Autonomous Republic of Creative Practitioners'.
It is thought that this Temporary Autonomous Zone (TAZ) will now continue to exist in a virtual space online and may be re-formed by the artists at future times and alternative locations globally. Upcoming locations for 2009 include London, Berlin, San Francisco and Geneva. "We aim to have a global link where possible by creating our Temporary Autonomous Zones (TAZ) in view of an existing live webcam", a spokeperson for the world's latest Republic told Indymedia Ireland. "Our art interventions and events may therefore be viewed globally. The concept exists beyond the form of the art object. It is not for sale," she said.
The viral nature of the idea behind the declaration suggests that temporary autonomous zones (TAZ) linked to the collective will now spring up in different places and times."A TAZ is a physical manifestation of a state of mind: freedom of expression, creative autonomy and artistic independence," said the spokesperson. "From here on, the TAZ of this Republic will not necessarily be declared in advance but may occur spontaneously and without warning," she added before declaring independence with the following words:
The Provisional Government of the
AUTONOMOUS REPUBLIC OF CREATIVE PRACTITIONERS
To the Global Community:
We declare the right of the creative practitioner to the
ownership of a mapped section of this world and to
the independent control of this territory.
In every generation, the artist has asserted their right to freedom of expression
and creative autonomy: therefore we hereby proclaim
'The Autonomous Republic of Creative Practitioners'
as a sovereign and independent state
and we pledge to work creatively and with purpose towards the cause of its freedom,
of its welfare and of its exaltation among the nations of the world.
The Autonomous Republic offers to support and be supported
by each and every creative practitioner
The Republic guarantees equal rights and opportunities
to all its citizens and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation
and of all its parts, cherishing all the creative citizens of the nation equally.
Until our borders are mapped to mark the opportune moment
for the establishment of the Republic,
a provisional national boundary hereby constituted,
will hold the Republic in trust for the people.
After the dissolution of such boundaries of the Republic,
this mapped territory may continue to exist in a virtual state.
At this supreme hour we place the cause of the
Autonomous Republic under the protection of
'The Society of Creative Liberty and Freedom of Expression'.
The idea of Temporary Autonomous Zones was fledged by Hakim Bey, who wrote an essay of the same title. "Are we who live in the present doomed never to experience autonomy, never to stand for one moment on a bit of land ruled only by freedom? Are we reduced either to nostalgia for the past or nostalgia for the future? Must we wait until the entire world is freed of political control before even one of us can claim to know freedom?", asked Bey. (http://www.hermetic.com/bey/taz_cont.html).
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An web view of the declaration
Does this new artistic initiative derive any inspiration from the Situationist movement of France and elsewhere that flourished around the 60s and 70s?
Try this: http://affinityproject.org/groups/situationist.html
One big thing they did was to take comic pages; erase the bubble dialogues and caption narratives and then insert situationist commentaries and dialogues on cultural, political and philosophical topics; print these and circulate. There is a Situationist website where you can access key documents and comic/cartoon samples.
whizzing by on the bus, rubbernecking meself into a contorted cramp wondering what the bejasuz these mad hedz were up to. Let's have more ideas more protests more unity and more reports!
Great to see some sort of imaginative initiative such as this flowering in the grey wasteland that passes for what Irish political society has become. It illustrates well enough that some people are still capable of imaginative thought - our politicians are not and too many of our artists, in the face of revealed corruption in the land, choose to remain dumb; a condition that is not readily comprehensible to artists in other countries. It would be interesting to know what people think of the Arts Council's predeliction for accepting anonymously-forwarded mails, particularly those sent with malicious intent, in their grants' assessment process. I have had recent experience of this, where a letter I published in a Galway newspaper (over my own name and private address - I am Director of the Western Writers' Centre) critical of the arts generally in that town was forwarded to the Arts Council along with items from our website as 'evidence' of my being divisive; subsequently the letter was used in an assessment for grant-aid to the Western Writers' Centre and was cited as a reason for removing their grant. I understand that the Council are considering a rethink on the letter. But surely this is a clear example of where freedom of speech is denied, even punished? How often does this sort of thing go on? Will they now - as in justice they should - rethink their withdrawal of the grant? Well done, folks! We do not live in a democracy and haven't for a long time.
VIVA the Autonomous Republic!
---
Here is one thing the Government wants you to forget.
YOU HAVE A VOICE
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO USE IT?
FOR TRUTH
Art is witness. When the government wiretaps and spies on its own
people, people become afraid to speak the truth.
SPEAK THE TRUTH
FOR UNITY
The artist shows what everyone is thinking. The government wants
people to feel isolated and alone. A stencil in a public place says,
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
FOR POWER
The government wants you to think you are powerless to act.
YOU CAN ACT
This doesn’t mean it’s easy. This doesn’t mean no one died. But
governments cannot survive shame. A government can jail people,
deny them votes and power, but when a million people no longer
believe in that government, it will tremble. That million will breed
another million and some of them will be judges and soldiers and
cops. A house divided cannot stand.
GOVERNMENT REQUIRES THE CONSENT
OF THE GOVERNED
If the American people stop believing in this administration,
it WILL fall.
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