Knowledge Exchange 2nd Season

by Pol Og Thu Apr 28, 2011 16:15

Ai! Its a damn pity these talks are happining in a place that is funded almost entirley by the government/state

Cant go into the place for some reason, reeks of opportunism and hypocrisy (See Dylan Haskins - OWNER OF EXCHANGE - populist election candidacy)

As far as I have experienced, this space is not made for any kind of subversive or radical discourse, rather it sucks the funding that could be provided for projects in working-class areas. But since Templbar is the ''cultural centre'' (foreigners insert your money here centre), the funding is pumped into a space that is used mostly by middle-class and well-off kids to do their arts projects.

I have never publicly attacked this space until now. Fine to do your art et al, but dont try to propagate your kind of knowledge.

by hobart Mon May 02, 2011 17:47

"Your kind of knowledge"? I think this might be the most ignorant thing I've seen today, and this is amidst the deluge of excited conservatives posting about Bin Laden. Heaven forbid people would try to teach a range of things without charging, they're not our kind.

I'd agree that the place lacks a radical or subversive spin and there are obvious links to the state, but tarring everything coming out of it as useless is just petty. You could have gone to the meeting (as the invitation states) to try and change the direction of the group or even of the space - maybe they were just missing your unique insight? But no, despite your expressed interest it's easier to just hate on everything that comes out of the place, even if the thing you're hating on isn't one of the "art projects" you have such vitriol for. The post even states that the plan is to bring the sessions across Dublin city in order to spread it around, but your preconceptions must have caused you to glance past that part.

by Tom Stewart - Knowledge Exchange/Exchange Dublin Mon May 02, 2011 19:25 tom at exchangedublin dot ie Exchange Dublin, Exchange St Lower, Temple Bar

Since I'm involved with both of the groups criticized above, I kinda feel the need to respond and clarify a little.

I'm not sure where the information you have came from, Pol Og, or what your experience has been, but both Knowledge Exchange and Exchange Dublin are open collectives. If you ever feel like verifying this, our Wednesday meetings (7-9) are open to anyone, there is no probation period before anyone can suggest proposals, and we run on consensus democracy. If anyone can suggest ways in which either group can be made more inclusive or democratic than they are currently, we'd love to hear them.

Further, no one 'owns' Exchange Dublin; the building is rented from Temple Bar Properties, but the collective runs as a nonhierarchical organization. It was founded by Dylan Haskins, Jonah King, and Andreas Kindler von Knobloch, but there is no hierarchical leadership or ownership. We operate as a commons, providing the means of production (time, space, equipment) on a decommodified basis to artistic, cultural and social groups and individuals with projects that are noncommercial in ethos (such as Knowledge Exchange) and our collective is composed of people who think this is something worthwhile, myself included.

Whether this is radical or subversive depends on your definition, I guess. I personally consider growing the commons to be a highly radical political-economic act in a world-historical context of privatization and commons-expropriation. Similarly, I would see free or open-sourced access to knowledge to be part of a emancipatory genealogy in opposition to enclosure and hierarchy. Ideologically, for me, this has been a core part of my motivation for involvement.

One of the key issues at the Knowledge meeting on Sunday was the desire to run in other venues, since Knowledge Exchange is an autonomous project, rather than something tied to Exchange Dublin. If any other venue would like to host free public lecture series, or single events, we'd love to run them there. Finding free venues isn't always easy, suggestions welcome.

Unfortunately for its finances, Exchange Dublin is by no means entirely funded by the government. If we were, we wouldn't need to fund-raise to keep the space running to provide free culture. We're keenly aware that we have been funded with public money, but we are providing a range of public services for all ages.

Hope that clears up any misunderstandings. If not, I'm happy to talk further if there's any other issues.

Thanks to everyone who turned up to the Knowledge meeting, really looking forward to the next Season of lectures. Our submission deadline for anyone else who wants to present their knowledge in an open format will be the 31st of May, and we look forward to seeing you all in the Summer Season.