Re:Group: Beyond Models of Consensus

Thursday, June 10 – Saturday, August 7, 2010

Exhibition opening: Thursday, June 10
Curators Talk: 5PM | Reception: 6-8PM
Breakfast with the Artists: Friday, June 11, 10AM-12PM
Eyebeam 540 W. 21st St (btw 10th and 11th Aves.)

Eyebeam Art & Technology Center, in collaboration with Upgrade! NY and Not An Alternative, is pleased to presentRe:Group: Beyond Models of Consensus, an exhibition which examines models of participation and participation as a model in art and activism.

Re:Group proposes that with participation now a dominant paradigm, structuring social interaction, art, activism, the architecture of the city, and the economy, we are all integrated into participatory structures whether we want to be or not. The exhibition showcases work that subverts existing systems or envisions new alternatives to the ways in which individuals can take part, or choose not to take part, in social and cultural life.

Re:Group opens to the public on Thursday, June 10, 2010, with a curators talk at 5PM and a reception at 6-8PM. The curators talk will be moderated by Beryl Graham of UK-based new media curatorial research institute CRUMB.

Please note: The public opening is preceded by a benefit & private viewing on Tuesday, June 8, 6:30-9:30PM. For ticket information, visit eyebeam.org.

The opening week continues with a “Breakfast with the Artists” reception & talk on Friday, June 11, 10AM-12PM, moderated by Re:Group curators and featuring exhibiting artists Institute for Infinitely Small Things, Christopher Robbins, and Giana González.

Re:Group features work by thirteen artists, designers, hackers, activists, and collectives exploring both the potential and limitations of participation, networked collaboration, and distributed labor. From the “crowdsourced” projects Ten Thousand Cents and White Glove Tracking to the tactical media art of The Yes Men and Ubermorgen, from the urban interventions ofJohn Hawke and The Institute of Infinitely Small Things to the open platforms of Ushahidi and MakerBot – the exhibition represents a diverse range of critically and socially engaged work that rethinks the institutional practices within urban planning, civil engineering, transportation, industrial design and production, relief work, and the news media.

Re:Group will include a full complement of public programs, organized as part of Eyebeam’s annual Summer School program. Eyebeam Summer School offers a lively mix of master classes, free public lectures, hands-on workshops and skillshares, and youth programs. Visit eyebeam.org for a complete schedule of activities.

The exhibition not only presents completed work through gallery installations, but also functions as a platform for new collaborative work. Through workshops, master classes, and discussions led by the exhibiting artists, the processes and methodologies behind the work are opened up to gallery visitors and invited communities, providing an opportunity to extend and reinterpret the artists’ ideas in new and unexpected ways.

Re:Group: Beyond Models of Consensus is curated by Upgrade! NY, the New York node of the international network, Upgrade!, founded in 1999 by media artist Yael Kanarek. The curatorial team is Eyebeam program manager Paul Amitai,writer/activist, Marco Deseriis, Beka Economopoulos and Jason Jones of Not An Alternative, Eyebeam education coordinator Stephanie Pereira, and designer/educator Mushon Zer-Aviv.