Netznetz
Encyclopedia
netznetz is a social platform for individuals and groups associated with net art
and net culture in Vienna
, Austria
. The platform was dissolved around 2011 because of internal problems and loss of funding from the Viennese city.
Under the title netznetz.net a congregation of initiatives and individuals in the "greater electronic area" of Vienna is growing with the goal to enhance and also visualize connectivity between themselves and the public.
In a 3-day convention at the Künstlerhaus
in October 2004 netznetz.net activists sounded out the practices, collaborations and futures of digital Vienna. The motto "bring your own devices" was a call beyond the individual scenes to both past and future participants, and offered access to new techniques and strategies in horizontal working situations.
developed and run by netznetz in which the participants distribute their own funding according to certain democratically agreed-upon rules and aided by custom software. It is run largely independent of the city government which provides the funds.
The system strives for guaranteed and dispersed distribution of funding in the sector while the parameters of the distribution are meant to remain flexible, providing a dynamic scope. The aim is to encourage project-based collaborations by distributing various smaller grants. Therefore, everybody who is involved in the sector is subject to the principle of permanent reconfiguration of the system and the network.
The modular funding structure – developed in a drawn-out process of discourse and with the contribution of more than 30 groups – was boldly presented by the community and accepted by the municipal Commissioner For The Arts.
According to the new plan, 50% of the funding (250,000 euro
, roughly US$300,000) is reserved for infrastructure
(backbone projects), newbie
s (microgrant
s), and common representation (annual convention) and is to be distributed by the administration together with the community during the course of an open space conference.
The other half of the funding is to be self-distributed among the community in the form of network grants, facilitating the everyday work of contributors, which is usually not supported at all in conventional arts endowment
systems.
The process to come up with an ideal system of self-governance
amongst the artists has been marked by disagreements and skepticism. Critics fear that the system could lead to increased competition and hostilities between participants, favor well-marketed projects over substantiated ones or that too much trust is placed in as-of-yet unproven software. Proponents of the idea cite its independent, democratic, open and non-bureaucratic tendencies as advantages, and state that it is designed to reward collaboration.
In spring 2009 the City of Vienna started an external evaluation process that decided the future of the self-governed funding model. As a result parts of the direct community voting mechanisms were replaced by a jury, which is being elected by the community.
Participating artists and collectives with Wikipedia articles
Note: This is an incomplete listing which should not be taken to represent the netznetz community as a whole.
Internet art
Internet art is a form of digital artwork distributed via the Internet. This form of art has circumvented the traditional dominance of the gallery and museum system, delivering aesthetic experiences via the Internet. In many cases, the viewer is drawn into some kind of interaction with the work...
and net culture in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The platform was dissolved around 2011 because of internal problems and loss of funding from the Viennese city.
Under the title netznetz.net a congregation of initiatives and individuals in the "greater electronic area" of Vienna is growing with the goal to enhance and also visualize connectivity between themselves and the public.
In a 3-day convention at the Künstlerhaus
Vienna Künstlerhaus
The Vienna Künstlerhaus is an art exhibition building in Vienna. It is located on Karlsplatz near the Ringstraße, next to the Musikverein....
in October 2004 netznetz.net activists sounded out the practices, collaborations and futures of digital Vienna. The motto "bring your own devices" was a call beyond the individual scenes to both past and future participants, and offered access to new techniques and strategies in horizontal working situations.
Funding model
Netznetz (formerly: Netznetz Mana) is a system for the distribution of municipal grantsGrant (money)
Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...
developed and run by netznetz in which the participants distribute their own funding according to certain democratically agreed-upon rules and aided by custom software. It is run largely independent of the city government which provides the funds.
The system strives for guaranteed and dispersed distribution of funding in the sector while the parameters of the distribution are meant to remain flexible, providing a dynamic scope. The aim is to encourage project-based collaborations by distributing various smaller grants. Therefore, everybody who is involved in the sector is subject to the principle of permanent reconfiguration of the system and the network.
The modular funding structure – developed in a drawn-out process of discourse and with the contribution of more than 30 groups – was boldly presented by the community and accepted by the municipal Commissioner For The Arts.
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
, roughly US$300,000) is reserved for infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
(backbone projects), newbie
Newbie
Newbie or noob is a slang term for a novice or newcomer, or somebody inexperienced in any profession or activity. Contemporary use can particularly refer to a beginner or new user of computers, often concerning Internet activity, such as online gaming or Linux use...
s (microgrant
Microgrant
A microgrant is a small sum of money distributed to an individual living on less than $1/day, extreme poverty, for the purpose of creating a sustainable livelihood or microenterprise...
s), and common representation (annual convention) and is to be distributed by the administration together with the community during the course of an open space conference.
The other half of the funding is to be self-distributed among the community in the form of network grants, facilitating the everyday work of contributors, which is usually not supported at all in conventional arts endowment
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
systems.
The process to come up with an ideal system of self-governance
Self-governance
Self-governance is an abstract concept that refers to several scales of organization.It may refer to personal conduct or family units but more commonly refers to larger scale activities, i.e., professions, industry bodies, religions and political units , up to and including autonomous regions and...
amongst the artists has been marked by disagreements and skepticism. Critics fear that the system could lead to increased competition and hostilities between participants, favor well-marketed projects over substantiated ones or that too much trust is placed in as-of-yet unproven software. Proponents of the idea cite its independent, democratic, open and non-bureaucratic tendencies as advantages, and state that it is designed to reward collaboration.
In spring 2009 the City of Vienna started an external evaluation process that decided the future of the self-governed funding model. As a result parts of the direct community voting mechanisms were replaced by a jury, which is being elected by the community.
Coordinators
- January 2006-July 2006: Stefan Lutschinger
- July 2006-September 2006: Johannes GrenzfurthnerJohannes GrenzfurthnerJohannes Grenzfurthner is an Austrian artist, writer, curator, director.He has published numerous books, essays and articles on contemporary art, science and philosophy....
- September 2006-October 2006: Paul Böhm
- November 2006-September 2007: Andreas Trawöger
- September 2007-December 2007: Valie Göschl and Charlotte Zott
- December 2007-December 2008: 4-headed coordination team (among others Andreas Leo Findeisen and Michael Zeltner)
See also
- Consensus decision-makingConsensus decision-makingConsensus decision-making is a group decision making process that seeks the consent, not necessarily the agreement, of participants and the resolution of objections. Consensus is defined by Merriam-Webster as, first, general agreement, and second, group solidarity of belief or sentiment. It has its...
- Game theoryGame theoryGame theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
Participating artists and collectives with Wikipedia articles
- 0rf.at
- MACHFELDMACHFELDMACHFELD is an Austrian art duo.Founded in 1999 by media artists Michael Mastrototaro and Sabine Maier in Vienna, Austria, they work in different fields: Netart, short and experimental films, streaming projects, interactive installations, and art in public space...
- MonochromMonochrommonochrom is an international art-technology-philosophy group, founded in 1993. Its offices are located at Museumsquartier/Vienna ....
- QuintessenzQuintessenzQuintessenz is a civil liberties advocacy organization based in the Museumsquartier in Vienna, Austria.Founded in 1994, Quintessenz works on Internet and on-line liberty issues in co-operation with other civil liberties advocates around the world.Quintessenz is a co-organizer of the Big Brother...
- UbermorgenUbermorgenUBERMORGEN.COM is a swiss-austrian-american artist duo founded in 1995 by lizvlx and Hans Bernhard. They live and work in Vienna, Basel and S-Chanf near St...
- EselESeLeSeL.at is an Art-Platform in Vienna, Austria. Founded 1998 by Lorenz Seidler, it provides a weekly newsletter "eSeL Mehl", various mailing lists, a photo-archive and an event-database...
- PhpWikiPhpWikiPhpWiki is a web-based wiki software application.It began as a clone of WikiWikiWeb and was the first wiki written in PHP.PhpWiki has been used to edit and format paper books for publication.-History:...
- MetalabMetalabThe Metalab is a hackerspace in Vienna's central first district.Founded in 2006, it is a meeting place of the Viennese tech community, hosting events from culture festivals to user groups....
- sonance
Note: This is an incomplete listing which should not be taken to represent the netznetz community as a whole.
External links
- NetzNetz Wiki
- Option Democr@tor - Overview over currently discussed issues, decisions and structures in GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
- Diskussion 2004 bis 200x - Overview over currently discussed issues, decisions and structures in GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....