Tactical Temple
Author: redactie redactie
Impression of the Tactical Media
The festival location Paradiso used to be a church.
That was a long time ago. References of this past can
still be found back virtually anywhere within the
building. And especially in the vaulted cellar, a
space that normally is a forbidden area. During the
Next Five Minutes however, it was fully accessible.
Here the Toolbuilders Fair took place for two whole
days. Techies, artists and activists came together to
present and discuss their work.
The interior design of this tactical dungeon could not
have been better. In between the mess of continuous
construction work, wooden crates were transformed into
tables, couches and beds. Blue lighting, a gigantic
white screen for presentations, numerous computers –
with the fastest connection of the festival -, and an
Andy Worholish floor print – uncut juice box covers –
completed the whole.
This silver factory is the workspace of the modern
media monks. While they are normally stuck to their
computers, now they are stuck in this dungeon. There
was a good crowd present at all times, both to listen
and to work. Most of the presentations were on
streaming. The people of Montevideo were both active
in presenting and filming the whole event. Another
collective – Opus – tries to map out cultural work on
a worldwide basis. Both uncopyrighted artworks and
recensions are universal shareware here.
Many more presentations followed. Unfortunately, I am
not a Techy. Nor am I an artist, and I’m afraid I’m
not much of an activist either. However, I was very
impressed by the almost holy atmosphere in this
tactical temple.
Jouke Turpijn