Re: <nettime> ISEA2011 Istanbul and some financial realities

[roberta buiani <robb@yorku.ca>]

dear Lanfranco,
thanks for the very generous and lengthy explanation. this , to me, speaks to some huge systemic problems surrounding these big events. you are right, the fees are just the tip of the iceberg. the fees might not speak for the whole event, but they are sure a symptom. that's why I am glad that the problem was raised  in the first place. it sure needs more discussion and I think that doing it at ISEA would be a start and also the best place (and I don't think that this should be seen as an attack against ISEA or the good work that I am sure you and your team are trying to do amidst countless difficulties) . 

I think Micha has a point here: we should rather speak to issues of sustainability and maybe rethink the making os these events in a different way.

...and since you called me on something I wrote in my previous post, I feel I should clarify my statement, because I think I agree with your response, but don't think we understood each other on the interpretation of my statement. 

> There is one statement that I totally disagree with:
>
> "I am not sure if I am more outraged by the fees or by the complete 
> acceptance by a number of colleagues and friends of said fees."

I am not outraged at those people who could afford and accepted to pay those fees. I am rather upset with those who can't but are afraid to speak up and give you the "evil eye" if you make a comment about your inability to do so and the sacrifices you will have to do in order to make it to Istanbul. It is as if paying those fees were just a normal thing to do, a sort of tax that you have to pay to participate in a higher culture. It seems  too shameful or too unconventional for these people to admit to their financial limitation. so they accept without a word. it's the taken-for-grantedness of their behavior that bothers me. 

...or maybe I am too sensitive towards a two-tier culture where your academic (or artistic) respectability is measure by the amount of grants you manage to accumulate.

see you in istanbul
cheers
rb

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