ART 10F - 4D FOUNDATION
Module 8 Studio project - remote social actions + Public Performance
Unicorn Riot https://unicornriot.ninja/ is a grass-roots media collective that has been tirelessly documenting and streaming protests, social actions, and police brutality and violence over the past year.
Protecting yourself AS a student + protecting other People
In order to protect yourself, your student standing, and other protestors, do not submit any photo, video, written, verbal or other documentation FOR THIS PROJECT of any laws being broken, including curfew laws. DO NOT use your UCSC email or any UCSC accounts (such as YouTube, Canvas, Google Drive, Docs, Zoom, etc) to store, transmit or send any information or documentation about participation in any direct action, peaceful or not, that violates ANY law. The University has access to all of these accounts, and can use this type of data to form cases of student misconduct and also provide any requested data to law enforcement agencies.
Remote Protest or Social Action
Time-based media can be a powerful way to document public performances and social actions and, in some cases, participate remotely. Below are some important considerations that have been recently distributed by community activist organizations regarding attending and participating in protests. If you are planning on attending a protest, be sure to research the event thoroughly and ensure community leaders are attending via verified social media accounts. Do not attend or act in any way that goes against what is communicated across these organization’s information channels, and be sure to follow all leadership actions and directions.
If photographing or recording ANY protest, including social actions and performance artworks staged at or nearby protests, it is VERY IMPORTANT to not publicly share, post or stream ANY image or recording that includes faces or other identifying characteristics such as tattoos or body modifications. If you are documenting with a digital device, follow the guidelines posted to the link below and make sure to DISABLE Thumb / Face ID and then LOCK your device with a numerical pass code that is not 123456. This is in case your phone is held as evidence in the event of arrest. There are additional resources below.
From MN Women for Political Change Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA5jjyhnY6s/
Video As Witness
There are also several organizations that work with citizens, activists and other journalists in providing apps and resources for using digital video technologies to document police and other enforcement agency violence. These are aspects of digital video and social practice that I typically cover more in depth in other courses, but I wanted to post a few links below for those of you who might be interesting in learning more about this now. Regardless of your plans for the final project and this course, if you have been attending and documenting protests, or if you are planning to, this is very important and useful information.
