7-8 May, 2022
iii workspace, The Hague
11:00 – 15:00 
Participation: €20
Reserve your spot HERE

Facilitators: sWitches (Pamela Varela, Ines DeRu, and Ella Hebendanz)
Language: English
Software and Hardware involved: Teensy microcontroller, stretch sensor, Ableton Live

sWitches is a cyberfeminist constellation whose work focuses on the rephrasing of technology as a tool for poetic/political means. We base our work in the magickal cycles of nature and the cosmos, to bring stories to people who join our creations in the form of interactive works.

..:;⚘≈ We come together in a time of joy and rebirth for the Northern Hemisphere. The battle of the light against the darkness is over; the sun shines and all living beings flourish. In many parts of Europe, a “maypole” is erected to celebrate spring and the arrival of summer. This is followed by the maypole dance, which is an activity—originally a fertility ritual—where a group of people dance around the pole braiding hanging ribbons.

In the quest to redefine and critically reflect on what the terms fertility and sexuality entail, this coming 7th and 8th of May 2022, we invite you to our tECkhnO*-craft sessions in a two-day workshop where we will share stories of intimacy**, while learning to work with basic electronics and interactive textiles with the Teensy microcontroller, and sound practices with Ableton Live. 

Ultimately, we will be co-creating a communal sound sculpture in the form of a maypole, which will be activated with conductive ribbons interfacing with Ableton Live. We will also be doing some movement exercises to prepare us for dancing around the maypole. 

This maypole will act as a sound archive, storing a sonic archive of our stories of intimacy, connection, pleasure, and sensuality. It will be activated with a “pole” dance during the sWitches’ work in the opening of the exhibition “every moment a junction” at NEST on Friday 13th of May 2022. 

*tECkhnO references techno, without diminishing eco. The (mis)spelling introduces the idea of political activism, non-conformism, DISORDER.

**Sharing is only encouraged if you feel comfortable. We intend to hold the crafting-session of this device as a conversation in a safe space where we share stories of intimacy while we make these conductive ribbons.

Workshop Plan 

Day 1: We will dive into the electronic components of the sculpture, where we will make the electronic ribbon instruments and begin to manipulate sounds with Ableton Live and microcontrollers. 

Day 2:  We will play with the interactive instruments and rediscover ourselves and our narratives through embodiment and sharing practices.

*Optional Day, May 13th 19:00: You are invited to dance together with us at the opening of the exhibition at NEST, fusing our experiences, voices, and stories. Through crossing and stretching the conductive materials, the sound files will be activated to create a live sonic piece of sounds and stories.

During the following months, the installation will hold y/our stories, allowing the visitors to play the pole and listen to them. These crafting sessions invite you to hold a space for yourself and each other, and listen to the tECkhnO magickal fields that surround y/our bodies.

▻▻▻ No prior knowledge of electronics, Arduino or Ableton required ◅◅◅

What do you need to follow this workshop?

• Laptop
• Own Headphones
• Ableton installed (or 90-day free trial). This can also be shared between two participants. 
  

About the sWitches

We are sWitches, an interdisciplinary, cyberfeminist, artivist constellation formed by pamela varela, Ines DeRu, and Ella Hebendanz. Taking the witch as a symbol for the rebellious feminist, we make our way into the patriarchal technological field, to express a more diverse(ifying) view on technology. In our exploration of sensorial experiences, interventions and manifestations, we fuse circuits of electricity to extend and enhance human connection and solidarity. We use technology as a subject of critique, while simultaneously envisioning it as a tool/medium for contemporary magick. We ground our diverse ancestral roots and (digital) spirits to our sensual bodies by transforming the spaces we inhabit and reclaiming our voices.

https://switches.cargo.site