Resilient Wearables: Designing decentralised guerrilla networks
Workshop was developed as a part of transmediale 2024 program.
In an era where digital communications are often monitored or restricted, the ability to create a decentralised network has become crucial for the safe and effective coordination of human and non-human actors. In this two-day workshop, Resilient Wearables, participants will be guided through creating and developing DIY wearable electronic devices designed to establish guerrilla peer-to-peer (P2P) networks.
Opening the workshop is a talk by Teresa Dillon on the histories of design activism for street, network, and mobile protest. Drawing on examples from barricades to burner phones, cv dazzles, to peer-to-peer, mesh networks. This potted history will ground the workshop's focus within broader histories of the aesthetics and practices of resistance and collective action.
During the workshop, participants will explore the concept of a network not just as a means of communication and distribution of content but as a form of content, embodying the aesthetics and practices of resistance and collective action. Participants will be able to learn:
Basic network engineering skills: To understand the fundamentals of P2P networks, how they operate, and why they are essential for bypassing censorship and surveillance.
Hands-on creation: To get involved in the practical aspects of assembling and programming a wearable device, making technology accessible, and demystifying the processes of electronics and creation.
Activism through technology: To discuss and brainstorm the role of technology in activism, how it can be leveraged for social change, and the ethics of digital resistance.
Activists, artists, makers, and anyone interested in the intersection of technology, art, and social change are welcome. No previous experience in network engineering or electronics is required.
