- Frequently Asked Questions
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- What is The Container Project?
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- The Container Project is a non-profit mobile access space to new technology
for marginalised urban and rural communities.
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- It has a simple basis - it gives artists / marginalised groups open
access to computer equipment. Acting as the first point of contact for
new users.
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- The project is modelled on backspace, a unique, informal technology
centre that's been running in London for a number of years. Backspace has
attracted over two thousand users - artists, activists, DJs, down shifters,
musicians, writers, campaigners, punks, poets, pensioners and many more
- just about anyone with something to say. The Container aims to attract
a similarly wide range of people to it's access centre.
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- The Container, will be launched in September 1999. It's all about helping
people to explore and create with computers, and express themselves on
the world wide web. The project will create a completely new kind of socially
interactive space - a meeting place, a net access centre, a technology
workshop and an art studio all rolled into one.
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- What Dose The Web site Do?
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- The container web-site will take the concept of the barrel - a mongrel
form of commodity carrier, crammed full of presents, burdened with hope,
perhaps containing a well concealed piece of knowledge - and use as the
structuring and interface device for the web site. Take a walk down any
centre of a community from the Caribbean in the UK and you are sure to
find at least one small shop selling barrels and arranging the shipment
of barrels back home. The barrels will be full of gifts, goods, commodities
for relatives. They will be sent back to Jamaica, Trinidad, St. Lucia,
wherever, on boats that came to Britain filled with bananas.
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- We intend to mongrelise these characteristics by mixing the system
of containers by mixing physical transport with the internet.
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- These rectangular shapes represents the "barrels" which will
be the main source of disseminating information on this site. These barrels
will be filled with goodies and made available to all participants in the
project. The barrels can be filled by participants and well wishers of
the Container project to begin with, we will also be asking people from
various forums to use this system of transporting ideas/ views/ messages
etc. this could indeed include schools community groups churches any socially
functional organisations that may have an interest in participation.
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- an example! say a charity in the UK has access to some books and wanted
to give them to a worthwhile cause they would create a barrel with all
the titles and then mail it to the web site where an interesting recipient
would pull it down and make the necessary arrangements to physically ship
the goods, another form of goods could be data that can serve a number
of recipients and so this would sail/remain on the container for an unspecified
amount of time. This will also work in reverse where a barrel of needs
can be created seeking goods or services.
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- Why the Artists approach?
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- Artists are the ideal people to experiment with new technology. While
the rest of us may find that computers won't do the tasks we want them
to, artists can investigate playfully and be creative with what the machines
can do, rather than being frustrated
- by what they can't do.
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- Artists should be making work that's relevant to what's going on right
now. But many of them aren't getting involved with information technology
because it's
- expensive.
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- With all of the high-tech hype surrounding the internet it's easy to
forget that the system was designed back in the 1970's - so anyone can
connect with almost any computer, given a little ingenuity. And ingenuity
is just what the Container has to offer.
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- How Will You Finance The Project?
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- The project will be relies on the generosity and good sense of businesses
that are committed to the development of access space for public and recreational
use and those who are upgrading their computer systems. Right now thousands
of machines are languishing in corridors and storerooms, too good to throw
away, but not good enough for the latest programs. The Container project
is the perfect opportunity to put them to really good use.
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- So if there's an old computer cluttering up your office, then call
or fax Mervin Jarman on - +44 (0)181 552 2698 - email mervin@mongrel.org.uk,
the project will take it off your hands and give it a new lease of life.
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- What You'll Get Out of It?
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- If you're making a donation in gift, kind and cash on behalf of an
organisation we'll tell people about you by featuring your organisation
on the Container website and thanking it in any exhibition, publications
and other publicity events. If you're an individual donor, you'll be invite
to our exhibitions and performances. Either way, not a bad deal for supporting
public access to technology!
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- Will You Be Charging A Fee To Use The Facilities?
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- No. Project managers/community group will be asked to contribute to
the transportation/security cost of moving the facility from one point
to the other.
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- Do You Intend To Sell Any Of The Computers Collected?
- No. The Container Project will not sell computers, monitors or bits
of anything we've been given - if we can't use it for the projects then
we pass it on to the recycles.
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- Would You Collect My Computer(s)?
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- Yes, please! As long as it works, we want it! However, please do bear
in mind that the Container Project is a small organisation with limited
resources, so although we'll be happy to travel anywhere in Britain to
pick up a van-load of complete and functional systems, we will be tempted
less far from our planned travels by a single PC. At the moment we have
a map of Britain on the wall and as clusters emerge, we'll arrange to come
and collect your PC's. So as long as you don't mind hanging on to it for
a few weeks, please contact us if you have an individual machine you'd
like to donate, and we'll do our best to take it off your hands if it's
at all feasible.
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- And when your machines finally bite the dust we can assure you that
your machines will be disposed of in an environmentally responsible way.
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- What We're Doing Right Now?
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- Now we're looking into ways of developing this networked way of working
on the projects.
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- Right Now We Need Your Help! If you or your organisation has any old
computer equipment that's not good for anything you can think of, but is
too good to throw out.
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- Do something positive by donating the machines to the Container Project.
We're confident that our artists and new users can find creative uses for
any machine, however low its specification as long as it still work. If
a computer has a 3.5 inch floppy disk and a hard disk (any size!) it'll
be really useful. At the moment we're
- particularly looking for 486s and Macs etc. We're on the scrounge for
peripherals and monitors, too!
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- We are also seeking donations in gift, kind and cash to produce this
phenomenal space. An estimated budget of £150,000 is required to
set the project in motion.
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- What We've Done Already?
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- Over the Summer of 98 we have had a series of discussions with artists
and technicians about how best to proceed with this project, it is a general
consensus that this is indeed a must to do project. We constructed the
web space for low tech demo's, which will be reconstructed as the official
Container Website in the first of two stages of the project.
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- Mervin Jarman gave a presentation about the Container Project at ISEA
98,
- Banff Media Centre of Arts - Avatar Avatar and Interactive Screen 98
and ARTS in Media at Backspace London, Rotterdam International Film Festival
- Exploding Cinema, Trans Media 99, N5M3 Amsterdam among others where it
was well received.
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- The Container pilot project will helped to define a new idea of working
with computers. The project will attracted a huge amount of media coverage
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- The project itself will featured both works made with (or out of) computers
and works made in more traditional media that reflected each artist's reactions
to technological developments.
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- Scan the Website Links page for more information about the events we've
participated in and the Container Project itself.
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- What The Container Project Planning Next?
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- Currently we are planning an open access/cyber workshop space, where
the target group, artists and members of the public will be able to get
on line and be creative with our computers, realising our aim to increase
access to information technology.
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- Create a series reciprocal space across the UK that will link into
the Container Project. We will be looking at the National Lottery's Art
4 Everyone scheme for support for the project. If the pilot is as successful
as we anticipate we are hoping to tour the container across the Caribbean
islands repeating the whole process.
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- Getting In Touch
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- Contact: Mervin Jarman
- Email: mervin@mongrel.org.uk
- Phone: +44 (0)181 552 2698
- Fax: +44 (0) 181 552 2698
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- Thanks
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