Platforms blog

At this point just about everyone has heard about Steve Kurtz and the Critical Art Ensemble. But, rather than have it be another media blip on your radar, we’re reminding you that Kurtz, and therefore any artist, is still under attack. Legal hurdles mean that it could be years before a trial date is set, and Kurtz is still facing a possible 20-year sentence for making art. Please do your part as an artist, sex worker, advocate of free speech — go to their website, http://www.caedefensefund.org and…

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From Audacia Ray’s blog Waking Vixen…

Event in NEW YORK CITY

On Sunday, December 17th, sex workers and their supporters will gather at vigils around the world to mark the annual Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, honoring the sex workers who died as victims of violent crime this year, and raising the issue of violence against sex workers to the public.

In New York City, participants will gather for a candlelight vigil at 5 PM on the steps of the Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South in Manhattan. This year’s list of names of murdered sex workers will be read aloud, participants will be encouraged to speak or offer a prayer, and a moment of silence will be observed.

At the event, organizers will read a statement demanding that authorities step up their investigation of the Atlantic City serial killer and officially announce a moratorium on arresting prostitutes to encourage cooperation between local sex workers and police. The statement will also challenge the media to report on the case in a way that respects the humanity of the women who were murdered. Atlantic City is only one example of these sorts of problems. Many more violent crimes against prostitutes remain unaddressed by the justice system, but exploited in the media.

The event is organized by Prostitutes of New York (PONY), $pread Magazine, and the Sex Workers Project of the Urban Justice Center. Members of the press and the public are also encouraged to attend.

The Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers was inaugurated in 2003, conceived by the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) based in Berkeley, California after the conviction of Gary Ridgway (the “Green River Killer”), a serial killer responsible for the murder of at least 48 prostitutes in Washington State. One particular statement in his confession outraged sex workers, and determined the need for a very public memorial that raises issues of violence against sex workers to lawmakers, police, and the media: “…I picked prostitutes because I thought I could kill as many of them as I wanted without getting caught.”

For more information:
PONY
$pread Magazine
Urban Justice Center’s Sex Workers Project
Sex Workers Outreach Project

Please come out and show your support.

Ed adjusting sandals

Ed Bringas and Melissa Gira brought Platforms to Copenhagen as part of the Nordic Exceptional Trendshop, December 1-3, 2006. Stay tuned for video + more from Melissa and Ed, and press coverage.

Photos from the show are posted to http://www.flickr.com/photos/platforms.

…check out her website and podcast at http://susiebright.com, we’re in podcast episode 269.

Just got back from Interface + Society at the Henie-Onstad Kunstsenter (HOK) in Oslo. This was a 2 day conference and exhibition produced by Atelier Nord, for more details on the conference: http://anart.no/projects/interface-and-society. Platforms was included in the exhibition (up Nov. 10-19), along with some other great pieces by Agnes Meyer-Brandis and AbA Logic and more.

In addition to the show at HOK, we had a storefront display and panel discussion in Oslo’s red light district. Pix are posted to flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/platforms. The panel was fantastic: Liv Jessen (PRO-senteret), Janne Wintherbauer (PION), Nina Tangnæs Grønvold (Oslo AP/LO), Tom Fredrik Blenning Klaussen (Elektronisk Forpost Norge) and me, moderated by May-Len Skilbrei (FAFO). It was a passionate 2 hour discussion about sex work in Norway and the US, with an emphasis on the volatile situation in Norway. Will podcast it as soon as I’m able. After the panel, the audience was able to try on two pairs of the prototype platforms.

Norway’s largest paper wrote about the panel http://www.dagbladet.no, and the panel and show are in the blogosphere: http://www.free-soil.org, http://blog.b92.net, http://www.creativeurope.com, http://underskog.no.

Other recent press includes The Telegraph in Calcutta http://www.telegraphindia.com/1061030/asp/knowhow/story_6933555.asp.

Copenhagen is next, Ed Bringas + Melissa Gira will be bringing Platforms to the Nordic Exceptional Trendshop 2006 December 1 + 2 + 3 http://www.next2006.dk

Norene

It’s a busy month for the Platforms team…

Platforms is featured in the Desire issue of Drain magazine, and the Platforms P.S.A. is part of “Sisyphean Desires, Systems and Devices” at Saltworks Gallery in Atlanta, GA, curated by Avantika Bawa (opening Nov. 4).

We’re also part of the Visualizing TRANS exhibition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Interface & Society at HOK in Oslo, Norway opens Nov. 10, so we’re working to get 2 more pairs of performance shoes ready to go. There will be a panel discussion and performance, details TBA.

Ed & Melissa will be bringing Platforms to Copenghagen in December, so stay tuned…

image from Scanner

Our recent press from Wired’s NextFest…

Gizmodo
GearLog
CNet
Lingual Tremors
Cool Hunting
Scanner|Nerve
PC Magazine

We are really looking forward to this fall, we’ve got a lot lined up. If you’re in New York, Madison or Oslo, we’d love to see you.

WIRED magazine’s NextFest (exhibition)
Future of Design Pavilion, Javits Center
Curated by Victor Friedberg
New York, NY
Sept. 28-Oct. 1
http://www.nextfest.net

TRANS (exhibition)
University of Wisconsin-Madison, part of TRANS: A Visual Culture Conference
exhibition Oct. 19- Oct. 29, conference Oct. 19-22
http://www.visualculture.wisc.edu/Conference/trans.html

Interface & Society (exhibition, performance and panel discussion)
Henie Onstad Kunstsenter/Atelier Nord
Curated by Atle Barcley, Erich Berger and Caroline Ugelstad
Oslo, Norway
Nov. 10-19
http://anart.no/projects/interface-and-society

We’re also donating a print to the Groundswell Benefit, a great cause, on Sept. 20 7-10 pm at EXIT ART, 475 Tenth Avenue at 36th Street in Manhattan.
http://www.groundswellmural.org/benefit.htm

Other good news, Ed Bringas has joined the Platforms team. Check out Ed’s work at http://www.lepow.com. Ed helped us out with SIGGRAPH, now he’s working with us on NextFest and to build 2 more pairs of performance shoes for Norway.
On the horizon, we are looking into D.I.Y. workshops (don’t we all need sexy safety shoes?), and a new project with Melissa Gira http://melissagira.com. Stay tuned…

-Norene

Unravel 2006

Check out our SIGGRAPH video, shot by Wei Chen Chao: http://theaphroditeproject.tv/video/siggraph_fs_06.mov and new photos on our flickr site.

platforms_sig04

We had a fabulous time at “Unravel” the SIGGRAPH fashion show. Special thanks to curator Amanda Parkes, and our lovely model Jenna. The show came off flawlessly, with some of the most interesting projects at SIGGRAPH.

Be sure to visit our flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/platforms to see the latest photos — we’ll add more + video as soon as we get them. And check out our mention and photos in the Boston Phoenix, Boston Herald, and the Boston Globe review of the show.

There were some truly great pieces. Two of our favorites were Despina Papadopoulos’s Day-for-Night dress and Valerie Lamontagne’s Peau d’Ane dress.