The transit lounge is the archetypal transit space, the point where the hyper-global + hyper-local coincide; a location which blurs traditional conceptions of geo-political boundaries, creating pockets of international space within the borders of individual nation-states. An in-between space, it exists relative to a fixed departure and arrival point, not to the area that surrounds it.

The Transit Lounge is a series of overlapping residencies for Australian and German artists and architects in Berlin. It is also a blog where themes relating to the project will develop, collaborations will be initiated and sustained, and observations on the city collected. The Transit Lounge invites you to participate in these transnational conversations by commenting on the blog.

For more information email us: transit [AT] transitlounge [DOT] org

The transit lounge is supported by Culturia and the DAZ

Thursday, February 08, 2007

TRANSIT LOUNGE RADIO

Transit Lounge Radio

Every Conversation is an Invitation

I spend my life in transit. Writing festival proposals in internet cafes from Paris to Christchurch, keeping art projects and life administration under control using wireless access in airports, cafes and libraries, and working creatively on the run wherever and whenever I find a moment to focus. Amidst the constant travel and participation in cultural activities, engaging with new people and developing projects; having the time and place to ground yourself in a daily practice, be part of a community and undertake rituals in everyday life is very attractive. In response to this moment of transit overload, I am interested in exploring the possibility of being ‘at home’ somewhere in the world. Setting up a comfortable lounge space in the Transit Lounge studio, creating a warm inviting corner to share with friends and visitors with the conversational ‘Transit Lounge Radio’ show recorded in the space for exhibition, installation and podcast.

The Transit Lounge Radio offers a transparent process of socially engaged and networked community interaction with an experimental form of hybrid radio. The project has grown out of my freelance cultural feature programs for ABC Radio, and aims to create an alternative space for highly specialised explorations of ideas, culture and philosophy which does not have to fit into any prescribed format or listener demographic.

There is a particular quality to Berlin conversations which I am eager to explore, and will provide a contrast to ongoing development of the project in Helsinki, Australia and beyond.

In a physically embodied iteration of social networking and peer-to-peer interaction, I will invite artists and audiences into the Transit Lounge Studio to talk with me about life in general, transition, participation, networks, experimental interactions, art and technology. Each conversation is recorded, uploaded to the website and podcast, with a photo and text about that person. This forms an online archive, documenting the ephemeral transactions of communication with a variety of artists, musicians, writers and local businesses, passersby and residents.

The result is a hyper-local community radio broadcast, transmitting conversations with people who pass through the Transit Radio Lounge. It offers a respite from transit, in a fast-paced world. Collecting conversations instead of frequent flier points. As people pass through the studio and my life, they leave something of themselves and share my ‘home’ space with a focused interaction that can be traced online.

http://transitradio.wordpress.com/transit-lounge-radio/

2 comments:

Brian said...

This sounds like a good/interesting idea. I will look out for when it is up and running.

jodi said...

hi sctv,

wonderful, I look forward to our conversation :)