Furtherfield Manifesto
Furtherfield is one of the longest running nonprofit international hubs for critical explorations in art and technology. Since we started in 1996 we have developed an international reputation for initiating experiments in artistic participation and collaboration across digital networks. We have continued to invest time and energy in decentralized and distributed p2p practices, fostering new projects with artists, seizing and challenging debates about the role of art and technology in society. We advocate always for open and playful engagement with people and their technologies, encapsulated in a process of ‘doing it with others’ (DIWO). We have maintained a distinct presence and interconnectedness across networked space whilst remaining grounded in a physical locality, by presenting work through our Gallery and Commons located in the middle of London’s 150-year-old Finsbury Park. Adventurous digital arts experiences radiate from these venues, transforming the urban park into a platform where people can explore how they want live in our globally connected world. Our commitment to free and open source initiatives and methodologies, and to transnationalism, have propelled us in working with artists, techies and thinkers at all stages of development, and bringing new, marginal and important messages to wider audiences. This is our 2020 manifesto.