UPDATE: A live feed of the art installation can be seen at awomansroomonline.com.
Tonight, Saturday the 13th at 7pm the activist art installation entitled A Woman’s Room Online will open its (one) door to the public at CFI-LA! The art installation is an 8ft by 10ft office space that I, along with a lot of wonderful volunteers, helped to create. It is an immersive experience of the daily harassment some women face online.
In a nut shell, we have taken messages of harassment and cyber bullying sent directly to, or posted publicly about a handful of women and covered a room with them. The room and its objects are blanketed with actual messages sent to, or publicly posted about the women who have contributed to the exhibit.
One particular thing I hope the show will convey is what it is like to be one of the targets of harassment and how it feels to be be constantly monitored and watched whenever you are online. And to express that message and feeling, we have given the room an eye and ear of its own so that it can watch and listen to the viewers of the installation.
This evening around 6 or 7pm California time- around the time of the opening, I will come back in here and add a link to a live feed from the room. You won’t be able to see all the objects, but you will be able to see what the room sees. The live feed will run for the entirety of the one month exhibit.
What came from cyberspace into meat-space will circle back to the internet.
The internet is part of the real world and has real world effects.
We are in this together.
The room awaits.
See you tonight.
A more detailed description of the show including a list of contributors, is here: http://skepchick.org/2014/09/a-womans-room-online/
Sounds like it should demonstrate the problem to men who just don’t get it.
You know none of these idiots would say those kinds of things IRL, due to fears of legal repercussions.
Many of these idiots absolutely do say those kinds of things IRL. For example, if a target of their street harassment reacts with anger.
I guess it depends on if they’re trolling or sincere. Trolls will only do it anonymously, because, really, bad jokes aren’t worth being sent to prison.
I think it’s a brilliant idea for artistic communication, I wish I could be there to see it.
I hope the opening goes well. Wish I could see it in person.
Good for you, Amy, great idea, and I’m pleased to see that BA has come out strongly in your support on his blog. Maybe a few perpetrators will think again.