I recently received word that one of the world's most positive and influential centers for the confluence of artistic, technical and political ideas is threatened by a corporate takeover of its building and its very mission. Medialab-Prado in Madrid has long served as a haven for inventors, thinkers, tinkerers, community activists, students, international visitors, and ordinary citizens. Over the years it has offered countless workshops, conferences, planning sessions, displays of public art, free wheeling debates, and all manner of lively, ground-breaking activity. Now the city officials who control the building it occupies have hatched a scheme to turn over its space to a huge telecommunications firm and send the Medialab staff and participants to God knows where.
I first got to know the Medialab in the summer of 2010 while I was visiting Spain on a Fulbright Fellowship, studying how the Internet was changing Spanish politics. The very best help I received in finding people to interview, documents to read and events to monitor came from key people at Medialab-Prado. A high point was a dialog one evening in which Yochai Benkler, Javier Bustamante and I discussed the substance and significance of Benkler's ideas about the networked economy and networked public life. Since that summer I've returned frequently and watched Medialab-Prado grow and expanded its reach into a great many of the 21st century's most vital and hopeful spheres of exploration.
At present I'm trying to learn more about what seems to be a diabolical plot to shove Medialab-Prado and its participants into the dark shadows now enveloping much of the global economy. I want to scream: "STOP THIS! STOP THIS FOOLISH SCHEME NOW!" I know it will take much more than that. Will you lend a hand in investigating, protesting and seeking alternatives to these hideous, unfolding plans? Let's get BUSY!
Below is the best information I have, a long message from Jose Luis de Vicente forward to me by the noted historian, Antonio Lafuente
- Langdon Winner
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HELP US SAVE MEDIALAB PRADO
Dear Friends,
Probably
many of you have already heard about the serious problems that Medialab
Prado is undergoing currently that threatens to stop the activity of
the center and maybe, in the mid term, it’s very existence. I know many
of you have in the past years taken part in projects and activities
there, and have good memories of the institution. Even those of you who
have not been there have heard about it and know it’s an interesting,
lively place that has made significant contributions to this community.
Now it needs as much support from the community as possible to go on.
What it’s going on?
Less
than one year ago, Medialab Prado opened, after 5 year of renovation
and 6 million Euro of public investment, a brand new building. A new
facility that multiplies the size of the previous space by eight and
creates all kind of new opportunities, with much better resources.
While the previous space kept the organization relatively under the
radar for many in the city council, the new building is really iconic
and has raised the profile of the organization considerably.
Recently
we have learned that major telecommunications multinacional Telefónica
is looking for a building in Madrid to set up its new startup incubator
and has expressed interest in the Medialab Prado building. The City
Council, always eager to please, has considered the request and has
acknowledged in public that they are under negotiations to satisfy this
request. The implications for Medialab Prado are, obviously, quite
serious. While they insist in theory on keeping their support for the
institution, the reality is that:
- they have
not made a firm offer of a new space that is already available and in
the right conditions to continue the program with no major disruptions
- they have not committed to invest any resource in allocating the center in a new space
-
they have not guaranteed that any transfer could be done promptly and
without a long transition that could stop the activity in the center for
many months
The reality is that Medialab Prado
could be stuck in a limbo for a very long period, and any development
from the possible eviction onwards is at this point very uncertain. The
community of users of Medialab Prado has serious concerns that this
could start a process that could end with the death of the institution.
To
make things worse, it’s important to notice that the building that
Telefónica wants to take over has been renovated with public money and
with the specific goal of being a cultural facility.
How can you help?
We
need to show the City Council in clear terms that Medialab Prado is an
important institution that is highly respected and valued
internationally. One of the most ironic aspects of this situation is
that given the problems they’ve always had to understand what is
Medialab Prado -not being a museum, a gallery, or an arts production
center- they have never been understood that this is one of the most
influential and valued cultural institutions today in Madrid and Spain.
There’s
no one better than you to help us to make them understand how important
is protecting and preserving the valuable role that Medialab Prado has
played in the last ten years. For this, we are requesting any of this
three things:
1. A statement or blog post in
your own website explaining why you appreciate and value the role of
MLP and showing your concern for how the current situation could
threaten it. We will link to it and translate it from the website of
support we are currently setting up, that should go live in the next
hours.
2. For those of you with affiliations with universities, museums or companies, a signed letter of support with
the logo of your organization. If you can send it to me I will get it
into the website and also printed to send them all together to the City
Council.
3. A short video that we can
embed in the website, offering your support. Here are some videos from 1
year ago -before the crisis started- that can be used as a model:
That
is all. If you have other suggestions or contributions, please let us
know. Thanks for helping us keep Medialab Prado alive.
Best,
Jose Luis de Vicente