Exposing the Invisible Panel

In contemporary globalized societies power can no longer be attributed to single actors or instances, but becomes manifest in relationships and discourses building the basis for power networks (Foucault 1978, 126). Due to the complexity of those networks resulting from the mutual influence of global flows of people, capital, technologies and ideas it is becoming increasingly difficult to uncover the effects of power relations on the social, political and economic sphere.

As a site of symbolic production and the exchange of meanings, art can on the one hand be viewed as a central site of political struggle (Zembylas 2004:54)
On the other hand artistic strategies can be applied as tools to expose hidden processes, connections and networks of power and to foster processes of social change.

To be able to expose the invisible, hacktivists and artivists may have to transcend the boundaries between legal and illegal putting themselves under severe risk.

This panel addresses the potentials and challenges of transdisciplinary endeavors at the interface between art, activism, science and technology. Aiming at exploring the scopes of action to intervene into geopolitical processes, actors in the fields of art, science and journalism will present their projects and motivations and discuss the following questions:

1. Which methods and tools do artivists use to gain new insights and explore hidden connections?
2. How can artistic strategies be adopted to intervene into geopolitical processes?
3. Which dangers are hacktivists and artivists exposed to, if they venture into the territories of power, war and corruption?
4. Which forms of cooperation can be established within the context of interventionist endeavors?