Future Forward of the project

ElectronicOrphanage: the Bloomberg Days.

20 weeks starting from Sept 2008

by Miltos Manetas

Aug 2008: I am posting a job on the Internet:
" Miltos Manetas and the Bloomberg Space are willing to hire at least 6 people for the purpose of creating an ElectronicOrphanage at the Bloomberg building. We will pay you 7 pounds per hour and you are asked to come regularly to the Bloomberg Space and do pretty much nothing. You will hang around with the rest of us and check the Internet, play some videogames if so you wish, talk with each other etc. We are paying you to spend time inside a building which is the control panel of the Global Economy located in the hurt of London and we want that you are a flexible and genius person: you will be asked to put aside your education-at least during the period of your employment: if you are an artist you shouldn't do any "Art", if you are a designer you will have to forget "Design", if you are a programmer you should quit thinking of your programming as a "job". In short, we want the fresh You and we want that you have a nice style so we will be inspired.
If you feel creative during your job, you are allowed to express this creativity, only that you should not create any replicas of what is already considered "Art" or "Design". (If you'll produce "Art", "Design" or whatever else we may find banal, then you will probably lose your job. We maybe still accepted to the appointments but we will cease paying you.)

Ten days later, after having interviewed different people, I picked up 6 of them and have them signed to the project.
***** costs 12.600 Pounds (7 pounds x 5 hours x 3 days x 6 people x 20 weeks)****

Sept 2008

First Manetas Guided Internet Safari Talk.

I gave a talk where I speak about my work, the idea if the ElectronicOrphanage and its Los Angeles version, the concept of Neen and Telic etc. I also projected a few of these works and I explained to the public that my intention is to continue in that tradition, discover subliminal sides of culture related with computer, dream of augmented reality etc.

The day after, the ElectronicOrphanage Days at Bloomberg Space starts. In this point, the Universe divided itself to many versions. I will describe here two of them, the Optimal Universe and the Reduced Universe so you guys can choose which one you want to board.

(First Week)

The Orphans arrive. We bring them around to see the space. during the Optimal Universe There is a place assigned for us inside the Bloomberg Space and it's all ours, its the ElectronicOrphanage cubicle and we can do anything we want in it.
During the Reduced Universe instead, we need to move everyday to another cubicle according to availability.
Bloomberg space is giving us an unlimited number of computers, workstations, hardware, etc that we can use as we wish, or they are giving us a few things only.

Orhans immediately are going: "look at this, I have an idea!". If those ideas are cool (probably things like "why not install this little blue wave animation to all the computers of this floor and watch it build an Ocean?" then we reality-test them:
- Dear Bloomberg Space, can we install a little wave in all these machines and run it simultaneously for 5 min? We aren't going to create any damage. ***Τhis will cost Bloomberg a computer-savvy person who is checking what the Orphans are trying to do in the computer of the employee and keep it safe***
Question: Who is the Public for this little show?
Answer: The Public is the Orphans themselves, the Employees, the World (via documentation and the Internet)
Question: Why are you doing this?
Answer: Because enacting things like these in the workspace of people who are spending a lot of time with their computer is beautiful, philosophical and makes them feel something.

Detail: how do you communicate with Employees:
- We post notes around, send emails etc. Whoever wants to know about activities etc can subscribe to a mailing list.
There are different levels of involvement, an employee may want to participate actively and become an (unpaid) orphan and that maybe OK. Some employees maybe inspired from what we actually do and may want to do such stuff themselves and submit to us: we will be happy to accept them.
Detail: What's the involvement of the outside World?
- We will use the Gallery whenever this is possible so we can get in touch with the large Public. We will inform and keep updated the public via the Internet and the Monthly Manetas Guided Internet Safari Talks.
During the Optimal Universe , the main Gallery hosts 3-4 one-man shows by Veteran Orphans. See here the material proposed.
During these shows, the main Gallery hosted occasional events of the New ElectronicOrphanage.
During the Reduced Universe, the main Gallery hosted other stuff and in between these shows, the main Gallery gave some space to occasional events of the New ElectronicOrphanage.

Other possibilities:

Optimal Universe : We hire Experimental Jetset from Amsterdam to make all design-they are the very best.
*****cost 1000- 5000 Pounds ****
Reduced Universe: We do all design ourselves.

Optimal Universe
We make a book or publication about the project.
Reduced Universe
We make a website about the project.

Manetas Fee: 5000 Pounds

Fee for Manetas collaborator who takes over when Manetas can't be there: 1000 Pounds.