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Text to Speech: Benjamin Bratton
The Stack: On Software and Sovereignty
Tuesday, April 18 @ 7:00pm
VIVO Media Arts
2625 Kaslo Street
Free / Refreshments
Please join us at VIVO Media Arts Centre on April 18th for the next edition of the Text to Speech reading salon series. We will be taking up Benjamin Bratton's 2015 book The Stack: On Software and Sovereignty.
The Stack is a comprehensive attempt to map the breadth and scales of global computation. It proposes a multi-dimensional framework through which to conceptualize the various interacting systems (social, material, political, ecological, etc.) that mediate and produce our networked societies. All along the process of tracing the architectures of the Stack, Bratton sounds off the political/ideological implications of its specific material forms. Of chief concern to the study is how global computation might relate to (undermine, amplify, mutate, etc.) the Westphalian paradigm of nation-states, through which we commonly understand sovereignty in a geopolitical context.
Text to Speech is a joint initiative of Cineworks, the Western Front and VIVO Media Arts. Focused on writing about media, media art and the surrounding concepts and frameworks of the mediated world, Text to Speech gatherings aim to build stronger community ties and knowledge in our field. In this reading group, participants will be provided with copies of the reading, and we will facilitate a group reading, discussion, and analysis of this text. Prior knowledge of the work is encouraged but not required, as the session will involve some form of introduction, and some portion of close reading (out loud).
VIVO is located in the homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples in a warehouse space at 2625 Kaslo Street south of East Broadway at the end of E 10th. Transit line 9 stops at Kaslo Street on Broadway. From the bus stop, the path is paved, curbless, and on a slight decline. The closest skytrain station is Renfrew Station, which is three blocks south-east of VIVO and has an elevator. From there, the path is paved, curbless, and on a slight incline. There is parking available at VIVO, including wheelchair access parking. There is a bike rack at the entrance. The front entrance leads indoors to a set of 7 stairs to the lobby.
A wheelchair ramp is located at the west side of the main entrance. The ramp has two runs: the first run is 20 feet long, and the second run is 26 feet. The ramp is 60 inches wide. The slope is 1:12. The ramp itself is concrete and has handrails on both sides. There is an outward swinging door (34 inch width) at the top of the ramp leading to a vestibule. A second outward swinging door (33 inch width) opens into the exhibition space. Buzzers and intercoms are located at both doors to notify staff during regular office hours or events to unlock the doors. Once unlocked, visitors can use automatic operators to open the doors.
There are two all-gender washrooms. One has a stall and is not wheelchair accessible. The other is a single room with a urinal and is wheelchair accessible: the door is 33 inches wide and inward swinging, without automation. The toilet has 11 inch clearance on the left side and a handrail.
To reach the bathrooms from the studio, exit through the double doors and proceed straight through the lobby and down the hall . Turn left, and the two bathrooms will be on your right side. The closest one has a stall and is not wheelchair accessible. The far bathroom is accessible.