In the second week of opening the buildings in rampart street, the rampART centre was already online and enjoying free internet access thanks to a local open wifi nude. Now, six or seven weeks later, rampART has a fully networked computer suit consisting of redundent and thrown away computer technology. This network is now connected to the the YouAreHere wireless network, thanks to Brick Lane based Mute.

In 2001 Mute Magazine started YouAreHere, a wireless project inspired by Consume.net but takes the idea further into the realm of local networking. Mute wanted to use the wireless community networks to the benefit of their immediate area. In order to be able to connect to a node one needs to be physically close to it. There was an assumption that users of wireless nodes, in this case in East London, would also live and work in proximity to each other and possibly had other things to share as well as bandwidth.

Meanwhilem the YouAreHere website, based on a Wiki (a web-based system for collaborative publishing) enables people in theory to put themselves on the (virtual) map and start a local barter economy of goods, skills and resources. One of the other nudes on the Mute network is LARC, and the Freedom Hacklab may also become a node once they sort out ADSL broadband access.

The computer suit at rampART is available for groups wanting to do training sessions and workshops etc. It could also be used as an Indymedia access point or internet radio and video streaming.

On the Saturday 10th July, the European Creative Forum will be using the rampART centre for their monthly event 'Vision of Another World IV'. This event offers a good opportunity to find out plans and get involved in both the events around the ESF in October and the rampART centre itself. The event starts at 1am.



Notes: Mute magazine was founded in 1994 to discuss the interrelationship of art and new technologies. Together with the web platform Metamute, it now contributes more broadly to debates on culture, politics and globalisation. In 2001, Mute initiated sister projects OpenMute and YouAreHere to share the internet tools and knowledge associated with its own development (OpenMute), and to support local networking initiatives in the East End of London (YouAreHere). At this point, Mute also committed itself over the longer term to a participative working model, the principles of open organisations, and free software.