Project

2009-2010. Susanne Bosch. LITTLE PIECE - ACTION (theoretical data)

WORKING TITLE: ‘LITTLE PIECE - ACTION’ FOR ONE NEIGHBOURHOOD IN MADRID

According to the last monthly statistics of Banco de España, there are still 820.000.000 Euros in Peseta coins and 956.000.000 Euros in Peseta banknotes that still remain in peoples private property (July 2008).

The ‘Little piece - ACTION’ would like to collect the Peseta** coins in a certain neighbourhood of Madrid for the period of the public art event.

I would like to collect these worthless coins (unless you carry them to the Banco de España in Calle Alcalá 48 to exchange them) in public space, visibly for all.

Along with the peseta collection, I would like to know from the neighbourhood where the collection site is based, what they would like to realize with this public and worthless money? The project will collect and publish the wishes during the period of the event.

At the end of the period, there will be a rough estimate of the coins collected and everybody who would like to be part of the decision making group, is invited to attend an open space event***. This event will be used to decide collectively by the neighbourhood what will happen to the pesetas and how this will be put into action.

Open Space Technology is an innovative format of organizing gatherings with large groups. ("Technology" in this case means tool — a process; a method.) It represents a self-organising process.Participants construct the agenda and schedule during the meeting itself. Thus it enables the bringing together of all interested parties with their insights, experiences, questions and wisdom. Open Space Technology allows diverse people to address complex and possibly controversial topics. It functions best where more traditional meeting formats fail: in situations involving conflict, complexity, diversity of thought or people, and short decision-times. It supports systems of all kinds and sizes in unfolding the forces of collaboration, cooperation, participation, creativity and spirit required to come to action on the burning issues facing them.

Open Space Technology meetings have a single facilitator who initiates and concludes the meeting and explains the general method. The facilitator has no other role in the meeting and does not control the actual gathering in any way.

The collection of waste money and and leftover ideas in 2 countries and 2 different contexts has been twice a very unique and every time very different experience.

Poeples participation in this project highly depends on their believe and historical background in a participatorial democracy, where people truely have an impact in decision making.

I am interested in the way people engage when they realize they have a chance to make a difference with their contribution and they are invited to make this difference via an action and an idea/hope/dream/aspiration.

With the collection of pesetas the project directly connects to a local/national past. (In Germany and Italy the project collected the current currency (DM and Euro).)

By concentrating on one neighbourhood only, the project tries to empower one group of people that live in close proximity and have a personal relationship, connectedness to the site and eachother.

I would like to propose neighbourhoods like Lavapies, Retiro, Latina, Carabanche, Moncloa-Aravaca.

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**The name is believed to have been derived from the Catalan word "peceta", meaning "little piece" (i.e., the diminutive of "peça", "-eta" being the usual feminine diminutive) [1]. However, it is also possible that the name is the diminutive of "peso", an already-existing currency whose name derives from a unit of weight; this is consistent with such other currencies as the British pound. "Peseta" is also the term used in Puerto Rico for a U.S. quarter-dollar coin.

***Antonio Rodriguez from AEC - Actividades Educativas Culturales could be the facilitator of the event as a trained open space facilitator in Madrid. ( http://www.aec-spain.net)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

09-10prtc2601