Spectacle in the time of austerity
Weapons of Mass Distraction
We face a hostile corporate assault on public spaces, art and communities. A large space in central London has been liberated for a one-day event: talks, debates, art, screenings, music and celebration.
Join us!
Grand spectacles are being used by the government and corporations to take our minds off austerity measures, the global economic crisis and the commodification of everything, even art.
This event will take place on Friday June 22nd in a beautiful space that has been left to ruin since 2009. Its owner is one of the wealthiest artists in the world and designer of London’s favourite mega-structure, the meccano on crack ArcelorMittal Orbit Tower.
Apparently “public art”, it costs £15 to visit. This is a publicly funded piece of PR for a corporation guilty of various crimes, just like the Olympics. It is an example of how corporate power invades every aspect of our lives from sports to arts.
Boris Johnson said of the tower “Of course some people will say we are nuts – in the depths of a recession – to be building Britain’s biggest ever piece of public art.”
Yes Boris, we think you are nuts.
Follow GamesMonitor Debunking Olympic Myths HERE
The Olympics project is large and complex. It is not easy to quickly grasp the nature of its probable impacts on the Lower Lea Valley and London. World Class Games in East London is followed by a collection of four useful papers which together give a relatively short description of some of the significant impacts.
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