Activism beyond the Interface: the Sandbox Project is a community art project stemming from a collaboration with Alessandra Renzi . It consists of a series of production labs and collaborative interventions in different cities (Toronto, Berlin, Montreal, Sao Paolo, New York). The project invites activists, artists and techies to reflect upon the coexistence of diverse tactics, strategies and performative actions gathered under the umbrella term “activism”. The labs filter this inquiry through the production of multimedia interventions – community radio and television shows, multimedia performance, etc.– to foster an environment that prioritises collaboration, sharing and thinking together. We believe that this format can be instrumental in shaping new conversations about coexisting and intersecting communities, while allowing all groups involved to become more familiar with each others’ practices. Importantly, by working together at times when there is less pressure and the stakes (and stress factors) are lower, sandbox labs can be conducive of forms of interaction that help us deal with incompatibility during more pressing situations.

Sandbox labs took place in Toronto (Digital Event ’11, Toronto Free Gallery, October 2011); Berlin (Transmediale Festival, February 2012), Montreal (Artivistic, April 2012), Troy (June 2012), New York (Queens Museum of Art, September 2012), and Sao Paolo (Hemispheric Institute for Performance and Politics’ Encuentro, January 2013).

Sandbox Events
January 2013
Sandbox Event #6, The Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, 8th Encuentro: Cities | Bodies | Action: The Politics of Passion in the Americas, Universidade de São Paulo, SESC Vila Mariana, January 12‐19, 2013, São Paulo, Brazil.
saopaolo1

September 2012
Sandbox Event #5, DysTorpia New Media Series, Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY, September 14‐15, 2012.
NYC2

June 2012
Sandbox Event #4, Technoscience as Activism Conference, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, NY, 27 June ‐ 29 June, 2012.
troy-w

April 2012
Sandbox Event #3, Artivistic 2012: Promiscuous Infrastructures, SKOL Gallery, Montreal, Canada.

montreal
February 2012
Sandbox Event #2, Festival Transmediale 2012, Berlin, Germany, February 2, 2012, April 7, 2012.
berlin

September 2011
Sandbox Event #1, E‐fagia, Digital Event ’11: Subversive Technology, Toronto Free Gallery, Toronto, October 1, 2011.
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Presentations and Talks


September 2012
R. Buiani “Activism Beyond the Interface: building a platform for a Sandbox. A case study”, The School of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

September 2012
R. Buiani and Renzi, A. “Lecture/Presentation: The Sandbox Project,”
Hemispheric Institute of Performance & Politics, New York
University
, NY, September 13, 2012.

March 2012

R. Buiani “Vital encounters: negotiating human interactions and online aesthetics” Foucault/Deleuze: A NeoLiberalism Diagram, Ryerson University, March 8‐9, 2012.

February 2012
R. Buiani and Renzi, A. “Project Presentation,” Zombie Play in the Ludic Salon: reSourcing an Exquisite Media Corpse, Festival Transmediale 2012, Berlin, Germany, February 5, 2012.

Publications
R. Buiani and Renzi, A. (2012) “Activism beyond the Interface: notes on an itinerant production lab.” E‐fagia (ed.) Subversive Technologies, Digital Event ’11 Catalogue,Toronto.

R. Buiani (2014) “Performing the web: negotiating affect and online aesthetics.” Journal of Aesthetics and Culture 6.