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Small File Publishing

This workgroup aims to shift the prevailing paradigm of technological advancement from “move fast, break things” and “always on, always available” towards approaching slowness (slow loading time, slow processing) and lowness (low energy, low tech, low bandwidth, low resolution, low fidelity) as generative and creative lenses through which to engage with digital technology. As such, this WP is carried by a concern about “bandwidth imperialism,” a term coined by our collaborators from the Small File Media Festival, and questions ideals such as net neutrality and equal access to high-speed internet. These ideals are globally unattainable because they are based on a first-world view of digital access. This view doesn’t match the reality of the use of digital technology in a large part of the world.

Question:

• How can embracing slowness and lowness as artistic and technological principles challenge dominant digital paradigms and inspire more materially conscious, ecologically sustainable digital practices?