BOOTLAB_Story/enlisch
Datum: 11.06.2002
autorIn:Uschi Reiter

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Interview mit Diana McCarty , Mitbegruenderin des BOOTALBS Berlin.
www.bootlab.org U: I would like to ask some questions about the BOOTLAB
which is based in berlin and where I was so friendly welcomed to come
here ? How was it formed and what is its relationship to the Mikro
(http://www.mikro.org)?

D: Well, if you are a great person and doing great things, of course,
you are welcomed here!

So BOOTLAB was officially founded in 2001, though it existed since the
Spring of 2000. It was started by six of the active mikro members, with
the intention of realizing one the early mikro plans, which was a
collective work space. The idea of a shared working space was actually
discussed in the founding mikro meeting in 1998. Well, conditions
changed over the years, some of us were less interested in doing mikro
lounges and more interested in realizing a space, others wanted to
continue working along the same lines. What the space could or should
be went through many phases of planning and dreaming, and finally
became a reality when the mikro host location, the WMF club, moved to
this building and tipped us off to this space. Things started off very
slowly, but finally we had a contract and moved in.

Through mikro, Pit Schultz had applied for a grant from the Berlin City
Council (Senate) and we recieved 10,000 DM for basic infrastructure
like a server, beamer and hubs. At the same time, the weight of the
responsibility of running such a space seemed to be too much for
several of the mikro members, along with fears of how it would change a
rather informal structure like mikro. Personally, I found it a kind of
catch 22 situation - organizing the lab to run in a way that avoided
all risks would force mikro to become the kind of institution that
mikro members dread - running it more fluidly, less institutionally,
would leave the vorstand legally repsonsible for taking the risks.
Finally, after many long and heated discussions, we agreed to separate
BOOTLAB from mikro. It meant forming a new verein, which was a hassle,
but worth the risks. I have to add that this situation in Berlin is
quite unique in Europe, while the glory days might be over, it is still
possible to find relatively cheap spaces in the center of the city with
temporary contracts.

U: how would you describe the BOOTLAB and what is the intention here
and where do you see the difference between an instituion and your
organisation.

D: First and foremost, BOOTLAB is an independent production space. It
means that we are self-financed, each member paying 76 euros per month
for a work space, shared infrastructure, a large room for public
events, (workshops, presentations, parties) - and our beloved beamer ;)
I think the idea is to open up a space that allows for different forms
of cooperation and collaboration - a lot of this happens between the
lines, informally. The possibility for bigger projects that are more
*official* collaborations within the lab also exists. Ideally, the lab
is a loose frame that provides the basic infrastructure for a lot of
different things to happen. In terms of an institution, I guess we are
one, but we try not to let that institutional logic be the driving
force behind what we do. So far, our bureaucratic machinery is quite
lean, mostly focussed on finances. Bigger (and smaller) decisions are
made through group discussions. Partly, this fluid process is a pain in
the *ss. But it also has its benefits! By not having everything sorted
and dealt with, there is always room for new members to take on
responsibilities - which means the process and the organization are
left a bit open.

U: Ok you mentioned the price already before, what do people get for
that.

D: New members pay a one time 100 euro infrastructure costs fee, 76
euros per month, and 76 euro caution. For this, we all get a workspace,
connectivity, server access, people, connections, club mate, and
communication. I think the most important point is the other people.

U: Do you have a special focus on which people can come here ? How can
you bring people together who are working as artists, doing music...
and others who still* want to start up a business here. I use still
because we all know that the first enthusiastic hurra of doing your own
business, especially in the internet, is over since dot com«`s chrashed
and other things happend.

It is pretty open. Officially, we introduce potential members over the
internal mailing list or during meetings. Practically, members can veto
a new person, but we usually discuss it if there is a problem. The main
idea is to bring *good* people together, and look for what kind of
interests are missing. These conditions are also flectuating. At first,
we didn't have many geeks, now we have quite a few, but less artists.
There are also some small companies here, WLAN, Ubermorgen, Klubradio,
for example, but the people behind them also come from an art and
*independent* cultural background. So mostly, the people and the small
companies gel, though there have been some conflicts in the past.

Economically speaking, our model works very well right now because we
are not dependent on state money or private sponsors - neither of which
are investing much in electronic culture at the moment here. Mainly, we
try not to let that business culture dominate the atmosphere in the
lab. In a lot of ways, the motivations are similar, for the individuals
and the companies, the lab members mostly want to have good working
conditions without the stress of an office environment. Also, there are
more than a couple of dot.com refugees, people that did the freelance
high tech stuff, but found that world highly depressing. Also, in a
funny way, this is kind of an oasis from the economy and all of the
fallout there. In the past two years, the German dot.com industry has
really crashed and there are no investors. So, this is a bit more like
working out of the garage in the states for these companies. I guess it
means they believe in that what they are doing is worth it, in terms of
profit and labor, and this is the right place to do work like that.

U:Is there still any hope that a kind of "neoliberal" concept work out
?

D: No. I think that most of us don't invest hope into being saved by
stock options, so we invest into the process/es. I'd say that goes for
just about everybody here. Of course, we all have to make a living, and
some would prefer to do it on their own terms, which also has a touch
of the neoliberal. Personally, I don't see the companies here betting
on being bought up or making a huge fortune - having fun, doing what
one finds important, and getting by might be the more down to earth
goals.

U: or are there already other concepts you focus on ?

D: For the longer term, I think there is a big desire to do more
developing, software, projects, etc... Also, doing more workshops and
informal seminars, finding different forms for sharing knowledge. We
are looking at larger local radio projects, and just got news that a
cooperation with several other small european media labs got EU
funding. I think both of these draw on existing interests and practices
of people in the lab. Let's see what happens!

U: If you say mediaculture what do you mean by this exactly or how
would you define media culture.

D: That's a good question! Isn't it like media art? Well, I guess it is
interchangeable with digital, electronic, virtual ;) etc etc... in
terms of how they are often used. In the case of the lab, it is maybe
useful to define a certain field of interests that converge around
digital media. This might be a good place to examine what it really
means because new media is often thought of in terms of the isloated
individual working at a lonely desktop. Here, we consciously recognize
the importance of human contact, that it has an impact on how we are
working, what we work on and so on.

Partly, this is how culture gets constructed, but I think we have a
space that allows for different ways of working and thinking to
influence each other. Specific examples might be me looking at Thomax's
OMA database(http://meta.orang.org/), bringing my expectations, desires
and questions which are quite different from his, into his work. And
vice versa.I don't think you can think about contemporary culture
without thinking about media or digital, because everything that
defines cultures, in all but the poorest countries, is so interwoven
with media and technology. So, here media culture functions more on the
level of a subculture, but not totally decoupled from *real life*. That
is, we are working on a level that is not totally autonomous from the
dominant neo-liberalism of the day, but also resists buying into that
model absolutely.

U: thank you for the interview maybe there will be an other one which
focus more on details of the last section.

Links: OMA bootlab