Scale | Ep.#2: Alternative Networks in Cuba [w/ Steffen Köhn & Nestor Siré]

Alternative community-based data distribution networks on the local scale have emerged in Cuba as a consequence of the economic sanctions imposed on the country in recent decades. German anthropologist Steffen Köhn and Cuban media artist Nestor Siré shed light on the unique materiality and significance of these networks, built to overcome the limitations of internet access in Cuba. In the current capitalist, consumerist form of internet, characterised by closed platforms, we are fed content chosen for us by algorithms, whereas informal infrastructures allow their users, makers and content creators to be the protagonists of their own choices – and allow us to envision decentralised, non-commercial and collective interactions on the web. COLOPHON Host: Neja Berger Guest: Steffen Köhn, Nestor Siré Recording and editing: Neja Berger Audio Mix: Staš Kramar Music: Gašper Torkar Scale podcast series Curated by Janez Fakin Janša Produced by Marcela Okretič for Tactics&Practice#14: Scale Production: Aksioma | Institute for Contemporary Art Ljubljana, 2023 Part of Tactics&Practice konS – Platform for Contemporary Investigative Art