Mutantspace
URL = http://www.mutantspace.ie/
Description
Moray Bresnihan:
" What mutantspace does is give people free support in the production of their arts event and projects. We dont differentiate between the artist or non artist, professional or amateur, we just want people to play, create, make, experiment and fail. We do this primarily through our skills bank which is divided into: CREATIVE, PRODUCTION, MANAGEMENT, MARKETING sections. In other words all the areas people need in order to produce their work.
We are a non-monetary economy running everything on the gift economy principal – people join up by giving a skill into the bank. They can then use the bank as often as they like. Twice a year I do a call out to all members asking them if they wish to take part in our bi-annual diy festival called THE TRASH CULTURE REVUE. We put on everything there is no barrier – it is a collective action and the festival is dependent on the work of the co-operative. The next festival is on from Thursday 5th – 8th May. The entire festival is run on a zero budget and all aspects of it from performances to exhibitions, PR to design, volunteering to documenting are done through our bank. Members get together from all over the place bringing the online co-operative into a real world community
If you want to use the resources of mutantspace you simply register. Part of the registration process is to submit a skill, amount of time youre willing to give to another member, experience you have, description of your skill and where you live. Once that is done you can use the bank for whatever you need and whenever you need it. i.e. if you are a musician you might need a graphic designer to design an album cover or a gig poster. You go into the graphic design section or put your area and graphic design into the search bar and a list will come up. You look through the list and can directly email that person through the site. I use this method for all design work for our festival. You can use it for anything: a venue, a van, a set designer, lighting engineer, painter, dancer, artist, marketing expert, web programmer, etc…
Every member of mutantspace has given a skill into the bank. They have given their time into the co-operative. This means that the more people join the stronger we become. Currently we have over 1500 skills in the bank and members use them for all sorts of things
YH: Do members actively exchange skills through the platform?
MB: Yes is the short answer as mutantspace provides a CONTACT tab on every skill so that you can directly email a fellow member – it is the only way to contact a member and it ensures privacy. However as it is a gift economy you only give when asked. It is not a barter system. There is no value put on any skills and so the skills bank is run completely on trust. Our festival, The Trash Culture Revue is a clear example of how it works. The programme is made up of members, the posters are designed by members, the pr and marketing is done by members. The accommodation is given by members." (http://www.doxacollective.org/2011/04/14/case-studies-1-gift-economy-and-the-commons/)