PUBLIC THINGS situations BASTA In 2000, N55 was invited to collaborate with industrial workers at Basta, a factory producing bicycle locks in Denmark. N55 decided to accept the invitation despite an obvious critical view on the collaboration between art and business, in order to get concrete experience. After talks with the workers and management at Basta, N55 suggested to build up a communication room for everybody to use at the factory. A version of Public Things with internet access was established, and a notice board was made for daily exchange of information. N55 convinced the management that all employees should be able to leave their work during the day to use the room to relax, browse the internet etc. Groups of managers, workers and designers were formed to initiate long term projects - a garden, a homepage for the employees, a food project where the workers cooked for each other on shift, a large bike that everybody could ride on - all with the implicit aim of breaking down power structures within the company and enhancing consciousness about the situation. Everybody could take two hours a week out of production to work on these projects. During N55s involvement at Basta, a competitor bought the company, production in Denmark was stopped, and the workers got sacked. PUBLIC THINGS, Basta, Kosoer, Denmark 2000. PUBLIC THINGS, KITCHEN, Linz, Austria 1999. Indoor and outdoor version. The KITCHEN is equipped with the necessary items for the preparation og food. STREETLAMP, Les Arques, France 2003. Low voltage movable STREETLAMPS in yellow, cyan and magenta with on/off switches were installed in different places around the village. INFO MODULE, Bremen, Germany 2003. Back to manuals Back to HOME