Sousveillance: A Gathering of the Tribes

Sousveillance: A Gathering of the Tribes
A forthcoming issue on the the topic of sousveillance in A Gathering of the Tribes magazine:

"We are looking for contributions reflective of how the arts are affected by monitoring and surveillance (socially pervasive computing) that are affecting human liberties. Defining the public space and identifying the opportunities for expression that public spaces afford needs to be contrasted with the importance of defining freedom and privacy in this era of instantenous access to information. From consumer data fed to advertisers via creditcards, to collecting information to 'protect' us from terrorists, to the monitoring of books we buy or borrow, the fact is that information collection systems are ubiquitous and converging with bio-informatics data mining, facial recognition, and even personal DNA data systems. Our world is closing in and the opportunities for autonomous creative expression are declining along with it. Reestablishing power and control over our own lives may come from a creative appropriation and understanding of how surveillance systems are integrated into the social  environment.  Sousveillance is one potential avenue towards achieving this goal.Surveillance, meaning to watch from above, can be countered by eveloping the art of Sousveillance, a phrase coined to describe the act of watching from below. Sousveillance is as an inverse to surveillance, watching the watchers, and bringing the cameras down from the heavens, from  lamp posts and buildings to human-eye-level. The camcorder recording which spotlighted police brutality in the Rodney King case represents a seminal act of sousveillance. For the issue of Tribes titled Sousveillence, we seek creative works exploring how individuals and cultures artistically respond to and represent our world under surveillance. New media performance emphasizing the importance of public reflection on ubiquitous surveillance and sousveillence is encouraged, as well as essays, short stories, poetry and visual works that assist in defining the ideals of human centeredness in a mechanical and monitored world."