Name: Mushon Zer-Aviv
Network: Upgrade!
Interview by: Gabriella Coleman
Date: 3 - 7 March, 2009
Location: Winter Camp 09, Amsterdam
URL: networkcultures.org/wintercamp

Mushon, a digital designer based out of NYC, talked to me about the genesis and evolution of Upgrade, an extensive network of independent artist hubs/nodes that was initiated in 1999 by Yael Kanarek and was crafted as a place where local artists could meet, share ideas, and show their work. While the first node in NYC served as the template or inspiration for other groups (which popped all over the world, though with a heavy concentration in North America and Europe), each group is run autonomously. One issue he raised was the question of inactive nodes. What might they as a network do to reanimate them? They are currently trying to initiate more cross node interaction so as to learn from each other and encourage sharing across the network.

Read the blogpost of the final presentation of Upgrade! here:
networkcultures.org/wintercamp/2009/03/08/final-day-presentation-upgrade/