Occupy Wall Street: New York FUN Exchange! Get yer Schedule! Get yer Flyer!

well, i stayed up all night producing the New York FUN Exchange flyer… but I’m STILL SUPER AMPED FOR THIS SATURDAY!!!! So many cool things to do – how could people not get excited about this??  Find a PDF copy available for download here!

Check it.

Schedule is below:

Pre- & Post-Fun Exchange
Sept 16, 17, 18 Bike Bloc!
Meet 7 pm @ Tompkins Square Park!

= North Bowling Green
12-2:30 David Rovics sings Songs of Social Significance
12-2:30 Shred your Bank/Student Loan Statement
12-2:30 Face-painting / Flag-making
12-2:30 Street/Subway musicians
1:00 Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir

= South Bowling Green
12-1:00 Standup Lie Down (comedic therapy by )
12:30-1:15 FREE Street Yoga (brought to you by
12:30-1:00 Story Corner
1-3:00 Open Economics Forum – feat discussions by the Michael Abouzelof by Transnational Capitalist Class, the Glass-Steagall act and the American system of credit, Justin Wedes on Tax havens, Christopher Rude on Capitalist production and finance: the difference between interest-bearing and fictitious capital, David Graeber on Debt and Empire.
1:30-1:00 Story Corner: For the kiddies, for the adults. Picture books and adventure stories – Alê will read about Waddy and friends

= Head down to Wall Street and Broad (aka “The [arm] Pit”) to partake in your own spontaneous act of autonomous creativity!
Suggestions: Host an Open Mic!  Have a picnic!  Bring your own beach party!  Do some yoga!  Dress like a Bankster Prankster (you get to act like a punk ALL DAY)!  Unrelatedly, why not Waterballoon the Bankster Prankster (obviously)!

= Roving around (don’t get lost!)
Video interviews – Answer “Why will you occupy?”
Pillow Fight – Make sure you bring your own pillow…and watch out for that sneaking Panda Bear!
Choir gone Renegade: 12:00pm meet-up, warm-up; 12:10 start to sing National anthems, protest songs – look for them on Federal Hall Steps and caroling all around Wall Street area!
Photo-ops: Recreate Banksy’s “Flowertov Cocktail” What is Planking? Contribute your story to the “We Are the 99%” Project
“Make ___, Not War” [brought to you by CodePink]

2:30 PM March to the Assembly: Assemble at South Bowling Green and (hopefully!) reassemble at Chase Plaza for the General Assembly at 3:00 PM!

#occupywallstreet with YOGA

“Occupying” a space can mean more than just sleeping there.  It can mean inhabiting or performing something in an unexpected way; by doing so, we lay claim on the attention of that space.  We can change it.

The masses of tourists on Wall Street make it like a hallway to nowhere, an empty photographic zone.  So when a few people circled up to do yoga on Wall Street today, we made a difference: to the markets, to the security agents, to the people of New York – we humanized that space.  We distributed Bailout Bananas.  And we’ll do it again.

—

MORE FREE YOGA ON WALL STREET.

We won’t stop doing it until we’re perfectly healthy or we reach the end of forever!

Self-Reflection on 9/11

Wall Street is a location that has been utterly altered by the events of September 11. With all thru traffic closed, it turned Wall Street into a public space that appears to be unlike any other in the city: a pure public space, though one that is constantly in a state of crisis and under threat.  How do we memorialize September 11, 2001 there?  How can we represent the events of that day and their impact today, 10 years later?

In consideration of this, philosopher-poet Bold Jez will be reading and interpreting passages from an interview with the late French philosopher, Jacques Derrida, taken just a few weeks after the terror attacks on the World Trade Center.  After a brief reading, the floor will be open for a discussion of people’s reflections on the events of September 11th, 2001, via personal experiences, memories, and thoughts on the 10th anniversary.

Plan to meet at 1 pm 11:30 am at 23 Wall Street (the building on corner of Wall Street and Broad across from Federal Hall).  All the public will be invited to listen and participate.

“New York Fun Exchange” (aka “Occupy Wall Street”)

Maybe you’ve heard the rumors…September 17…occupy Wall Street…but what is it exactly?  Well, it depends on who you ask; but for some of us artists and cultural creators, it means aesthetically taking back one of the most important public spaces in New York City for the people of New York, for all Americans, and for the fun-loving citizens of the world.

How do we do that?  Well, take a marketplace that, in a post-9/11 world, has been reduced to a boring tourist zone where no one really feels welcome, and open it up to laughter and excitement by making beautiful music/poetry/performances there!  To top it all off, why not invite some real people as well?  (yes real people just like you!)

On September 17, 2011, we are calling for public artists of all varieties to join us – if you can make it or create it in a public space, then we want you there.  We have many activities including spoken word, drum circles, performance pieces, and participatory art planned so far, but all are welcome.

We’re calling it the New York FUN Exchange!  (I almost wish we could call it a “Why Can’t Wall Street (come out and) Play? Fair” but maybe I’m just obsessed with double entendres.) We shall let our glee resound from wall to wall to wall…of the Exchange!

If you would like to coordinate your your own creative adventure with us, please contact DeBored at debordwalk[at]gmail[dot]com with “New York Fun Exchange: Artist” in the subject line.  If you would like to volunteer to help us with our activities, please email DeBored at debordwalk[at]gmail[dot]com with “New York Fun Exchange: Volunteer” in the subject line.

All hands are welcome!  (Also, if you are just waiting around in your room surfing the internet waiting to hear what will actually go down on, maybe just think about coming to find out for yourself.)  Let’s get occupied on Wall Street on September 17!

Make sure you bring your fun-loving puppy too!

Wall Street: SHAMED!

Yes that’s right, the people from Project for Public Spaces have created a list of the worst public spaces in the world and guess who came up on the list…here’s their assessment:

The symbolic center of capitalism looks like it is under siege. Security measures intended to protect against terrorism have resulted in an armed camp mentality that serves no one. Of course security is necessary, but…[a]s is, security barricades and vehicles are everywhere, giving the impression that Wall Street operates in a state of constant fear. The chaotic conditions are an embarrassment to the financial district and to New York as a whole…

oooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo, Wall Street: SHAMED!  It’s all toooooo bad that this assessment actually makes it a fucking awesome and super bad ass place to perform your political poetry!  Where else, aside of occupying City Hall or a Bank of America, are you absolutely required to get into the revolutionary spirit?

Stand on the pedestal in front of George Washington on the site marking the 1st oath of office of the United States and tell everyone what they aren’t ready to hear!  (it’s what i did, anyway)

"Fear is not in the habit of speaking truth; when perfect sincerity is expected, perfect freedom must be allowed." Tacitus