Cooling Down with Opacity Zones

Hanna Stokes

19.05.2026 18:45–19:45
Workshop 1
English
Workshop
Art & Culture
#Activism #Climate #Demokratie #Netzkultur
The session will begin with a short presentation on how the death of the open web as we know it may be a good thing. Followed by a workshop, where we will practice refusal of dominant digital culture inspired by the concept of opacity zones. Can opacity help to cool down culture and the planet?

Indie web webcrafters reject the destruction of natural, social and inner worlds that has been brought on by self-serving advocates of technological advancement. Advocates who used transparency to turn a profit, steadily eroding democracy along the way. The webcrafters of the indie web play with cyberspace and time to construct visually and spiritually pleasing alternative digital realities.

Inspired by these radical netizens and Tiqqun's concept of "opacity zones", we will make love-letters.

Last year, Denmark closed down its 400-year-old postal service. But what is lost in a society that no longer sends letters? What happens when the love-letter emoji is all we have left? To investigate such questions, the participants will make love-letters out of thoughtfully designed white envelopes and heart stickers from a RSVP Berlin, a local stationary shop. 

Participants will also be able to choose between other activities in order to accommodate various interests and energy levels, including making ASCII art, joining a digital activist community, and building a light-weight website.

Speaker