Background
It took around five years to co-develop a convincing site-specific project involving The Yes Men at Roskilde Festival. After exploring various concepts, we finally decided on a project featuring Edward Snowden giving a talk on privacy via satellite from Moscow. Since the topic can be complex, we devised a secret side project to assist festival-goers in better understanding privacy.
Challenge
How can you encourage intoxicated, ecstatic festival-goers to contemplate challenging issues like mass surveillance at a music festival?
Solution
Together with Edward Snowden and The Yes Men, we devised a hoax with the sole intent of provoking the festival-goers personally, hoping for a reflection and reaction. Only a handful of people knew about this secret hoax so in case of a shitstorm we made a on how to navigate it and how to harness the build up anger.
With only five simple, yet thought-provoking signs strategically placed around the camping site, we were successful in prompting festival-goers to reflect on privacy at a personal level. This led to various reactions at the festival as well as in the media outside of it.
Outcome
In the end there was a tremendous interest in the Edward Snowden talk. It was both serious and "hyggelig" (cozy) at the same time. This demonstrates that even when you're at a festival enjoying yourself, you can still contemplate important issues.
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Between 5,000 and 10,000 people attended the Edward Snowden talk.
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We deliberately created a social media shitstorm, with agitated individuals inside and outside the festival grounds expressing concerns about privacy.
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The most agitated individuals were invited to participate in the hoax and had the opportunity to ask Edward Snowden a question.
After the festival The Yes Men produced a video about the project
My role
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Curator
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Project Manager
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Producer
Tasks
- Make initial contact and create a relationship
- Co-develop a site-specific concept that will feel trustworthy in a danish context
- Negotiate budget and contract
- Manage both the artist and and the Roskilde Festival organisation
- Ensure that all aspects of the project, including transportation, accommodations, visits to the Orange Stage, communication, and production, etc., were thoroughly planned.
- On-site producer and general problem solver.
Press
Berlingske Tidende
Edward Snowden ændrer holdninger på Roskilde Festival: »Måske er der alligevel noget, jeg gerne vil have for mig selv
"Jeg så skiltene om, at Roskilde Festival ville tiltvinge sig adgang til indholdet af vores SMS-beskeder og blev pissed"
Politiken
Pludselig trådte Edward Snowden ind på scenen - eller gjorde han?
"»Byd velkommen til den mest eftersøgte mand: Edward Snowden«, lød det."
Information
Nogle gange må man bryde loven for fremskridtets skyld
"Det blev hurtigt afsløret som en happening af den slags, som har gjort The Yes Men verdensberømte, men ikke før festivalen var blevet kastet ud i et regulært stormvejr på de sociale medier."
DR Nyheder
Jesper Talte med Edward Snowden
"Så vi startede en debat nede i campen om, hvorvidt det var okay eller ej. Vi går i forvejen meget op i det her, så min kammerat startede en tråd på Facebook, der startede en shitstorm af en anden verden, fortæller Jesper Bjørn."
Kunsten.nu
Når politisk kunst gør en lille forskel - The Yes Men på Roskilde Festival
"Det vellykkede i dette værk bestod i, at individer, folkemængden og medierne på forskellige måder blev engageret i spørgsmålet om overvågning."
Soundvenue
Roskildes ekstreme overvågning var et bluffnummer det siger fake Snowden selv
"Stuntet har medført en lang række vredesudbrud på Roskildes sociale kanaler og på Twitter – med god grund. Og det er netop det, Roskilde Festival ønsker at sætte fokus på ..."
Interview (In danish only)
Roskilde Festival årsskrift 2016 --> page 14