10 Years Of Otherness & Being / 2000

September 2000 sees the 10 Year Anniversary of the cultural network Origami Republika. The origami meme was set up as an open zone for cultural expression by people inside and outside the usual 'alternative' musical circles.

This meant that anyone could enter and use this collective label on their work, and in contradiction to most other such open projects, Origami Republika soon showed this in practice.

By now over 160 people have been enlisted as 'agents'. Hundreds of live appearances have taken place in every kind of venue from lowerside punk squats, to synagogues and prestige galleries, uptil now mostly in Europe, Norway and Canada.

Origami Republika has published a bunch of cd's and vinyl, hundreds of cassettes, tons of mail art and related output, six books, a couple of videos, art objects and multiples and whatnot. Street art actions have taken place, exhibitions have been organised, spontanous stunts, collaborations and interferences has become the everyday practice.

Our 'almost invisible art' has been spread like bugs around venues and elsewhere in public. All on a non-profit level.

The core idea of the project is exactly to see how far such a Freedom Operation can be taken without any censorship nor ego ejaculation making a hindrance. Thus a whole underbrush of 'sub-factions' has appeared, now growing fast from various places around the globe (Usa, Canada, Argentina, Switzerland, England, Norway to name the most active).

Usually (but not always, as there are no set rules) these end with the two letters _ka, like Origami South Amerika, Origami Sympatika and Origami Replika. Some of these are one-offs and often based on ridiculous wordgames like Origami Vodka, Origami Afrika and Origami Paprika. Others are working more seriously as regular band units, like KA, Origami Arktika, Origami Galaktika and Origami Synergika. Some are focussing on other things than music, like Origami Grafika, Origami Poetika and Origami Ballistika.

The musical and/or artistical output is as varied as the people involved, but the source of provocation lays in the fact that one can be totally ridiculous and downright serious within the same project. The Real Life Theatre includes more aspects in one day than refined conceptual art does in a lifetime. This has lead to the fact that promoting the project is a nightmare, since the western art and music markets usually demand Onesidedness and the media demand easy quotes for their presentations.

We love to give the academics and critics a hard time, and our widespread audiences seem to appreaceate exactly that. Thus we tend to stay in closer direct contact with our mail order customers and their likes than spending our time explaining our every move after the Golden Book of Modern Art Style for the correct congregation. Fiery hearts and frenzy.

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