KATHERINE BALL
BIO: Katherine Ball’s artistic practice is founded on a physically immersive, experiential and solutions-oriented approach to ecological activism, social engagement, and pluriversal counter-hegemony. She works within, rather than about, movements.
Most recently, I've been collaborating with a spokescouncil to organize anti-capitalist & anti-oppression actions, including Shut Down the Corporations (the largest coordinated day of action this year), the Swarm and N17: the day of nonviolent civil disobedience to shut down the banks. I contribute visual and interactive design for actions and help orchestrate the logistics.
Websites: www.shutdownthecorporations.org www.pdxbikeswarm.org www.n17pdx.org www.portlandactionlab.org
Here is a glimpse of 400 umbrellas stenciled collaboratively with the Action Lab arts spoke. The umbrellas were carried in a demonstration in lieu of protest signs. They were also intended to be used as shields and barriers to police repression. In the photo on the right, you can see demonstrators using them to block the camera of a policeman from suveilling. The eyes were modeled off of: Burmese dissident politician Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, civil rights activist Ella Baker, Indian food sovereignty leader Vandana Shiva, writer Silvia Federici, and others awake & on the lookout.
Occupy article: Knot of Hope
Shut Down articles:
Occupy movement targets corporate interest group with ties to legislators - The Guardian
A tale of two protests - Truth Out
Swarm articles: Bikes lend support to historic protest at Occupy Portland The 'bike swarm' evolves into a movement of its own Bike Swarm! It's the Occupy Movement's New Tool
N17 article: N17 action against bank closes downtown branches; 48 arrested; police use pepper spray
This summer, I lived on an island dwelling in the middle of the lake and experimented with using mushrooms to filter the E. coli and toxic waste from illegal dumping in the lake. I also build a greywater system in my off-grid, igloo-like home and organized community events about water, including a free school on water and water yoga class.
www.imamuseum.org/island2011
article: Living on Indy Island
video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uztUkzSuuTo
Last year, I rode my bicycle across the country and interviewed people about what they were doing to stop climate change. When the five of us reached Washington DC, we talked to 30 congressional offices about the solutions we had learned from our fellow Americans. Then, we headed down to Cancun for the UN Climate Change Conference, where I lived in the jungle at the peoples' climate summit and learned about how capitalism is destroying the wild world.
website: www.solutionsrevolution.org
summary: www.solutionsrevolution.org/summary
Last winter, I studied at the School of Walls and Space in Copenhagen. Nils Norman is an amazing, engaging teacher and the students are totally rad. Especially the ones that unscrew unneeded screws to build mushroom log hanging devices. I learned so much there (Fermentation! Caliban and the Witch! Harvey's reading of Marx!), I feel like I owe everything to them.
wallsandspace.wordpress.com
A couple years ago, I helped run The Free Market, a free farmers market in a food desert and transitional housing area in downtown, Portland. The food was gleaned from a local farmers market. This happened outside of the art and community space I co-ran with artist Alec Neal, called SEA Change.
www.seachangegallery.org
In case it is not obvious already, I love my bicycle.
