Gomma aka Ermanno Guarneri is an Italian activist, writer, publisher and video maker based in Milano in Northern Italy.
ADELAIDE
Decoder's Second Life Gallery Space, 2004
Gomma’s Australian tour kicked off in Adelaide with an intense three days participation in the United Trades and Labor Council of SA’s Community Cultural Development and New·Media Symposium which ran between 24 – 26 September 1996. This was a national forum at which Gomma presented a keynote address on 24 September to over 150 delegates. Gomma’s talk, illustrated by striking video montage, outlined some of the ways the peoples of Milan access squatted social centres to produce a range of interventions in mainstream culture and social issues.
His powerful presentation was well received, and later that afternoon he gave an informal talk supported by powerful video and printed materials. In this workshop Gomma expanded on the themes flagged during the morning to a group of over 30 people squashed in a stuffy room oozing computers at Ngapartji, Adelaide’s newly opened Co-operative Multimedia Centre.
On 26 September Gomma ran a three hour workshop at Ngapartji to a floating group of 12 – 18 symposium delegates where he showed more video material, and demonstrated the DECODER bulletin board system. Ironically in this centre of power computing it was extremely difficult to locate a simple PC for Gommato show the low tech low res BBS. The main thrust of all of Gomma’s presentations Was to let people know that important cultural intervention across a range of media, both ‘new’ and ‘old’, can occur with minimal outlay on technical resources. Feedback gathered from many people throughout his national tour confirmed that his message got through!
Doppio Teatro, Adelaide’s bi-cultural Italo-Australian theatre company, hosted Gomma on 26 September. In addition to meeting with members of Adelaide’s Italian community and press, he conducted a public talk at the Nexus Cabaret Space which was attended by approximately 40 people who had the opportunity to eat lunch and chat with Gomma after his talk.
SYDNEY
On 28 September Gomma gave a public lecture at the Art Gallery of New South Wales as part of the Carnivale Festival. The 40 or so people who attended his talk represented a range of interests including arts workers from Western Sydney, media, students, internet enthusiasts, curators and practising artists and musicians.
On 3 October Gomma, along with Virogenesis agent Matt Fuller gave a talk to design students at the University of Western Sydney, Nepean.
PERTH
The Perth Institute of Contemporary Art hosted agents Gomma and Scanner for a presentation at the Alexander Mackie Library on 12 October. This was very well attended, with an audience of 143 people.
Tags: cultural intervention, cultural technologies, DECODER bulletin board system
