course
description

Money is a complicated topic to say the least. And the stories we keep hearing in the news are that the rich are getting richer in the midst of these crises and the poor always poorer. And any attempts to change the narrative, even from within the richest realms, are of course thwarted by those who fear the power in collectivity.

Everything unfair about a society is starkly in view when taking a look at those who have money and those who don’t. What can we learn from the past about the present and future of money?

In what feels like an alternate universe, Non-fungible tokens (NFT’s) are permeating our twitter timelines almost out of nowhere. At first glance they seem to be an opportunity for artists to finally earn money through selling their digital artworks but at what cost to the community and the environment? Is this trendy adaptation of new-age currency a reflection of the capitalist economies we are trying to liberate ourselves from or part of the change we wish to see?

When money is involved is it no longer about the art? What are the ethical concerns, the tools, and the practicalities? Are there any possibilities to change the narrative within this space or are we doomed to repeat the same mistakes of economic inequality over and over?

Even just within this crypto space there is so much to investigate further in terms of how these technologies are being built into the fabric of our society and whether or not they deserve our trust. At the very least, they deserve healthy skepticism, a deeper inquiry, and diverse groups of people understanding how to use these tools. More than simply learning about NFT's, we wish for more people to understand the context within which they, and by extension, we, exist.

Of course, time will be spent to get you up to speed with working knowledge of cryptocurrencies and ecoNFT's as our goal is to

help bring diverse, informed, and critically-minded people into these spaces.

Are you ready to take part in a collective exploration of the ins and outs of currency and exchange and the greater implications of these systems on humans and nature?

This class is about collective learning, researching, sharing knowledge and contributing to something greater than ourselves. It’s for those who are ready to question everything about how we got here and where we go now. What happens when we jump off this merry-go-round all together to try and find a better way?

This class is the second part of what we hope will become a growing series of classes on Tools for Reimagining Better Worlds Through Cooperation.

In it, we will take a look at the history of money, corruption and money laundering, artist interventions, cooperatives models and decentralisation, blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and (eco) nft, exploring each of these from all angles to see how they work both for and against us.

This is a ten-week course but we encourage that the work and collectivity continue beyond it.

This class is intended exclusively for women, BIPOC*, LGBTQ+ and others underrepresented in the tech world. As powerless as we can often feel, this is our way of attempting to change the narrative of inequality in the here and now.

We are coming together explicitly in support of anti-racism, intersectional feminism, and exploring alternatives to the exploitation of capitalism. We are interested in working with those of you who share these goals.

Each week will take on a different discussion point and a different instructor. Weekly class breakdowns and more speaker updates are coming soon.

in this course,
you will be
introduced to

• General history of money and economies

• Overview of worldwide monetary systems

• Practical knowledge of money laundering, tax evasion, debt, how people "beat" the system

• Working vocabulary of capitalism and related systems

• Cooperative systems and decentralised autonomous organisations (DAO's)

• Finance hacking and interventions

• Blockchain and cryptocurrencies, their functions in real life and as creative practice

• Art speculation

• Explanation of Proof of Work, Proof of Stake, and practicalities of using (Eco)NFT's

• An amazing network and community of like-minded creative beings and potential future collaborators

who is this class for?

This program is for anyone interested in understanding the history of money, how it has evolved, where it is today and how we can use current tools and collective imagination to design better prospects for the future. Artists, researchers, organisers, creatives, and people of all kinds seeking deeper knowledge are all welcome to join. Please be ready to contribute to the discussions and collective pool of knowledge. No one person can know everything. We need each other. No previous experience necessary.

As mentioned above, this class is intended especially for people underrepresented in the tech world including women, BIPOC*, LGBTQ+ and others in marginalised groups which includes people from parts of Europe, latin america, etc. To the extent that you are comfortable, we may ask you to please explain why you are eligible for this class.

*Note: An interesting discussion recently brought out the idea that many people we wish to support don’t necessarily see themselves as people of color and that the term, to a large extent, is a cultural identifier. If you are interested in participating but unsure if you fit the target group, please get in touch and let’s discuss.

about live classes

Classes are 'live' meaning that you can directly interact with the instructor as well as with the other participants from around the world. Classes will also be recorded for playback in case you are unable to attend for any reason. For specific questions, please email us and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

about tickets

Tickets for this class are currently available via Eventbrite. If you would like to avoid Eventbrite fees, please email us for direct payment options. We kindly ask that all “pay-what-you-can” students register through Eventbrite. Due to reduced staffing, we’re unable to handle specific payment requests for these registrations.

about solidarity

We realise we're living in uncertain times. During this time, we are offering a limited number of pay-what-you-can solidarity tickets for this online class. These are reserved for women, POC, and LGBTQ+ who would otherwise be unable to attend. We are a small organisation with no outside funding and like many, we are also in survival mode and we ask you to consider this when making your donation.

Note: Due to the fact that we are receiving way more requests for Solidarity tickets than we can accommodate, we ask that after you have taken 3 that you please purchase a regular ticket in order to make them available to other people. Also, please note that we may send a follow-up email asking you to confirm your eligibility for these tickets. We are trying to make our classes accessible to as many people as possible and greatly appreciate your understanding and support.

meet the instructor