School
for
Poetic
Computation
Radius Radio is a class and conversation series that explores the potential of low-power FM radio as a tool for connection and artistic expression. Mini-FM, a do-it-yourself broadcasting method popularized by media activist Tetsuo Kogawa, serves as both a model and counterpoint to globalized media networks, emphasizing intimacy, ephemerality, and hyper-locality. Throughout the class, students will hear from guest practitioners working at the intersection of sound, radio, and site-specific art. These artists, musicians, and community organizers will share insights into radio’s creative possibilities, the cultural significance of sound systems, and broadcasting as a medium for storytelling and social connection. Students will build their own transmitters, capable of transmitting within a one to three block radius, and create site-specific broadcasts responding to their environment and local communities. Together, we will explore the liberatory histories of sound and free radio, examine radio as an art form, and engage with the electromagnetic spectrum as a medium.
Images courtesy of teachers and guests.
Applicants based locally in NYC and the surrounding NY Metropolitan or Tri-State Area will be prioritized for this class. Limited seats are available for non-local applicants.
Our classroom space is hosted by Creative Time Headquarters (CTHQ). CTHQ is a gathering space supporting artists working at the intersection of art and politics as they continue to plot, orchestrate, and recharge from cultural, political and social organizing work. The space is rooted in the legacy of art and activism, in the rebelliousness of artist-organizers in the Lower East Side such as self-organized neighborhood art, health and education centers, experimental theater, protest collectives, and community-owned housing, cultural and greenspaces, to claim and shape space for artistic and political production. Additionally, CTHQ sits within Creative Time’s historic and ongoing work to gather artists to share tactics for political change most notably through the Creative Time Summit, Creative Time Reports, and its Global Fellowship. Growing within a lineage of visionary and transgressive creative moments, CTHQ serves as a hub for today and tomorrow’s community of socially engaged and politically oriented artists in the neighborhood, citywide, across the country, and around the world.
In-person attendees will be required to provide proof of up-to-date vaccination status (including the 2024-2025 booster) to attend. Students, teachers and staff are expected to be masked during class. Before the first and last day of class, all participants will be expected to show a negative result on a COVID test.
No prior technical knowledge is required, but students should expect to engage with some light technical work like the basics of soldering and building a low-power FM transmitter.
Students must provide their own laptop with a camera (for online resources, documentation, remote check-ins, etc.)
Cost of tuition includes the following materials which will be provided for participants:
This class may be for you if you:
Bryant Wells is a New York-based designer who works independently and collaboratively with artists, writers, musicians, and institutions to create websites, publications, identities, and objects. His practice explores the political and cultural affects shaping networked communication, and the metaphorical and material implications of "what’s in the air.”
he/him
· website
Miguel is a designer based in New York, NY, collaborating with partners and clients on strategic interdisciplinary projects. He maintains an explorative art practice integrating research and critical interests in digital and material cultures, philosophies of ecology and technology, and artifacts of our collective pasts and futures. Holding an MFA from Yale School of Art, he has led creative workshops and lectures, and his work has been part of local and international exhibitions and events.
he/him
· website
· instagram
· website
· website
Applications open until Applications closed on February 2, 2025.
You can expect to hear back from us about the status of your application on February 18, 2025. Please email us at admissions@sfpc.study with any questions you have.
For 7 classes, it costs $1000 + processing fees, for a one-time payment. We also offer payment plans. Participants can schedule monthly payments of the same amount. First and last payments must be made before the start and end of class. *Processing fees apply for each payment.
SFPC processes all payments via Withfriends and Stripe. Please email admissions@sfpc.study if these payment options don't work for you.
For more information about what we look for in applicants, scholarships, and other frequently asked questions, please visit our applicant FAQ.
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