+comunity+ Fwd: Call for support for autonomous Factory Rog

[Jogi Hofmüller]

Liebe Leute,

anbei ein Aufruf, die "Autonome Fabrik ROG" in Ljubljana, deren
(teilweise) Zerstörung angedroht wird - zu unterstützen.

ROG ist ein cooler Ort, quasi mitten in der Stadt.  Hier der Aufruf:

*******

CALL FOR SUPPORT FOR AUTONOMOUS FACTORY ROG

Autonomous factory Rog is under threat of being destroyed by the
Municipality of Ljubljana (MOL), which is now preparing its partial
demolition and projects to transform the complex into a center for
creative industries. The MOL is planning to demolish four buildings at
the end of May/ begining of June, and go on removing all satellite
buildings of the main factory. This stage is dependent on the allocated
financial resources.

Only one atelier is under threat at this very moment, but once the
working area is established on the yard, the authorities can easily
remove also the Skate park, the gallery €"Kljub Vsemu", the Concert
hall, Circus headquarters, Social Center The MOL does not
possesses the financial means for the overall renovation and is pushing
with demolition works only because the building permission is about to
expire on 14^th , June, 2016. We are asking you to support Autonomous
factory Rog according to your possibilities. You can help us in several
ways:

* Signing the petition: link
<http://www.pravapeticija.com/neomejen_rog_uporabe__support_autonomous_tovarna_rog>

* Writing a statement or letter of support and sending
it to the Municipality of Ljubljana: Mestna občina Ljubljana, Kabinet
župana, Mestni trg 1, 1000 Ljubljana F: (01) 306 12 14
E: <mailto:kabinet at ljubljana.si>kabinet at ljubljana.si

* Organizing events in Rog or using our spaces for your
normal activities betwen 26.5 and 14.6.

* Physical defence of the complex and logistical
support in order to prevent the commence of demolition works

* Your proposal

We are organising a *meeting on Saturday, 21.5 at 17:00 with all the
entities and persons who want to support us* and fight for our space.

For questions, suggestions and information, you can contact us
at: skupscina.tovarne.rog at gmail.com
<mailto:skupscina.tovarne.rog at gmail.com>

Important dates:

18.5. From 12:00 onwards: Working action - construction of all-Rog-bathrooms

20.5. From 12:00 - Blok party - picnic, music, mingling

21.5. At 17:00 - Meeting with support networks

25.5. At 17:00 - Youth parade for unlimited use of Rog factory

14.6. - Expiration date of building permission

15.5. - 14.6. - Critical period for beginning of demolition works

Since many of people/collectives, who support us, know little of our
history and because some brothers and sister oranizations asked us for a
model text that they can use for their support letter, we wrote a basic
informative text below:

INTRO TO AUTONOMOUS FACTORY ROG

Rog factory is an industrial complex on the east edge of Ljubljana
centre, which produced the famous Rog bicycles and was shut down in
1991. It remained  abandoned and deteriorating for 15 years. In 2006
the area was occupied by engaged students, artists and activists, as a
critical response to post-socialist transition process (privatization
and de-industrialization) and the erosion of public and social spaces
(individualisation and atomization of society). They pull their
legitimacy from the needing of places for non-formal artistic, cultural
and political activities (autonomy, alternative culture, horizontal
political organization).

Rog’s users secured and cleaned the spaces and established ateliers,
workshops, galleries, skate-parks, a concert hall, recreational
facilities and a social center, among others. Despite the municipal
efforts to block or unable the grassroot activities (refusal to sign the
legal contract for temporary use, and not allowing the community to tap
into public electricity network), the users turned to their
self-initiative, collaboration and resourcefulness. After10 years, they
have created one of the main axis of urban culture, critical thought and
political activism of the city, the country and even beyond.

Today, there are around 15 organised collectives and around 20
individuals active in the factory, distributed in 35 spaces that are
relatively self-sufficient and autonomous. The community is bond
together through assemblies, which is the main political body. It
follows the principle of direct-democratic decision making and
consulting. The activities taking place in Rog can be summarised as:

* Artistic and cultural production - visual arts, multimedia and
performance arts, graffiti, street theatre, circus, music production,
art theory, philosophy and political theory

* Recreational and motoric activities - skateboarding, rollerblading,
BMXing, kung fu, tai chi quan, silk dancing, break dancing and football

* Activism - grassroot political organising, networking, training and
education, direct actions and building of horizontal political structures

* Social and music events - jam sessions, concerts, club events,
experimental musical-performative-social events, picnics, gatherings,
flea-markets, etc.

One year after the occupation - in 2007 - the municipality begin
planning the renovation of the area into a “Creative centre Rog�,
putting the emphasis on redeveloping the surroundings in order to build
an attractive area for international artists and tourists. With the help
of an EU-led project devoted to revitalisation of ex-industrial zones,
they propose a public-private partnership to renovate the main factory
building, the construction of a design hotel, up-standard apartments and
commercial programmes. The public-private ration is 20-80%. One of the
proposals also suggests the moving of 3 art academies to Rog, but their
deans deny it, because of non-defined relations between academic and
commercial programs and because they don’t want that their students -
who are active in the factory - Â lose their studios/ateliers. The
municipality could never find an investor because of global recession,
so they downscale the project into an all- publicly financed “centre
for architecture, design and visual arts� stressed on developing the
creative industries economic sector and helping young designers into
entering the labour market. The community of Rog users criticise the
municipal project in the following points:


* Financially demanding project - the municipality doesn't posseses
enough funds to realize the project, and has not yet
applied for EU funds. There is no guarantee that the municipality will
finish the renovation project in the near future. There are enough
construction caves in Ljubljana already.

* Spatially unnecesary - there already exist creative
hubs with developed social and bussness networks in Ljubljana that the
municipality can infratructurally and financially support

* Commodification of artistic and cultural practices -
Economic instrumentalization, comercialization, precarious working
conditions, low wages and no security for the producers

* Gentrification of the city centre - beautification of
space, shift of focus from citizens to tourists and consumers,
surveyance and prohibition of free use of public spaces, Â relocation of
non-profitable uses and populations, etc.

* Non-participatory led project - current users were
never included in concept-formation stage of the renovation project and
were used only for testing the already formed programmatic and
architectural proposal. They were only allowed to give opinions and
suggestions which were not thoroughly considered

* Aversion toward grassroot practices - Municipal
top-down approach is unwilling to recognize the existing practices and
necessarily creates antagonism between Rog users and professionals
working on the project

* Right to the city - city users and dwellers
contribute to urban dynamics and therefore have a legitimate claim
towards city matters.


We, the users of autonomous Rog factory do not accept the agreement for
temporary use because of these facts:

There is no contract or other signed legal document between the
municipality and the users. The users were prepared to sign such
document, but the city officials refused and therefore prevented the
legalisation.

The municipality never provided the minimal infrastructural and
technical conditions. The users used their own time, resuorces and money
to secure, maintain and manage the spaces.

After ten years of working in precarious conditions, regenerating the
area with cultural activities and producing content of public/urban
interest, we have a legitimate right to use and manage a property which
is not legally ours.

Existing activities and horizontal mode of organisation carry greater
potential for further development than the municipal proposal with its
rigid organisational structure and commercial orientation.

We demand that the municipality step down from their project, which is
doomed to failure, and recognise the potentials of existing activities
and organisational structure. The municipality should provide the
minimal infrastructural and physical conditions and should respect the
autonomy of the users’ community. The users are capable of further
self-renovation of buildings, providing new contents and self-managing
the already existent and working creative factory Rog. We do not fight
for the preservation of current state of affairs, we are struggling for
our future autonomous development!

In 2007 the municipality started the Second Chance project, an
EU-funding program for renovation of ex-industrial sites. The first
proposal is a public-private partnership for renovation of the area into
a creative industries centre, exhibition spaces, design hotel, parking
garage and penthouse apartments. An idea was also to include the 3 art
academies, but the deans were against the proposal because of undefined
relations between commercial and academic programs, and also because
they did not want that their students should leave their ateliers, which
they already built by themselves. Because of the recession and lack of
funds, the city could not afford the project, so they downgraded it into
a publicly financed "€�Cultural Center Rog", engaged with
architecture, design and visual arts. The emphasis is put on providing
space for the development of creative industries. The users of
autonomous factory Rog criticise the municipal plan in the following points:

Financialy overscaled

Spatialy unnecessary

Comodification of culture into creative industries

Gentrification of city center

Lack of participation of Rog'€™s users

Denial of grassroot practices

Right to the city


We, the users do not acknowledge the temporary use oral agreement
anymore. A legal contract was never signed, MOL never assured the
complex's safety and basic infrastructure, the users relied on
themselves and with their own funds, time and energy, and after 10 years
of working in precarious conditions we have a legitimate claim of a
place that produces contents which are of the highest interest. We are
convinced that the heterogenity of the current activities and their
non-institutional character carries a much larger potential that the
municipal commercially oriented project. We will fight for our autonomy
and self-determination!

Assembly of autonomous Factory Rog


-- 
j.hofmüller aka Thesix  >-<#!&$@@@?         http://thesix.mur.at/



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