C.CRED | Collective CREative Dissent started out in the late 90s as an artistic collaboration and developed, in the early 00s, into an artist collective in the broader sense of the word. Based in London, UK, but operating largely as a nomadic and event-based platform for the development of critical forms of dialogue and conviviality, self-organized modes of collective learning, and collaborative forms of social and political research and intervention, the overriding concern of the collective was to foster links between art and aesthetic practices and the wider socio-political contexts in which they are situated. Since 2001 various people were involved with the collective in different capacities, some more permanently, others on a project by project basis. During 2007-2008 the core members of the group gradually got involved in other projects and so C.CRED currently remains largely inactive.

C.CRED's main projects include the following initiatives:

permanent ignition (www.ccred.info/pi.html) – a series of archive installations based on collaborations, walks, conversations, interviews and dialogues carried out with activists involved in or linked to specific historical events, situations or conflicts. The project exists in three manifestations: In Turin (2002) it took the form of a series of public space installations where overhead and video projectors were used to construct ‘visual’ archives of fragments of texts, maps, and contemporary and historical photographs of sites in the city linked to the history of the left wing movement. The archive, which was assembled in collaboration with a number of people active in organizations such as Lotta Continua and Potere Operaio during the 1960s and 70s, was projected onto public buildings and facades at particular locations around the city. In Stuttgart (2004) it took the form of an installation in a gallery space drawing upon archival material (text, photos, maps, drawings, essays, etc.) related to the suicides of RAF militants in the prison in Stuttgart-Stammheim in 1976-77. The material, gathered during two journeys through Germany, was exhibited in conjunction with a public discussion and a paper composed and delivered in relation to the exhibition. Finally, in Erfurt (2007) the project took the form of an audio installation in a gallery space. Recorded audio from conversations with local activists and others who saw themselves as victims of the Stasi system had been edited into audio tracks where the different narratives were broken up into several interlaced themes. The actual installation involved four audio sources placed in different parts of the exhibition space producing a soundscape of overlayed and superimposed voices that visitors could map their way between.

counter/cartographies (www.ccred.info/cc.html) - a series of walking and mapping based projects including: 1. A virtual map of politically engaged artist groups, collectives and spaces based on a ‘chain letter’ principle, where an email manifesto and invite sent out in conjunction with an exhibition in 2003 gradually generated a map of responses and replies from collectives, groups and spaces active in different parts of the world. 2. A series of city maps produced collaboratively by walks with participating individuals, groups, and collectives active in the host city. Following the walks photographs, maps, notes, drawings, etc. were printed on acetates and used for cartographical overhead projections; open-ended, ‘remixable,’ editable city maps that could be change and modified, performed ‘live’ as a form of visual story-telling, and to which layers could always be added or subtracted. 3. An atlas project where the overhead projected maps referred to above were used as the basis for collaborative writing projects revisiting and reworking the different dimensions (theoretical, emotional, affective, political, etc.) of the initial walks resulting in cartographical prose pieces that were been published on the web and in various journals and magazines. 4. A walking project that included a number of different constellations of participants organizing walks simultaneously in different cities in Europe, the US and Australia. The walks were documented in photographs and texts uploaded onto the project website as virtual maps. The walks were followed by dinner parties, again taking place simultaneously in the different cities, during which issues raised by the different walks were discussed and revisited. The project concluded with a video-conference linking the different groups in an evening of discussions and conversations and a 24h IT-radio broadcast where participants got together in different constellations to discuss the project and the issues raised.

The alt.SPACE Network of Artist Research Groups (www.altspace.info) - a micro-network of self-organized research groups engaging with different themes (Agamben, Deleuze & Guattari, Badiou, Godard, Situationism, etc.) in different constellations and through different activities such as reading groups, study retreats, presentations and discussions, web conferences, artist open mic sessions, etc. Although the group was active primarily in London, it comprised also participants and groups of participants in Berlin, Philadelphia, Malmö, Reading, Chicago and Brighton. Members of the network also organized an annual festival, taking place in public spaces and host venues around London (2006 and 2007) and Zagreb (2005).

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