2017-03-15

A Lovingly-Crafted Protest Aesthetic: The New #rp17 Trailer is Here!

It won’t be long now and we’ll be celebrating the eleventh re:publica! With this year’s motto of "Love Out Loud!" we want to focus on all the people, organizations and projects that have dedicated themselves to campaigning against hate, violence and injustice and who carry light into the darkest corners of society.

The visual realization of the #rp17 motto was done in a protest aesthetic and, in doing so, references the long tradition of protest signs. But with us it’s colorful and for something as opposed to against it! The motto itself is the key statement: Love Out Loud! You’ll be encountering a sign or two at the re:publica as well. That much we can tell you.  

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVbng6_mcvM]

 

In the #rp17 video, we deliberately chose the analogue realization of our concept in order to treat the “real” and digital world as a whole. There isn’t one or the other. Just like there’s a connection between traditional and digital craftsmanship: the draft originates on the computer, but the CNC milling translates the love and care onto the sign by making the letters visible. We actually had the sign made at a location where innovation meets craftsmanship: the Fab Lab Berlin. Lots of hands build a sign: they saw, strip the color and mill. They do this together. Similarly, we see small protests being organized and worked on in various areas of the community, ones which have become increasingly visible lately. This is because, now more than ever, it’s clear how important it is to stand up for your beliefs. 

But the trailer is also a plea for more DIY, to do it yourself. We have been building our own sign, in a figurative sense, to carry our message out into the world, be it as a tweet, as a talk at the re:publica or a public statement. So that we can all come together at the re:publica with all the signs, ideas and statements, to fly our flags, exchange ideas and opinions, and to pool our engagement. We hope that, with love as our foundation, we’ll be able to bundle those positive forces in May.

From another perspective, the video stands for our own preparations: the eleventh re:publica will take place in Mai in cooperation with MEDIA CONVENTION Berlin for the fourth time. We look forward to seeing you all soon! We look forward to seeing you all soon!

Visual Identity + Art Direction: fertig design | Video: JUTOJO | Sound: Owen Lloyd | Color correction: Stefan Neuberger | Hands: Toby, Marius, Stevie, Susanne

Many thanks to Fab Lab Berlin, Spreekulissen and Marius Wenker.