--{ F13LDW0RK M4N1F35T0 }-- 1st edition, December 2023 ANTI-RULEBOOK

FLDWRK = "illicit placemaking" Protect Place Preserve DIY Culture Resist Power Broaden Access Increase Freedom Usufruct Quality over Quantity Forgiveness over Permission Novelty over Mastery

--{ Protect Place }--

FLDWRK begins with space. occupation < reimagination Tread lightly: not no-trace, but good-trace. Leave only positive, creative imprints (a mural, a memory, an allegiance). Leave no destructive marks (trash, ecological damage, or unwanted publicity). Off-limits spaces correlate to hazards. Prepare the premises: cover or mark open shafts, unguarded ledges, exposed or protruding pipes or rebar. Light pathways. Divulge any physical barriers to access in promotional materials.

--{ Preserve DIY Culture }--

FLDWRK emphasizes reproducibility. It should be possible for anyone to emulate an event given sufficient determination and the support of their community. Money, status, or physical ability should be no object. Otherwise this wrk is merely indulgent. Be a steward of your scene. Volunteer your knowledge and resources to others, especially emerging collectives.

--{ Resist Power }--

FLDWRK is defiance. In everything you do, dismantle oppressive systems-- institutions that do not serve the collective. We disavow the tools of such institutions: violence, discrimination, or hierarchies. There is no rigid hierarchy within FLDWRK, but rather an autonomous affinity of individuals (a collective).

--{ Broaden Access }--

FLDWRK must be self-selecting. Note: Challenge /= Exclusion. Not all FLDWRK events are all-welcoming: but any who would come, will find a way. Open doors for the curious. Broaden community through each event. FLDWRK is not everyone, but anyone. When speaking of FLDWRK, always speak in plural: we, them, us.

--{ Increase Freedom }--

FLDWRK is anti-commodification. Economic value is no more than a contract, imagined, decided by us. There is no invisible hand. We are complicit in all the evils of capitalism each time we play by its rules. Stop following the rules immediately.

>>>All true FLDKWRK events will always be free.<<<

Inspire others to your cause. Within a group or community whose consensus is to defy $$$, we may exchange resources freely. Ask, borrow (with or without permission), and return in good condition. Or make do with less. If you have spent money to organize an event, ask yourself: Can this good or service be sourced from volunteers within our network who believe in this mission of free art for the people? If not, is this thing really necessary in order to organize a successful event, or can an equally compelling experience be crafted without it? Challenge your assumptions. As a consequence, what goods we offer are decidedly in-convenient. Our sound system might be a hand-me down, in fact it may be garbage, we might spin on toy controllers, the lights might be "borrowed" from a nearby construction site. This is a feature, not a flaw. We believe you will feel more alive in a bunker or cave than in a club or a bar. More alive under a bridge or atop a roof, with the cold wind on your neck and dust in your eyes, than in a sterile, air conditioned party rental. We believe not only that free services are worth greater effort, but also that this direct participation creates an investment of the user in the space or scene created. This is value that money cannot encompass, and with it we offset the gargantuan weight of the capitalist leviathan.

--{ Usufruct }--

The decommodification of intangibles like convenience, time, and usage is embodied by the principle of "usufruct," an ancient legal principle comprising "the right to enjoy the use and advantage of another's property short of the destruction or waste of its substance." We believe in universal usufruct.

--{ Quality over Quantity }--

Attendance, revenue, likes and shares, etc., do not matter. Abandon such thinking. FLDWRK is pure research, without quotas, with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Aim instead for quality. Quality can be defined by safety, joy, knowledge shared... Quality means ensuring safe drug use, consensual interactions, unhindered dancing, freedom of expression, and so forth. Remember that a gathering of three people can surpass that of three hundred when FLDWRK is fully embraced.

--{ Forgiveness over Permission }--

There are times when playing by the rules will not get you where you want to go. It might even bring unnecessary attention to FLDWRK plans. So make your own rules, but proceed with caution. Be aware of exposure factors such as immigration status, criminal record, etc. Risks are best taken when calculated. Understand the nuances of local trespassing laws. Avoid spaces with heightened security such as those that are critical to infrastructure. For example: hospitals, museums, and power plants will be subject to much greater scrutiny. Permission, especially freedom of movement, is often scarce when the law is mainly enforced to protect capital, not people. But these spaces we find are intentionally remade for us, by us, precisely because the public and popular spaces of mainstream society have not served us in our alternative ways of thinking. This is the heart of FLDWRK.

--{ Novelty over Mastery }--

FLDWRK is for the curious--those who look up, seek answers to questions not yet asked. A formula, tried-and-true, will never satisfy us. Change continually. Complacency is the end of culture.

>>>FLDWRK will never use the same space twice.<<<