B_top is based on an experimental study of illegal mobile vending of music
("top manta") and other products in Barcelona as a form of hyper-flexible,
"ambulant" labour in the framework of a globalized economy.
B_top understands the phenomenon of mobile vending as both a source of
stories about migration, day-to-day survival, as a tecnique for the distribution
of ideas and products between different social actors.
products
>> stand
>> B_fan
During
the year 2005 BCNova! initiates a network and process of collaborative
work between mobile sellers, artists and other cultural producers through
the development of the following products:
1) In May 2005 the first issue of our "mantaZine - the first epipheric
magazine" has been published. A full color magazine imitating the
reallife-format of the local selling display ("manta"), including
a guide for best mobile shopping and a broad variety of interviews and
texts that explore the social and cultural context of mobile vending in
Barcelona, Berlin, Medellín, Mexico D.C, Buenos Aires, Santiago
de Chile and other cities. All focusing to document the different forms
of relationships, language codes, cultural imaginaries and strategies
that are being produced between vendors, locals and tourists. The term
"epipheric" is introduced as a juxtaposition between the words
"epicentric" and "periphery", departing from the idea
that the the sellers' blankets are like magic carpets, moving surfaces
on the epicentric city's ground, revealing the peripheric side of the
so-called "first world".
2) During the summer and autumn of 2005 B_top calls for participation
in the CD "B_top - the original", based on the idea to feature
favorite songs and selfproduced musical themes from mobile (music) vendors
and other collaborators. The CD will be based on a collective production
of songs and experimental features around epipheric issues of being "hop
or top" and will hopefully break the charts. Until now collaborations
have been established between vendors, artists, DJs and musicians from
Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, Germany and Buenos Aires. The master CD will
be released under Creative Commons license (or alike) and distributed
in different local contexts through its participants, on the "manta"
and via internet. For more information, consult our Spanish webpage or
contact us.
>> spot
activities
>> B_top
>> B_flexible
>> PCP
