The Emergency Room is a global art initiative I stumbled across when I lived in Paris in 2008. Founded by the Danish artist/activist/ideas man Thierry Geoffrey, the concept provides a template that can be launched anywhere in the world. It encourages artists and citizens to engage with their environment on a daily basis. This process of experience articulates ideas and views through traditional, inter-disciplinary and reactive techniques to create pieces that comment on and express individual and collective interpretations of current affairs, or 'emergencies'. The exhibition changes everyday, and values interaction and participation above aesthetics and politically correct attitudes. It also vows against delayed responses and champions the role of the Artist as a relevant vessel for communication, drawing attention to how information is controlled by third party institutions, government and privately owned media corporations. The project reflects the reality of natural time and puts emphasis on the importance of consistent and informed discussion, inaction is not an option unless that itself is the reaction or response.
I encourage everyone to have a look at the website.
"Today is today. And tomorrow is too late." www.emergencyrooms.org
