PROTEST ||| CELL

Protest cell is an activist art project that allows protesters to protest anywhere at anytime. Increasingly in our countries (specifically the USA and UK) the right to free protest has diminished to the point where only a planned, cleared and ultimately government sanctioned protest can take place. And in an assigned place.

In October 2001 "A Filipino immigrant was arrested by Belgian police after his mates sent him a joke SMS pretending to be the World Trade Center terrorist Osama bin Laden." In 2005 Maya Evans was arrested in London for reading out the names of the Iraq war dead at the London cenotaph. A few years earlier this would have been seen as a 'normal' protest and would have been allowed. Now because of the proximity of the location to the houses of parliament she was arrested. Her crime was an 'unlawful' protest. In July 2006 a Singaporean girl was denied access to her flight because her ring tone had a song on it with the lyrics "I'm a terrorist" . In these cases the intrusion of technology into our everyday life and the pervasive nature of new mobile technologies allows us new avenues for protest. The project "Protest Cell" allows people to take back public space and protest on their terms in covert and everyday ways.

What is it?

In essence the Protest Cell project is about protest ring tones. Many new mobile phones allow users to download, upload or otherwise get MP3 files onto their phones and assign them as ring tones. When called the song/audio plays. Protest Cell calls for activist/hactavist users to upload words of protests as ring tones. This site will have many different types of ring tone - Audio of the dead from the war in Iraq, the list of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, those held in oppressive regimes throughout the world. THe project is to protest without permission and without being in 'Free Speech Zones" and allow us once more to retake our spaces and rights to freedom of expression.

How does it work?

As this site grows more and more protest 'songs' and audio will be available for download. A user will use either MMS or Bluetooth to get the MP3 (or midi) files from their computers. You are free to use these audio files at any time.

protest image

Names of Iraq War Dead		Names of Professors on 'watch list'		Names of the Dead in Afghanistan
Names of Gutanamo Bay Detainees		The TSA 'No Fly' List		Names of the Dead in Palestine

Organization/Activism/Get Involved:

As part of an organized protest in the US and USA We are asking people to download these tones and set them either as their ring tones or as their default alarm sounds. Protest Cell actavists will then call the users, or designate a timefor you to set your alarm, and the protest is on! In the method of the 'flash mob' the ring tones are short - a few names for example, but if there's enough people there all names are read out. THis is also going to occur globally and must all take place in areas where protests are 'illegal' or where permission needs to be given for a protest to occur. This can be on-going and take place wherever you are, or at designated time - feel free to set up your own activist cells and encourage others to create cells also.