In Toronto, ON, there is a place where high-school aged kids from disadvantaged and underprivileged communities can go to learn about remix culture and have the opportunity to access a 5,000 sq. ft. facility, with a full recording studio, photography studio, business development centre, creative arts lab, video editing suite & more. This place is called REMIX and enables these aspiring kids to learn more about the technologies surrounding the development of remix culture and to become more connected with the world at large.
One of the programs the center offers is called a Remix Project. The workshops involved in this program educate the kids on issues of copyright law, starting a small business, managing credit, and financial planning etc. By exposing these disadvantaged youth to the culture of remix, the participatory aspect of what remix is is strengthened. The high-tech, expensive aspect side of remix (having access to a computer, digital recording equipment, etc.) is no longer an obstacle and the voices of the disadvantaged can be heard.
Through the business and creative arts programs REMIX continues to create opportunities for youth to develop a path to success and accomplish their goals. REMIX has people that they look up to and use as examples for the youth that attend their programs. These people are called Remix Ambassadors and one of the more recent Ambassadors to the program is K'naan. Known for his song "Waving Flag," used as the Official Song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, K'naan has inspired many people in his fight for social justice and the leveling of the global playing field.
Once tragedy struck Haiti in 2010, K'naan came together with Young Artists for Haiti and using his song "Waving Flag," made an unforgettable musical collaboration which was used to educate people and to create awareness. With K'naan's version of "Waving Flag," used at the FIFA World Cup and the version of "Waving Flag" performed by the Young Artists for Haiti, it is evident that the same piece of music can be used for different purposes.
The transformative and participatory aspects of remix are present in what K'naan has been able to do with his music and what the Toronto-based REMIX center is doing with inner-city youth. Although it may seem that the sectors involved in remix culture such as music, video and graphic design are corporate-driven and not easily penetrable at times, sources are available in order to get new stories into circulation. REMIX and K'naan are helping to continue the development of convergence culture, where every story and image is circulated on multiple platforms. No longer do corporations have all the power as voices are being exposed from grassroots locations such as the streets of Toronto and other areas of Canada, not to mention the rest of the world.
A great post, Jordan. I didn't know about REMIX or the Remix Project, thanks for posting on it. I agree that this project seems to highlight the participatory aspects of remix culture through a focus on grassroots practices (which are also, as you point out, often seen as central to convergence culture). I like this example, also, because it gets at some of the issues around the intersection of remix culture with social identities and conditions.
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