Link List #101: Anti-fascist metal music, Burning Man’s Instagram accusation, and a low-lying cloud in Kensington - Friends of Friends / Freunde von Freunden (FvF)

Link List #101: Anti-fascist metal music, Burning Man’s Instagram accusation, and a low-lying cloud in Kensington

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This week, we’re reading about Burning Man’s disdain for Instagram influencers, the heavy metal festival fighting white supremacism, and the latest architect to be honored with the coveted commission of designing the Serpentine Pavilion.

Links

    • 1 Party politics have been at play recently in the American heavy metal scene, as 15 bands fight against the subgenre of National Socialist black metal which espouses extreme right-wing views. The New Yorker talks to Kim Kelly, the organizer of Black Flags Over Brooklyn, NYC’s first anti-fascist extreme metal festival, which is keen to keep metal from becoming a breeding ground for white supremacist ideals.
    • 2 Marian Goodell, CEO of Burning Man, has stated that Instagram culture has destroyed the anti-capitalist ideals of the renowned American festival, reports Dazed Digital. Citing companies offering “pre-packaged” Burning Man experiences in exchange for influencer Instagram posts as one of the main culprits for bringing about change in Burning Man’s unique culture, this interview questions whether it’s possible for idealistic, utopian events to resist commodification in the 21st Century.
    • 3 Frieze has announced that the coveted task of designing this year’s Serpentine Pavilion in London has fallen to experimental Japanese architect Junya Ishigami, who will follow in the footsteps of the likes of Zaha Hadid, Frida Escobedo, and Diébédo Francis Kéré. Ishigami’s creation will engulf the parkland like a low-lying cloud when it is erected on 20th June. Find out more in this short article.
    • 4 The BBC have been debunking myths about boys and ballet this week in their interview with Alex Smith, a serving soldier in the British army currently performing in Birmingham-based Rosie Kay Dance Company’s production 5 Soldiers, a dance theater work exploring all aspects of army life, from the rigorous training to the stress of going out to conflict.
    • 5 It’s not just plastic straws you’ll be ditching as the anti-single-use brigade are now coming for your bathrooms reports Fast Company. From deodorants with reusable cases to mouthwash tablets that you mix with water, this article details the innovative products that will “green-up” your bathroom, and why you should use them.
    • 6 If you thought that the role of the influencer was a new thing, then think again. In this article, The New York Times casts Lee Radziwill (sister of Jackie Kennedy) as the original influencer, and considers how her gentle inspiration for a generation of designers differs from the contemporary obsession with Instagram and paid ambassadorships.

Hopefully you enjoyed the reads from this week’s Link List, but if you’ve still got an internet itch to scratch, you can find more here.

Also, be sure to check out FvF Mixtapes for some tracks selected by our friends and favorite artists, and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date with FvF stories.

Text: Emily May
Photography: Conny Mirbach

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