description, collective history
THE 0+BALL
The programme as well as the proceedings bore the following text on the front page as an opening:
"The Seropositive Ball is presented by PARADISO Amsterdam in a continuous programme of 69 hours between June 21 17.00 hrs and June 24 14.00 hrs, in cooperation with TIME BASED ARTS, CICT/ University of Amsterdam, ACT UP Amsterdam / New York / San Francisco, HIV Vereniging NL, Schorerstichting, Buddy League, NCAB, Ministerie van WVC, AIDS info, ANTENNA, Mozeshuis, STEIM, Stichting Perdu, Filmtheatre Desmet, Bookshop Vrolijk, Academisch Medisch Centrum Amsterdam, Cornell Hospital New York, Simon Watson Project Space, Gay Men's Health Crisis, ACT NOW, 69 HOURS, VIth International Conference on AIDS. With the kind cooperation of Apple Computers BV."
In the reflection on the 'crucial network', I will discuss why such a broad spectrum of collaborations made sense to me in this case.note 185
From June 21 17.00 hrs to June 24 14.00 hrs, the Seropositive Ball unfolded in a 69 hour uninterrupted programme, all through the day and all through the night (even the cleaners were part of the programme). Paradiso did not shut its doors, and the network was also available for all of these hours. The time difference with places like San Francisco and Brazil was 9 hours. When we had breakfast they went to sleep. Because I am focussing on the design of presence in the 0+Ball, I will not elaborate on the specific elements of the programme. In the introduction to this chapter I specifically addressed the situation concerning HIV/AIDS and the movement of Act UP. During the 0+Ball many issues were elaborated upon. The programme (see appendix 4) gives a clear impression of how the different elements and the contributions of the different actors were interwoven. The content of the workshops and debates is well described in the Proceedings published in 1990 by the CICT. Because it is not addressed elsewhere I will briefly consider the financial situation of the 0+Ball below, the press coverage it received and I will also describe some of the things that happened because of its inspiration.
For this study I focus on the formats we used and the different kinds of presences they facilitated and how these contributed to the success and the flaws of the Seropositive Ball. First I will describe and elaborate upon the natural and witnessed presence in Paradiso during those days. I will give an impression of the atmosphere in the Paradiso building, and elaborate upon meeting and sharing experiences in 'natural presence'. Then I will discuss mediated presence, Radio Paradiso and the 0+Network. At the end of this section I will describe the context in which the 0+Network was conceived, to be able to understand why its story has become so powerful (and yet so unknown).