EYES FROM THE STREET: INVERSE SURVEILLANCE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY

Carceral capitalism in the United States has long rendered surveillance a necessary byproduct of public safety. While dominant political and media narratives uphold this attitude, there has been a perpetual lack of oversight, transparency, and public consent to substantiate the effectiveness and ethics of such programs. This course will comprise of short discussions on the nature of dragnets, arrest records, airport security tactics, and school monitoring initiatives alongside practical exercises including warwalking, handmade algorithmic object detection, packet analysis, and FOIA digging. Contextualized by a survey of contemporary counter-surveillance art and action, participants will develop multi-disciplinary investigations into a state surveillance mechanism of their choosing, presenting a piece of creative research communications in the final week.
THIS CLASS IS AVAILABLE IN PERSON
​AT ABRONS ARTS CENTER:
466 Grand Street, NY, NY

FRIDAYS 6-8 PM EST
April 4th - 25th, 2025
4 sessions +
culminating share out on Wednesday, April 30th
$250 Tuition
BIPOC/trans/disabled sliding scale available
50% low income discount available
+ $25 non-refundable registration fee

INSTRUCTOR

Sam "Sim" Hafferty is a researcher and artist focused on privacy education and digital connectivity. Their time-based media works have been exhibited at E-Flux, Pioneer Works, Carnegie Museum of Art and the Maysles Documentary Center. They are currently a research fellow at Princeton University's Center for Information Technology Policy. They previously served as an arts and literacy instructor for the Free Library of Philadelphia and hold an M.P.S. in Interactive Telecommunications from NYU Tisch as well as a B.A. in History and Post-Colonial Studies from NYU Gallatin.
Image credit : Sam Hafferty
This program is supported through a Cultural Development Fund grant from the New York Department of Cultural Affairs.
Our classes are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.