Space Hijackers
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
that defines itself as "an international band of anarchitects
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
who battle to save our streets, towns and cities from the evils of urban planner
Urban planner
An urban planner or city planner is a professional who works in the field of urban planning/land use planning for the purpose of optimizing the effectiveness of a community's land use and infrastructure. They formulate plans for the development and management of urban and suburban areas, typically...
s, architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
s, multinationals
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
and other hoodlums". Time Out magazine has described the group as "an inventive and subversive group of London ‘Anarchitects’ who specialise in reclaiming public spaces – usually without permission."
The group's activities have included "guerrilla benching" — restoring benches that had been recently removed and bolting them to the ground — organising a midnight game of cricket in the centre of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
financial district, and satirising the glossy architects' drawings that are displayed on the perimeter of luxury apartments by depicting children’s playgrounds and other projects they believe to be actually desirable. Many of these activities aim to bring to people's attention the role which corporations play in society in a different light.
Purpose
The Space Hijackers exist mainly to change the public's perception of spaces it regularly uses, mainly by staging unexpected events. Their explicit objective is "to effect and change the physical space of architecture", and, eschewing violent protest and other forms of transparent direct action
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
, their methods aim "to invade and re-brand corporate space". They believe that the use of physical space is becoming more and more politicised, and thus in order to break apart from that politicisation, they stage events that are typically 'unusual' for that particular space, 'hijacking' it and hoping to change people's perception of the use of that space forever. They believe that increasing politicisation usually leads to increased subordination and discrimination and other forms of domination and control and so Space Hijackers claim to seek to break down and deconstruct society's notions of space. They seek to effect this by attempting to undermine the authority of the owner's "text", confusing and re-contextualising it and thereby making apparent the possibility of an alternative future. Protests tend to be non-violent and Space Hijacker projects usually involved a good sense of fun. Protest strategy includes involving passers-by.
The Space Hijackers have many contacts with other groups, and involve themselves with all sorts, including but not limited to Critical Mass
Critical Mass
Critical Mass is a cycling event typically held on the last Friday of every month in over 300 cities around the world. The ride was originally founded in 1992 in San Francisco. The purpose of Critical Mass is not usually formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and...
, Indymedia
Independent Media Center
The Independent Media Center is a global participatory network of journalists that report on political and social issues. It originated during the Seattle anti-WTO protests worldwide in 1999 and remains closely associated with the global justice movement, which criticizes neo-liberalism and its...
, Rhythms of Resistance
Rhythms of resistance
Rhythms of Resistance, sometimes abbreviated to RoR, is a network of percussion bands that play at demonstrations and direct actions that fall within the broad definition of 'anti-capitalist'...
samba band, free media collective iconscious, Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping
Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping
The Church of Life After Shopping is an activist performance group based in New York City, led by Reverend Billy, the stage name of Bill Talen...
and evoLhypergrapHyCx
LHC
LHC may refer to:* Large Hadron Collider, a particle accelerator and collider located on the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, SwitzerlandLHC also may refer to:* La hora Chanante, a Spanish comedy television show...
. The Hijackers pulled several of these groups together in Anarchitecture Week 2005, a week of anti-building related activities in response to, and hosted at the same time as Architecture Week.
Projects
Formed in 1999, their first major action was the Circle Line PartyCircle Line Party
A Circle line Party is type of subway party occasionally held on the Circle line of the London Underground. Although the time and place of these parties is pre-planned, the event itself occurs spontaneously, as each participant decides for themselves what sort of revelry, costume, decorations,...
- a party on London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
's Circle Line which attracted around 150 people armed with sound system
Sound reinforcement system
A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and loudspeakers that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder and may also distribute those sounds to a larger or more distant audience...
s, disco lights and bars all disguised as luggage.
Projects of the Space Hijackers have included the following:
- Zapatista Army of National LiberationZapatista Army of National LiberationThe Zapatista Army of National Liberation is a revolutionary leftist group based in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico....
protests - Spoof Planning Permission Applications
- A Second and Third Circle Line PartyCircle Line PartyA Circle line Party is type of subway party occasionally held on the Circle line of the London Underground. Although the time and place of these parties is pre-planned, the event itself occurs spontaneously, as each participant decides for themselves what sort of revelry, costume, decorations,...
- Inner-City Midnight Cricket
- Mayday Anarchists vs Members of Parliament Cricket
- "arms dealing" at the DSEIDSEiDefence Security and Equipment International is a defence and security equipment exhibition held every two years in London Docklands, which draws thousands of visitors, both trade and military...
arms fair - Using a parking meter space as a rented office
- 'Supporting' Nike with banners including "Sweatshops ROCK!" at their sponsored events
- 'Auctioning' a tank outside the DSEiDSEiDefence Security and Equipment International is a defence and security equipment exhibition held every two years in London Docklands, which draws thousands of visitors, both trade and military...
weapons exhibition in 2007 - Running a 'professional protest stall' on the London Police march for more pay, with advice for the police on their rights as protesters
G-20 London Summit
During the 2009 G-202009 G-20 London summit
The 2009 G-20 London Summit is the second meeting of the G-20 heads of state in discussion of financial markets and the world economy, which was held in London on 2 April 2009 at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre. It followed the first G-20 Leaders Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy, which...
demonstrations in London, members of the Space Hijackers protest group drove their Alvis Saracen
Alvis Saracen
The FV603 Saracen is a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier built by Alvis and used by the British army. It became a recognisable vehicle as a result of its part in the policing of Northern Ireland.-History:...
armoured personnel carrier (known to them as "the tank") into the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
and parked it outside the Royal Bank of Scotland
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...
in Bishopsgate. The Saracen, which had been painted bright blue with black and white chequer stripes in a mock police livery, was equipped with CCTV and marked "RIOT" (but not "police"). The group claimed to be there to protect the RBS building from "bad" demonstrators, although the police declined their assistance. Instead, the vehicle was searched and police questioned the protestors, who were dressed in plain blue overalls and helmets. Eleven Hijackers were arrested and charged on two counts of impersonating police officers. On 27 January 2010, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped all charges against the Space Hijackers because there was "not enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction".
External links
- Space Hijackers
- Sweat London (archived copy), used for the pro-Nike campaign
- Anarchitecture Week
- Space Hijackers channel on YoutubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
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