Miklos Erhardt and I, recorded telephone interviews with New York based artist Martha Rosler, Glasgow based artist Ross Birrell and Torino based political activist Elio Gilardi, about the connections between music, art and political engagement, as part of a radio programme broadcast on Radio Helsinki in Graz. Edited versions of those interviews were compiled for Romanian art magazine, 'IDEA'. These excerpts and the full interview transcripts can be read from link below. An interview with Rhode Island based musician, Geoff Farina has also been added. For the installation at Rotor in Graz, a variety of 'protest songs' (collected from an open e-mail call for entries) were assembled on 'placards' placed in beer crates around an informal 'stage'. An acoustic guitar was left so that visitors might be encouraged to take the 'stage' and try to play some of the songs themselves. A radio programme broadcast on Radio Helsinki featuring music and phone interviews with some political activists: Elio Gilardi (from Torino Disobbedienti), artists: Martha Rosler (New York) & Ross Birrell (Glasgow) and musicians: Janos Veto (Budapest) about the above mentioned topic was available to be listened to as a sound file on a computer near the installation. A street performance of some of the songs adapted to acoustic guitars on pedestrian streets in the centre of Graz was made and documented on video. Other songs were played on the 'stage' on the opening night. Exhibitions: Balkon Konsulat - at Rotor, Graz, Austria. 2003. More information at: www.bighope.hu/protestsongbook

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