ETLE UNIVERSE Launch Party
November 23, 2013
After a year of initial development, the A.O. Movement Collective officially launched their ETLE Universe project to the public via a one-night event at ROULETTE in Brooklyn NY on November 23rd, 2013.
This launch reflected the most recent evolution in the ETLE Universe--rather than creating a single evening length performance work, the AOMC's desire to create original pop culture had refocused the project to the creation of ten interconnected works: a performance, a graphic novel, a photography exhibit, fiction, essays, pornography, a fashion show, a concept album, and a 6-month immersive multiplayer gaming experience. Through a multiplicity of different works and media, the AOMC hoped to attract a broader range of audiences to the work, and further spread the word of ETLE.
The launch party at Roulette brought together the project's initial team of 30 cross-discipline collaborators for the first time, introducing them by way of their own performances, readings, and installations. The evening also featured a performance from the AOMC of their "future touch" score and immersive "Kairos Clinic" experience, as well as a keynote address from creator Sarah A.O. Rosner serving to launch the project and open it to curation by the public. The evening culminated in ETLE hacking into the keynote address and delivering her set of demands to set the project into motion. After making herself known, she demanded that individuals become involved with the project as curators, unlocking each work of the ETLE Universe in order to help her allies, the rebel THIC, in our far future.
ETLE Universe Digital Launch
Coinciding with the ETLE Universe's public launch at ROULETTE, the ETLE Universe's digital experience launched in November 2013, and can be found in archived form at ETLE.theAOMC.org.
As per ETLE's demands, the online campaign (disseminated via the website, vimeo, and AOMC eblasts) urged audiences to "declare themselves a curator" and partner with the AOMC on the ETLE Universe in order to "unlock" each of the ten works. By declaring themselves a curator of either a full or partial work of the Universe, curators brought early financial support to the project. In exchange, they got to interact intimately with the project, getting insider updates, offering ideas about the project and its narrative, and having a direct hand in fulfilling ETLE's prophecies by bringing the Universe to life. While the AOMC initially hoped to not begin each work until curators had declared their support and "unlocked" it, the amount of curators the project needed to reach this goal proved to be overly ambitious. After bringing 13 curators to the project, the AOMC made a decision to move forward with all ten works despite 23 curator positions remaining unfilled. A full list of the ETLE Universe's curators and their bios can be found here.