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Athens Biennale x Art Explora
Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman & Daniel Keller - The Seasteaders. In The Seasteaders, Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman and Daniel Keller explore the controversial "seasteading" movement, launched by a group of libertarians aiming to build floating, tax-free cities as experimental societies beyond the control of governments. Presented as a response to government "stagnation" and climate change, the film nonetheless reveals links with anti-democratic, techno-utopian and far-right ideologies. Through this screening, the Athens Biennale invites us to confront this troubling entanglement and question the new forms of colonialism at the heart of today's global crises.
All dates
Athens Biennale x Art Explora
Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman & Daniel Keller – The Seasteaders. In The Seasteaders, Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman and Daniel Keller examine the controversial “seasteading” movement, initiated by a group of libertarians seeking to build floating, tax-free cities as experimental societies beyond government control. While presented as solutions to governmental “stagnation” and climate change, the film reveals links to anti-democratic, techno-utopian, and alt-right ideologies. Through this screening, the Athens Biennale invites us to confront this uneasy entanglement and to question new forms of colonialism amid today’s global crises.
Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman & Daniel Keller, The Seasteaders, 2017, 28′′37″
Film in English with Greek subtitles
In this documentary, Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman and Daniel Keller scrutinize the controversial Seasteading movement—an initiative by a group of privileged libertarians to build floating, tax-free cities as laboratories for new forms of governance on the high seas, primarily off the coast of Polynesia. Founded by libertarian activist Patri Friedman with financial backing from Silicon Valley entrepreneur Peter Thiel, the Seasteading Institute frames its project as a solution to government “stagnation” and even to climate change. Yet the film reveals how these ambitions are entangled with libertarian disdain for democracy, techno-utopian visions of transhumanism, and an uncomfortable closeness to alt-right and neoreactionary ideologies. By documenting the Institute’s first conference in Tahiti and engaging with its key figures, Hurwitz-Goodman and Keller expose the underlying political extremities of a movement that imagines the ocean as a new frontier of utopian enclaves for a privileged few.
First screened at the 6th Athens Biennale “ANTI” (2018), the documentary returns to Athens at a time when rising inequality, polarization, populism, and alt-right currents challenge the fragile post–WWII consensus in the West. By resurfacing this narrative, the Athens Biennale invites us to confront the uneasy entanglement of technological utopianism, political extremism, and global crises, while also questioning the emerging forms of colonialism in today’s world.
Discussion to follow the screening
Special screening in collaboration with Athens Biennale / Courtesy of the artists
Courtesy of the artist
Courtesy of the artist
Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman
Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker. His films, music videos, and documentaries tease out the hidden strands, iconography, and ideologies coursing through tech, economics, politics, emergent AI, and obscure subcultures. His eclectic, intimate work has won an EMMY, an Edes Award for Emerging Artists, and awards at film festivals internationally. Jacob has partnered with the New York Times, DIS.art, Discovery, Atlas Obscura, BBC Reel, WIRED, NBC Left Field, WARP Records, Participant Media, Al Jazeera, ATTN, and others, to produce films that have screened at the Athens Biennale, CPH:DOX, the DeYoung Museum, the Zeppelin Museum, Raindance, ITVFest, and in museums, theaters, and festivals globally. He's the co-creator of the critically acclaimed, immersive documentary webseries Far Off Sounds about obscure, ecstatic musical experiences around the world. He has directed documentary films, music videos, and commercials in Vietnam, Ghana, Tahiti, the United Kingdom, and across the North American continent.
Instagram Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman
Daniel Keller
Daniel Keller is an American Berlin-based artist, writer, and filmmaker. His wide-ranging output engages with issues at the intersection of politics, economics, technology, culture and collaboration. He is a contributor to New Models, Texte Zur Kunst, DIS, and Spike Art. His work has been exhibited at The New Museum, NYC; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna; Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw; Fridericianum, Kassel; The Athens Biennale; KW, Berlin and The Zabludowicz Collection, London. In 2018, Daniel co-founded the podcast and website New Models with arts journalist Caroline Busta, and film director and audio producer @LILINTERNET.
The Athens Biennial
Founded in 2005, the Athens Biennale is Greece’s most important periodic festival of contemporary culture and one of the most dynamic art biennials in Europe, recognized for its experimental character and forward-looking curatorial visions. In 2015, it received the European Cultural Foundation’s Princess Margriet Award for Culture as one of Europe’s most significant and innovative cultural initiatives. The Athens Biennale functions as a platform for local artistic production while actively engaging with the international contemporary art scene. Each edition captures the global social and cultural momentum through the lens of the city, reflecting Athens’ rich heritage while addressing the pressing challenges of our time.
Courtesy of the artist
Practical information
Address
Port of Piraeus, Gate E8, Stage
Accessibility
Dates and times
Wednesday, October 8, 20:00 to 21:30
Safety
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
EXPERIENCES On board
Immersive exhibition "Présentes
Created with the exceptional collaboration of the Musée du Louvre, this exhibition highlights female figures in Mediterranean civilization, thanks to the digitization and modeling of part of the Louvre's collections. A two-stage experience: an introductory film to provide context, followed by an immersive experience in a 16-meter-long tunnel covered by 120 m2 of LED screens.
A sound journey through the Mediterranean
An immersive sound experience designed by Ircam, inviting the public to explore the richness and diversity of the Mediterranean through headphones equipped with spatialized sound.
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© Elisa Von Brockdorff
The artists
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, the boat is freely accessible on site. However, you can pre-book your time online on our website.
For reasons of safety and preservation of the boat, high heels and stilettos may not be worn on the boat.
The museum boat is open to all free of charge. To find out on which quay it will be moored, or to pre-book your slot, consult the page dedicated to your town.
Appropriate facilities have been set up on the Festival site for the reception and access of people with reduced mobility. The boat is equipped with a 1m-wide ramp, accessible to people with reduced mobility, but may require the accompaniment of a third party due to its gradient of over 6%. Access to the aft deck and immersive exhibition is possible. However, the upper deck is not accessible. Please inform us in advance of any special accessibility requirements, so that we can make the necessary arrangements.