HAU 2 Berlin, 18 April 2008

Shortly preceding the eruption of the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, Utopia Stock Exchange launched as a socio-technological experiment at Berlin’s Hebbel Theater, confronting the utopian vision of the stock market with a stock market for trading utopian visions. From 7:30 pm to 10 pm on 18 April 2008, 131 USErs were connected to a digital trading platform, enabling them to buy and sell shares of 10 utopian visions previously submitted by citizens of Berlin. During the course of the experiment, 531 transactions were processed by the system, leading to a redistribution of the 717,13 € that had been invested by the USErs.

Market activity can be interpreted as a collective valuation of the traded goods. Thus the utopian vision valued the highest was “I Am We Are Happy – Program For Being Happy Without A Cause”. Its closing price was twice as high as that of “Giant Slide – Construction Of The World’s Largest Slide Above The Alexanderplatz”.

Directed by Jutta Wangemann and Carolin Hochleichter. Game design and programming by Sebastian. More info and full credits here.

This is a video documentation of the live TV Station that was part of USE and directed by Timm Ringewald: