Investigating systems of surveillance around prisons, detention centres and borders, and the effects of technological violence and discrimination directed at migrants, activists, and dissidents in Europe and worldwide.

SMART PRISONS looks at how specific targets, whether prisoners, migrants at borders, or dissidents, have been progressively marginalised, trapped inside prison facilities, detention centres, or within systems of automatised control, being labeled as threats or suspects, due to intersectional biases or critical political activity. The concept of “smart” should not be interpreted as purely technological, but as an integrated system of tracking, monitoring and control, encompassing bureaucracy, power, psychology and propaganda, accelerated by technology over the last decades.

The conference connects artists, activists, human rights advocates, tech experts, and critical thinkers around the topics of automatised tracking and surveillance in the framework of prisons and detention centres through a multiplicity of experiences, investigations, and research.

Speakers and participants: Tatiana Bazzichelli (Italy/Germany), Sean Vegezzi (United States of America), Adnan Softić (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Germany), Fiamma Montezemolo (Italy), Srishti Jaswal (India), Sanjana Varghese (United Kingdom), Petra Molnar (Canada/United States of America), Sonja Peteranderl (Germany), Carlo A. Bachschmidt (Italy), MF (Italy/Germany), Dan McQuillan (United Kingdom), Stella Assange (United Kingdom), Kevin Gosztola (United States of America), Stefania Maurizi (Italy), Imogen Piper (United Kingdom), Carlo Bachschmidt (Italy), Manolo Luppichini (Italy).