Neighborhood Public Radio
 | |
| Programming | |
|---|---|
| Format | Pirate radio station |
| History | |
First air date | 2004 |
Neighborhood Public Radio (NPR) was an independent arts collective and roving pirate radio station.[1][2][3] Between 2004 and 2011, it broadcast intermittently from various locations in the United States and in Europe, as a very low-power, unlicensed FM station.[1][4][5]
Its motto was, "If it's in the neighborhood and it makes noise...we hope to put it on the air."[5]
Background[edit]
Neighborhood Public Radio was founded by Lee Montgomery, Michael Trigilio, and Jon Brumit in 2004.[1][3] Lee Montgomery was a professor at Diablo Valley College who had experience with public radio as a DJ at KALX, broadcasting from the University of California at Berkeley, and had experimented with radio transmitters.[1][4] He invited artist Jon Brumit to bring ideas on working with sound and public interaction.[1] Multimedia artist Trigilio was a colleague of Montgomery's at Diablo Valley College, and had built his own radio transmitter previously.[1]
Although Neighborhood Public Radio used a modified version of the National Public Radio logo and introduced its own series called "American Life" which evoked This American Life – the founders insisted that parody was not the main objective of the project.[1]
Nevertheless, Neighborhood Public Radio often critiqued the state of public (and commercial) radio.[1] For example, Montgomery once edited together a recording of every time NPR thanked one of its sponsors within a 24-hour period.[1] The segment was 12 minutes long and the top sponsor was identified as Burger King.[1]
Projects[edit]
Its first broadcast in 2004 was a five-day run at 21 Grant gallery in Oakland, California.[1][2] Since then, it took to the airwaves in a series of locations across the United States, including San Francisco; San Jose, California; Chicago; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and New York.[2][6] It also broadcast from Serbia and Hamburg, Germany.[1]
NPR had a long-standing partnership with the Southern Exposure gallery in San Francisco's Mission District.[1] The project, which relied on interactions with passers-by in the neighborhood, often occupied the storefront of Artists' Television Access on the corner of 21st and Valencia Street.[1]
Around 2007, Neighborhood Public Radio received $35,000 grant from the Creative Work Fund to finance its Radio Cartography project.[2]
In 2008, it broadcast in Manhattan on 91.9 FM, with "hyperlocal" programs focusing on music, art, and public affairs.[2] The FM signal could reach only 4,600 people within a three-square-block radius.[2] It was featured as part of that year's Whitney Biennial.[4]
In 2010, it was part of an exhibition at the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.[3]
Content[edit]
Programs on Neighborhood Public Radio were typically 30 to 60 minutes long.[2] Content ranged in quality.[4] Topics included local residents exchanging recipes and discussing their worst-ever neighbors.[4] The format of the segments varied – from live band performances to man-on-the-street interviews, and roundtables of artists discussing their work.[1]
Collaborations[edit]
Along with many self-initiated projects, NPR collaborated on works with many non-profit arts spaces, museums, festivals, and fellow artist collaboratives such as:
- Southern Exposure
- Artists' Television Access
- 21 Grand
- of Novi Sad
- Serbia
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- ZeroOne Festival
- Red 76
- Hasan Elahi
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harmanci, Reyhan (December 28, 2007). "Art and radio collide at NPR, but not the one you're thinking of". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Seckler, Valerie (2008). "NEW VOICES IN A HIGH-RENT DISTRICT". Women's Wear Daily. Vol. 15, no. 65. ProQuest 231243491. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b c Brown, Sloane (January 24, 2010). "CONTEMPORARY MUSEUM WINTER PARTY". The Baltimore Sun. ProQuest 406246959. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b c d e "Another 'NPR' Crops Up at Whitney Biennial". Weekend Edition. NPR (National Public Radio). March 22, 2008. ProQuest 189916734. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b "About Neighborhood Public Radio". Neighborhood Public Radio. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
- ^ Gullard, Marie (January 17, 2010). "Baltimore beckons with contemporary, visionary art museum". Washington Examiner. ProQuest 442947490. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via ProQuest.