PIFcamp

Open Saturday truly defines what PIF is all about. The participants spend the morning putting finishing touches on projects, or preparing our little speech for why it’s not quite right yet. So much of what happens here does keep growing far past the actual physical event. Many of us will continue down a rabbit hole that came to us at camp. Most of us have more than one new thing we want to try. 

Despite every possible distraction that exists at PIF, people have pulled off making some incredible things. 

The day is split into three sections: Day Program, BergCamp, and PifHain.

During the day people set out projects, some set up for a talk about what they’ve worked on. There’s so many wonderful projects that I’m sure I’ll capture them all here. Karolina takes us through the process of self-defence workshops, that culminated in beautiful embroidery of poisonous plants in thread dyed by those very plants. The Smoke Vending Machine is out on a ledge and accepting one euro coins for a little puff of smoke, partnered with a receipt with an artist statement printed on it. 

Across a table Dasha sets up a spread a poetry written in dr. seuss style scrawled on various sizes of paper by various participants, in the centre sits the crocheted data centre thneed. Next to that another table with the weavings made in pairs on tension looms under Zoe’s guidance, the squares contain strands of conductive wool, they’re hooked up to some microcontrollers and a speaker, letting you play the woven samples like an instrument. 

The mycelium cyberdeck prototype is out, Lea’s SCOBI samples containing copper table, coincell batteries and LEDs shine. Maša is tapping her freshly soldered nails on every surface she can.

The river appears in so many of our projects. 

Freyja puts out a laptop with rock samples from Soča, aleksander has the screen showing the water with large patches of vibrating moss to hold. We have all been affected by the river. libi streams a radio signal of sounds of the river, using a battery charged by the river. If you go down to swim today you can hear Tamara and Jani’s river organ playing, pushed by the currents and calling out hauntingly to hikers passing by. 

As evening comes in, BergCamp begins on the basketball court behind the school. 

We are treated to performances from Jakob and Matjaž, Dima and the plant, Fer and Omar, Bernhard, Toyota Vangelis, CMAR #1, Blaž as the sun sets, each utilizing projects developed here. Dima uses the biodata sensor made in Fer’s workshop with recordings captured across the area, Jakob and Matjaž use four cassette players they have modded in multiple ways to record and replay sounds around us. 

We feast that night, doing our best to use any leftovers while also enjoying more amazing food made by the kitchen crew. Later in the night they pull out a pan of banana bread, the perfect treat in between the PifHain sets. How lucky we were to have Živa & Matija, Aja, Nina, Ahac cooking and caring for us with food.

PifHain runs in the storage building on Neža’s property, the security is tight with the PIFkids running the door. If you’re on the list you get a green dot on your wrist, although there was rumours of a VIP pin as well. 

As the moon rises from behind the mountains, just beginning to wane but shining so bright the night pieces begin. 

A piece shines against the tree and rocks on the hill behind us, where the chickens eat bugs in the evenings and a spot I used for many naps. In the field where Tilen Town once stood, a lighthouse beckons us closer with soft sounds. Inside the hollow tree there is a pulsating red glowing light. PIFcampers are very good at lighting and utilizing their setting. 

Inside we get sets from Shu, Moira + Roger, Bernhard, Toyota Vangelis, Omar + Turbulente, Jakob and Matjaž, Blaž & Dasha, Ahac, and Blažen. Another moment of PIFtime for Coralie: we start close to an hour later than planned because we were all too busy talking, finalizing, eating, and setting up. 

Sets of music and livecoding splash across the walls of the shed. Harsh noise duetting with clips of bacteria wiggling and squirming, full deep soundscapes, incredible laser usage, dj’s bouncing between the deck and the dance floor for music you absolutely could not stand still to. Everyone is dancing and celebrating. It feels like too perfect of an ending in so many ways. Through a silly booking mistake I end up getting to stay for the full night instead of disappearing at 2am for the airport. I do not regret missing my original flight at all. 

As soon as the new flight is booked, I’m back in the shed. I’m dancing, I dance until I can’t move anymore, I get to dance to Ahac’s set which is the best possible way to end the night. I sleep for a few hours, and then leave for the airport. As far as a first PIFcamp experience goes, I think it was essentially everything you could possible hope for. I’m leaving buzzing with ideas, planning out some projects to come. I’m feeling full and happy. I spent the week surrounded by people who just want to make wonderful and unusual things. I’m excited to see what they all do next. 

Text by Sid Drmay, photos by Katja Goljat.

Friday rolls around and brings the mandatory hike. It’s both deeply dreaded and loved. Some drag their feet, desperate to get every second they can to work on their projects. Most are happy to hike down to the beautiful spot and jump from the white rocks into the icy cold teal river for a moment of relief from the heat. Especially difficult for everyone who stayed up late at Patch From Scratch watching live coding and music performances.

For some this hike will be the first time they’ve left camp at all this week. Fšk even got a round of applause for joining even though he insisted he would not leave his corner. 

We can all feel the pressure of Open Saturday, but we also want to enjoy so many of the last moments. Today we have our last meals together like this, sitting on the narrow benches or across the field. 

The kitchen crew has kept us well fed with all kinds of delicious foods from pasta to goulash, plus an extra fun night of hot dogs that everyone especially loved. I’m certain we will all miss the food. Or at least not having to think about food, having it come out hot and fresh with little effort on our part.

There’s an overwhelming sense of optimism. Despite few projects being complete, no one is necessarily concerned. Things will come together, in one way or another. Something will exist, whether it is what people planned or something new. 

Or if people got side tracked, hopping on other people’s projects to change or improve them. 

Collaboration is a huge part of PIF, people are extremely ready and willing to share what they know. Some of these collaborations will stretch far beyond PIFcamp, and people will find each other in locations all around the world to make amazing things together. Some are as ephemeral as each edition of PIF, they will happen here and only here. In this specific setting, where anything can happen. 

Yesterday Coralie ran a workshop on PIFtime, participants debated on how the day passed. There was discussion around what hours felt the longest and the shortest, which parts of the day moved by too fast and which dragged on. 

Right now time is moving so quickly with just one day until Open Saturday and yet every minute feels long as we continue to find ways to connect and make together. A whole week has rushed by, measured in currents and LEDs, but at the same time this strange little space seems to have endless days. 

Overall it seems clear that no one regrets the time they spend here. The people, the valley, the river, and the camp accept each other openly. We find ways to work through language barriers, personalities and cultural quirks with little hesitation. 

When the wind hit hard and fast people rushed to secure tents and collect each other’s bathing suits. Everyone was ready to help out and keep each other safe. 

It’s going to be strange to leave and lose this pocket of community but the PIFcamp #12 participants are following the theme well. While we work on our projects we also are growing circuits of connection amongst one another, strengthening relationships that have existed for all 11 years of PIF while forming brand new ones. 

Text by Sid Drmay.

PIF.gifs by PIFparticipant Dasha Ilina.

Exploring PIFcamp and the surrounding area will lead you to unlimited discoveries. Whether it’s learning from your fellow participants or from the space itself, there’s so much here. 

A non exhaustive list of things you can find:

• old 3D print filament
• unaccompanied odd pieces of electronics
• club mate bottles
• the thickest moss you can imagine
• children playing with the kitten
• participants playing with their projects
• The days are segmented by meals. Breakfast 8:30-9:30, lunch 14:00-15:00pm, dinner 19:00-20:00. In between these meals are endless opportunities. 
• The schedule board fills up quickly with tape, each piece has handwritten information from a fellow participant with what they’re going to run.

We’re on Day 4 and we’ve had:

• soldering workshop
• a gentle intro to time travel
• keyboard monster controller
• a talk on magic, AI, and surveillance
• a lemon squeezing workshop
• biodata device workshop
• energy harvesting workshop
• plant self-defence worksop
• workshop workshop for workshopping workshops
• a discussion on where waste goes
• co-building a cardboard smoker
• focus groups on technological failure
• tai chi sessions
• a workshop talk on data centres, crochet and dr seus
• linden berry picking session
• a laser show
• a Hackers (1995) screening
• daily VR experiences
• two hikes

Somehow within all of that you can find people scattered around the space working on their projects. For some, running a session is part of the project. 

At events like PIF you have to become very comfortable with missing out; there’s simply no way to attend every session or be part of every conversation. There’s a constant shifting nature to the space and the people, it’s hard to pin down any element of this experience. Much like the Soča river, we are all flowing through PIF with a few things to slow us down here and there but ultimately there’s nothing to stop the passage of time and the days slipping away. 

There’s only a few days left and yet many are still in the middling stages of their projects, still embracing all the parts of each day, letting things happen and letting themselves be part of it. 

PIF is a magical place, it holds you close for a week of time and then sits with you beyond that. It will change how to approach your endeavours, what you consider to be success and failure, how you connect with others. It’s important to bask in every second, or else you might just miss out on the magic. 

Text by PIFparticipant Sid Drmay, photos by Katja Goljat.

This is my first time at PIFcamp after years of hearing about it from friends who have been. Every time I heard about it felt like a far off idea, a concept of something that sounded neat but seemed near impossible to actually get to.

Turns out it IS very possible to get here, it just involves a little bit of planning. This year I’m one of two people who travelled from North America, a longer journey than most here. I took two planes and three buses, plus a 20 minute walk when one driver insisted that we get off at the wrong stop.

The Soča Valley cannot really be described. This area is so incredibly unique and beautiful in ways that I couldn’t really imagine before being here. Photos are nice but there’s something very special about the feeling of this place that must be experienced. 

PIF is contained between massive mountains with a gorgeous turquoise river running through it. The main space is a house that houses half the group at night for sleeping, the kitchen, some bathrooms and a few rooms of supplies.
A short walk over leads to the school where the other half of participants sleep at night.

During the days, next to no one is inside unless they need to be. 

We spend most of our time outside at tables set up with far too many power bars, and everyone is constantly tinkering. Soldering irons are always hot, the temporary wifi is straining to keep up with the amount of users, and field recorders are aimed at every little sound that exists out here.

Leading up to camp I read up on other people’s projects ideas and felt a massive amount of imposter’s syndrome and intimidation. Everyone is extremely good at what they do. Everyone has specified knowledge in different areas that I do not. Everyone is really fucking cool.

Being at camp, I feel very lucky. The intimidation and imposter’s syndrome melts instantly when confronted with the reality that everyone here is actually just a huge dork about the thing they love and they want to share it. Isn’t it such a cool thing to be around people who are so curious and ambitious? What is better than spending time with people who are so willing to share what they know, sit with you and explain how their specific ideas come together? 

It’s been two days and I’m soaking in every second of being in the space. I’m looking forward to everything I’m going to get to learn, and already very thankful for the time spent listening to talks, sitting around a makeshift table in a field drinking coffee, participating in workshops and even sweeping the floors to make sure things are comfortable for everybody. It’s a beautiful thing to build with one another. 

Text by PIFparticipant Sid Drmay, photos by Katja Goljat.