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Barnes-Wynters recalls his first glimpse of public access TV, brought back on VHS tapes from NYC by his then housemate in Bristol. \u201cPeering into\u00a0TV Party\u2019s\u00a0B&W, wonky, experimental and anarchic world of creativity across\u00a0from\u00a0the Pond\u00a0was not only a\u00a0revelation\u00a0but\u00a0an inspiration,\u201d he says. \u201cSeeing others \u2013 Jean-Michel Basquiat, Fab Five Freddy \u2013 who not only looked like me, but were creatively exploring\/ experimenting with a medium \u2013 broadcasting \u2013 which seemed to be out of our reach was my catalyst\u00a0to go and explore how can we share our world here in the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barnes-Wynters threw himself into Britain\u2019s febrile, DIY-driven pirate radio scene, before moving into televisual forms. \u201cThis\u00a0broadcasting\u00a0\u2018access\u2019 proved there were many of us worldwide creating new visions, musical forms, spoken word and also speaking politically from the same page,\u201d he says. He took inspiration from Basquiat and Keith Haring\u2019s vivacious energies to launch his own creative vehicle, Doodlebug, in 1991 (which extended to a YouTube channel in 2006), and has also presented programmes with Manchester\u2019s Contact Theatre.<\/p>\n
\u201cAutonomy is key, and like TV Party, Doodlebug was a \u2018lab\u2019 to explore provocations whilst embracing magic moments and failures,\u201d says Barnes-Wynters. He originally developed Take Back Control as a live TV \u201cmodular lab\u201d for The Lowry gallery in Salford, and has now taken it online, with a call for open submissions from DIY filmmakers. \u201cTake Back Control is a 72-hour\u00a0(pilot)\u00a0\u2018cult transmission\u2019 unleashing future grassroot gems as it wrestles deep into\u00a0an AV\u00a0realm of sublime mind food, nourishing provocations and era-defining soundtrack, courtesy of its stream of radical whispers, soiled pictures, fuzzed-out airwaves, sparky\u00a0meaningful\u00a0conversations and public interventions.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Barbato, \u201cin a multi-channel universe, if you don\u2019t like what you see immediately, then you turn to something else.\u201d And in a multi-channel universe, there is always something strong enough to cut through the white noise \u2013 unpredictable, irrepressible bursts of creativity first pioneered by public-access TV.<\/p>\n
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