Statement

Futel is a network of public social practice installations which provide radically accessible communication tools. It’s persistent, effective, and supported by grants and donations. In addition to public services, it has generated creative works, partnerships, exhibits, conference talks, and media appearances.

Overview:

  • Over 10 years of continuous service, with over 10,000 free phone calls per year including emergency and social service access
  • Interactions with participatory creative spoken word works
  • 16 installations accessible at all hours from city sidewalks, 2 providing telephone service to houseless shelters and workplaces, 2 creative installations in food and drink establishments
  • 7 exhibits at galleries and conferences, and 4 showcasing works by partnered artists
  • Partnerships and collaborations with Street Roots and Open Signal
  • Talks, presentations, printed and spoken media, media appearances, wages for creative projects, and a successful CS internship

Installations:

  • Shack, Right To Dream Too, Portland, January 2015 to present.
  • Sidewalk, NE Ainsworth Street, Portland, February 2016 to present.
  • Sidewalk, SE Taylor Street, Portland, November 2016 to present.
  • Alley, NE Killingsworth Street, Portland, January 2018 to present.
  • Alley, Pearl Street, Ypsilanti, Michigan, March 2018 to present.
  • Sidewalk, NE Killingsworth Street, Portland, December 2018 to present.
  • Parking lot, Sou’Wester Lodge, Seaview, Washington, March 2019 to present.
  • Sidewalk, NE 8th Ave, Portland, April 2019 to present.
  • Bar, Upright Brewing, N Broadway, Portland, July 2019 to present.
  • Sidewalk, 23rd Street, Detroit, Michigan, November 2019 to present.
  • Sidewalk, N Central St, Portland, October 2020 to present.
  • Sidewalk, N Saratoga St, Portland, September 2021 to present.
  • Sidewalk, SE Cesar Chavez Blvd, Portland, January 2022 to present.
  • Sidewalk, Microcosm Publishing, N Williams Ave, Portland, September 2022 to present.
  • Sidewalk, SE 40th Ave, Portland, May 2023 to present.
  • Bar, Bottles and Cans, Portland, November 2023 to present.
  • Warehouse, Ground Score, Portland, May 2024 to present.
  • Sidewalk, SE Clinton St, Portland, Sept 2024 to present.
  • Sidewalk, 42nd Ave S, Seattle, Washington, Aug 2024 to present.
  • Sidewalk, NE Brazee, Portland, Oct 2024 to present.
  • Sidewalk, W Burnside, Portland, May 2025 to present.
  • Sidewalk, SE 58th Ave, Portland, June 2025 to present.
  • Sidewalk, N Princeton Ave, Portland, July 2025 to present.
  • Sidewalk, Hedron Hackerspace, SE Bush St, Portland, May 2022 to September 2022.
  • Sidewalk, SE Clinton Street, Portland, June 2014 to December 2021.
  • Sidewalk, Open Signal, NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, January 2020 to December 2021.
  • Sidewalk, SE Woodward Street, Portland, November 2018 to January 2021.
  • Sidewalk, PDX Hackerspace, N Interstate Avenue, Portland, February 2016 to July 2016.

Exhibits:

  • Speak To Assert Your Humanity, Teardown, Portland, June 2025.
  • Give Me Central 209, Teardown, Portland, June 2023.
  • Hold The Phone, Open Signal, Portland, April-November 2020.
  • Futel Remote Testing Facility, Virtual ToorCamp, June 2020.
  • Futel Interactive Installation, Teardown, Portland, May 2018.
  • Futel Interactive Installation, ToorCamp, Orcas Island, Washington, July 2016.
  • Futel: Communication From Beyond The Veil, AFRU gallery, Portland, February 2016.
  • Futel Interactive Installation, ToorCamp, Neah Bay, Washington, July 2014.

Exhibit Support:

  • Felicific Calculus by Eric Kunsman, April 2021.
  • The Newberg Department of Friendship by Patricia Vázquez Gómez, Chehalem Cultural Center, December 2019.
  • HELLO, VOYAGER / Futel Telephone Booth by Jodi Darby, Open Signal Fest, August 2019.
  • HERE || Humboldt by the Black Life Experiential Research Group, Paragon Gallery at PCC Cascade, April 2019.

Presentations:

  • Futel: How Creating North America’s Fastest Growing Public Telephone Network Fulfills Our Objectives, ToorCamp, Orcas Island, Washington, June 2024.
  • How And Why To Gain Technological Advantages By Harvesting Entropy From An Unsuspecting Public, BSidesPDX, Portland, October 2023.
  • Increasing Achievements with Operant Conditioning, ftp://con, virtual, August 2023.
  • Futel: For Whom The Dial Tones, Teardown 2023, Portland, June 2023.
  • Futel: Dial Tone For The People, ftp://con, virtual, August 2022.
  • Futel: The Payphone, Devolved, HOPE 12, New York City, July 2018.
  • Futel: A Technology So Advanced We Leave It Out On The Street All Night, Teardown, Portland, May 2018.
  • Futel: Telecommunications Colossus of the Modern Age, DonutJS, Portland, February 2018.
  • King Solomon’s Mines: The Greatest Salvage Treasure Revealed In The Vault Of The Payphone, Decon + Reuse, Portland, September 2017.
  • Futel: The Network We Deserve, Open Source Bridge, Portland, June 2017.
  • Futel: An Immobile Phone Company, i3Detroit, Detroit, October 2016.
  • Futel Activity Report, ToorCamp, Orcas Island, Washington, June 2016.
  • Interview, Karaoke Research Council season 1 episode 3, Portland, January 2016.
  • Futel: Operators Are Sometimes Standing By, Portland Creative Coders, Portland, August 2015.
  • Futel: The Telephone Of The Future, Curiosity Club, Portland, April 2015.
  • Futel: The Future Of The Past Of Telephony, Open Source Bridge, Portland, June 2014.

Audio Publications:

  • Wildcard Line Episode 8, SoundCloud, December 2021.
  • Wildcard Line Episode 7, SoundCloud, September 2020.
  • Wildcard Line Episode 6, SoundCloud, June 2019.
  • Wildcard Line Episode 5, SoundCloud, March 2019.
  • Wildcard Line Episode 4, SoundCloud, June 2017.
  • Wildcard Line Episode 3, SoundCloud, November 2017.
  • Wildcard Line Episode 2, SoundCloud, May 2017.
  • Wildcard Line Episode 1, SoundCloud, November 2016.
  • Party Line #10, Microcosm Publishing, June 2025.
  • Party Line #9, Microcosm Publishing, March 2024.
  • Party Line #8, Microcosm Publishing, May 2023.
  • Party Line #7, Microcosm Publishing, March 2022.
  • Party Line #6, Microcosm Publishing, May 2021.
  • Party Line #5, Microcosm Publishing, April 2020.
  • Party Line #4, Microcosm Publishing, February 2019.
  • Party Line #3, Microcosm Publishing, March 2018.
  • Party Line #2, Microcosm Publishing, March 2017.
  • Party Line #1, Microcosm Publishing, March 2016.

Major Grants:

  • SE Uplift Community Small Grant, March 2025.
  • Regional Arts and Culture Council Portland Arts Project Grant, February 2025.
  • Multnomah County Cultural Coalition Community Cultural Participation Grant, January 2025.
  • East Portland Action Plan Community Support Fund Grant, July 2024.
  • Regional Arts and Culture Council Arts3C Grant, July 2023.
  • Regional Arts and Culture Council Make Learn Build Grant, August 2021.
  • Awesome Portland Grant, March 2020.
  • Regional Arts and Culture Council Project Grant, June 2019.
  • TechSoup Hardware Grant, November 2018.
  • Twilio.org Impact Access Grant, March 2018.
  • Personal Telco Project Hardware Grant, May 2017.
  • Free Geek Hardware Grant, May 2017.
  • Awesome Ann Arbor Grant, June 2017.
  • Precipice Fund Grant, December 2016.
  • Regional Arts and Culture Council Project Grant, December 2015.
  • Awesome Portland Grant, September 2014.
  • ToorCamp Art Grant, July 2014.