In June 2015, Holly Herndon appeared at Beghain, as part of CTM's Polymorphism series, to present her newest album, Platform. CTM and transmediale – festival for art & digital culture asked Herndon to help curate a lineup that would feature a range of artists who either contributed to the album or, in a likemined way, explore themes of surveillance states, neo-feudalism and big data, actively critiquing and searching for ways to circumvent systemic inequality and to anticipate new ways to live in a post-post-capitalist world. To accompany the event, a limited edition long-sleeve shirt was designed and offered for sale, with all proceeds sent to the Chelsea Manning Support Network.
Chelsea Manning is a United States Army soldier who was sentenced to 35 years of imprisonment in August 2013, after disclosing nearly three-quarters of a million classified or unclassified but sensitive military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks. To many, Manning represents an example of the vulnerable position that whistleblowers hold.
The long sleeve shirts designed by Holly Herndon X Metahaven X Jacob Appelbaum raised a total of 2,400 USD, which was donated to the Chelsea Manning Support Network in 2016. In January 2017, outgoing President Barack Obama commuted Manning's remaining sentence to all but four months of the remaining prison sentence. According to the Chelsea Manning Support network, all of Chelsea's legal fees were covered by donations from various campaigns and individuals. Congratulations on your pardon, Chelsea!