Symposium
Positions in flux: artists and institutions in the networked society
8 may, 9.00 – 18.00 uur

video stream: http://www.montevideo.nl/nl/agenda/detail_agenda.php?id=506&archief=
online chat: http://www.nimk.nl/chat


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The symposium ‘Positions in flux: On the changing role of the artist and institution in the networked society’ will center on some of the major questions regarding the current and future development of contemporary art and digital culture: Which impact has art on politics and can it contribute to the solution of conflicts? How does the wide spread of digital technologies influence the creation of art and mould individual digital cultures? Are there new models of art production and curating coming up? The three panel discussions follow a clear thematic scheme and try to bring in as much expertise and viewpoints as possible. The panels are interlinked and designed to initiate an ongoing discussion among the participants. The conference language is English. The symposium will be streamed from TrouwAmsterdam. Online audiences will have the opportunity to participate in the debate in the live discussion forum. The results of the debate and its main contributions are reviewed and published online on the New Media Art Platform.

The symposium is part of the ‘Here We Are - There We Go’ programme at the Netherlands Media Art Institute, May 8th till 10th, 2009 which takes place on the occasion of the Institute’s 30th anniversary. Here we are - There we go celebrates the Institute’s achievements in these thirty years and plans for the future with an inspiring open house weekend of artist talks, performances, installations, tours and a party. More information: www.nimk.nl

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Speakers and panels

9:00 - 9:45 Registration

9:45 Welcome by Heiner Holtappels, director of NIMk

10:00 On the changing role of the artist and institution in the networked society by Susanne Jaschko, curator of Positions in Flux and chief curator NIMk

10.30 - 12.30 Panel 1: Art goes politics
In this session we will discuss the potential of art to contribute to the solution of global and local conflicts and crisis. Is art constrained to raising awareness only or can it have a real impact? Should art become an agency for political and social affairs at all? How to successfully implement and conduct art projects in zones of crisis? How far do these projects benefit from the dubious attention of mass media?

Wafaa Bilal, artist (iq/us)
Hans Bernhard (at), artist, UEBERMORGEN.COM
Knowbotic Research, artist group (D/CH), artist in residence at NIMk 2008/09
Moderated by Chris Keulemans, writer and journalist (NL)

12.30 - 13.30 Lunch break

13.30 - 15.30 Panel 2: New territories and cultures of the digital
This panel will look at the geographical shift that media culture currently undergoes and that will shape the future of this field. In the past, Europe, North America and Japan were at the forefront of digital production, design, art and technological research. Now that digital technologies become available at lower prices and spread more widely on the globe, new digital communities flourish. This panel looks specifically at new initiatives and bottom-up organisations in other parts of the world such as East Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America, trying to understand what characterizes these initiatives. In how far do local and national cultures shape digital culture? Do these initiatives share common experiences and challenges, or is there no common ground to be found? Which kind of art arises from these new nodes on the digital map? How can we support the growth and establishment of these organisations?

Nat Muller, independent curator and critic (NL)
Bronac Ferran (UK), researcher, consultant and founding member of bricolabs
Marcus Neustetter, media artist, curator and co-founder of Trinity Session (ZA)
Péter György, theoretician, advisor of Kitchen Budapest (HU)
Moderated by Rob van Kranenburg, thinker, networker and author (NL/B)

15.30 - 16.00 Coffee Break

16.00 - 18.00 Panel 3: Open Source - A scheme for art production and curating?
This session deals with the concept of open source for art production and its presentation. The open source movement is driven by the idea of collective, process-based, sustainable production. In software development this strategy has already proven to be valid; however can this model be applied to other products such as artworks or even exhibitions? In how far does the open source model differ from other forms of artistic collaboration? Is there a new role model for both the artist and the curator in the future? Which (economic) value and impact has expertise in open source production? How could institutions and organisations respond to this trend and create public domains?
Jaromil, dyne.org and researcher at NIMk

Femke Snelting (NL) and Renée Turner (USA), De Geuzen
Marcos Garcia, director of Interactivos, Medialab Prado (E)
Joasia Krysa, curator, founder of KURATOR (P/UK)
Moderated by Josephine Bosma, theoretician and critic (NL)

21:30 Reception at the Netherlands Media Art Institute with installations previews from Marnix de Nijs, Exploded views - remapping Firenze and Jan van Nuenen