Netherlands Media Art Institute presents Positions in Flux: Artists and Institutions in the Networked Society :: May 8, 2009 :: Trouw Amsterdam, Wibautstraat 131, 1091 GL Amsterdam and Streamed Live.

Positions in Flux will center on some of the major parameters for the current and future development of contemporary media art. In particular it will reflect on the aspect of cultural sustainability of art projects, art and technology initiatives and art curating. Positions in Flux will give floor to international artists, theoreticians, critics, cultural producers and aims to initiate a truly critical debate. The symposium is designed for a broad audience working in the field of contemporary culture and art, with a desire to understand the future and how to respond to these changes on an artistic or institutional level. The symposium takes the form of three interlinked panels.

Art goes politics: Can art contribute to the solution of global and local problems such as religious conflicts, environmental or social crisis? Or is art constrained to raising awareness only? Should art become an agency for political and social affairs at all? How to successfully implement and conduct art projects in zones of crisis?

New territories and cultures of the digital: This panel looks in particular at young art initiatives and media art production in East Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America. Which specific local situations shape these initiatives? And do they share common experiences, challenges and strategies? What kind of art arises from these new nodes on the digital map?

Open Source - A scheme for production and curating? The open source movement is driven by the idea of collective, process-based, sustainable production of software. Can this scheme be applied to the production of artworks or exhibitions even? Is there a new role model for both the artist and the curator in the future? Which (economic) value does expertise have in open source production?

Speakers include: ● Hans Bernhard (at), artist, UEBERMORGEN.COM ● Bronac Ferran (uk), researcher, consultant and founding member of bricolabs ● Marcos Garcia (es), director of Interactivos, Medialab Prado, Madrid ● Jaromil (it/nl), artist, hacker and founder of dyne.org, researcher Netherlands Media Art Institute ● Susanne Jaschko (de/nl), chief curator Netherlands Media Art Institute ● Rob van Kranenburg (nl), thinker and author The Internet of Things ● Joasia Krysa (pl/uk), curator and founder KURATOR.ORG ● Nat Muller (nl), curator and critic ● Marcus Neustetter (za), artist and co-founder of The Trinity Session and the Southern African New Media Art Network ● Adam Somlai-Fischer (hu), architect and programme director of Kitchen Budapest ● Yvonne Wilhelm/ Christian Hübler (de/ch), artists, Knowbotic Research.

The symposium will be streamed from the symposium venue, Trouw Amsterdam. Online audiences can participate in the debate in the live discussion forum.

The symposium is part of the Here we are - There we go programme at the Netherlands Media Art Institute, May 8th - 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 exciting open house weekend of artist talks, workshops, performances, installations, tours and a party.

Speakers and panels
Please note that speakers and times are subject to change.

9:00 - 10:00 Registration

9:45 Welcome and Introduction 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 global and local problems such as religious conflicts, environmental or social crisis. Or is art constrained to raising awareness only? Should art become an agency for political and social affairs at all? How to successfully implement and conduct art projects in zones of crisis? What does it take to successfully implement and conduct projects in zones of crisis? How far do these projects benefit from the dubious attention of the mass media?

Hans Bernhard (AT), artist, UBERMORGEN.COM
Wafaa Bilal, artist (IQ/US)
Knowbotic Research, artist group (DE/CH), artist in residence at NIMk 2008/2009

Moderated by Chris Keulemans, writer and journalist (NL) (tbc)

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?

Bronac Ferran (UK), researcher, consultant and founding member of bricolabs
Nat Muller, independent curator and critic (NL)
Marcus Neustetter, media artist, curator and co-founder of Trinity Session (ZA)
Adam Somlai-Fischer, artist and architect, programme director of Kitchen Budapest (HU)

Moderated by Rob van Kranenburg, thinker, networker and author (NL/BE) [Van Kranenburg has been teaching at various schools in the Netherlands (UvA, EMMA Interaction Design, Industrial Design). Currently he works as the Head of the Public Domain Program at Waag Society. He is author of 'The Internet of Things.'

For this session we will ask initiatives and organisations around the world to come up with a short written or a 1 minute video statement about challenges they face in the future. These contributions will be shown during the panel.

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 and improvement. 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?

Marcos Garcia, director of Interactivos, Medialab Prado (ES)
Jaromil, dyne.org and researcher at NIMk
Joasia Krysa, curator, founder of KURATOR (PL/UK)

Moderated by Josephine Bosma, theoretician and critic (nl)

19:30 Reception at the Netherlands Media Art Institute

RESERVATIONS: Please make reservations by sending you name and contact information to info [at] nimk.nl

ENTRANCE: 15 euro (Students 10 euro). You can buy your ticket in advance at the reception of the NIMk (sale starts May 1th) or you can pay at the venue location until a half hour before the symposium starts. Including tea, coffee, reception at the NIMk at the end of the day.

Here we are - There we go is made possible with the kind support of the Mondriaan Foundation and the Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst.