Mini-Symposium “New Media Art Audiences” took place at CIANT GALLERY in Prague (Krizkovskeho 18, map) on Friday, May 23rd, 2008. Talks were held in English, entry was free, limited number of seats.

This debate event was an opportunity to engage with the evolving nature of audience in the field of new media art. We brought together curators, festival directors as well as artists in order to discuss natures and identities of new media art events (concerning products, processes, visitor experiences) and different professional perspectives on new media creativity, curatorship and programming, e.g. those of the artist, artist-curator, curator, technician, educator, artist-educator, academic etc. The main focus was on audience participation or on how to get various audiences interested in art in and of the information age. The event was linked into the international project A.P.D.C. (Audience Participation in Digital Culture) which is supported by the Grundtvig programme (Life-long learning) of the European Union. Main organiser: CIANT – International Centre for Art and New Technologies in Prague, in collaboration with: Centre for Global Studies, Czech Academy of Sciences.

Programme

PART I

NEW MEDIA ART EVENTS AND ITS AUDIENCES

12.00–12.10 Welcome by Pavel Sedlák

12.10–12.40 Barbara U. Schmidt: ARS ELECTRONICA: Diversity of “New” Audiences of Media Art

12.40–12.50 Discussion

12.50–13.15 Thomas Dumke and Anja Dietel: CYNETart_07encounter: Various Degrees and Possibilities of Including the Audience and Communicating Media Art Works to the Public

13.15–13.40 Slavo Krekovič: Multiplace Festival

13.40–14.05 Honza Svasek: seeMe.ath.cx

14.05–14.15 Discussion

14.15–15.30 Break

PART II

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

15.30–16.00 Paul Wilson / Liquidiser: Point of Centre

16.00–16.30 Sonja Leboš: Playfulness of Public Space

16.30–17.00 Rarita Szakats: Terra incognita: Mixed Reality as Experienced by Users

17.00–17.20 Discussion coffee

17.20–17.50 Bojana Romic: Art Recognition in the Information Age

17.50–18.00 Discussion

18.00–20.00 Dinner

20.00–20.30 rRadim Labuda: ADD soundsystem in Context, followed by a performance by Slavo Krekovič