[rohrpost] switch media chiang mai update -- pathiharn electron [supernatural] background information

[Rudolf Stoert]

Please redistribute to interested parties


SWITCH MEDIA presents a New Media Art Festival:
PATHIHARN ELECTRON [SUPERNATURAL]
CHIANG MAI, THAILAND
April 6th -30th, 2004


switch media chiang mai is a non-profit organization run by a team of
art and new media professionals, with the support of an international
advisory board, which seeks to promote awareness about new media art in
Thai contemporary society. switch media will establish the area of new
media art through the following activities: a library, a salon (for
lectures, workshops, etc.), a production lab, and special projects. As
an unprecedented introductory platform, switch media will organize a new
media art festival called Pathiharn Electron [Supernatural] in Chiang
Mai, Thailand on April 6th - 30th, 2004.  

Thailand and its neighbors in the Southeast Asian region share some
common traditional threads and face similar challenges regarding the
impact of Informations Communication Technology (ICT) and new media on
contemporary culture and society at large. Therefore, the new media art
festival will primarily, but not exclusively, focus on the Southeast
Asian region. Thailand is well positioned on the political, economic,
and technological front to act as a hub for inter-regional and
international dialogue. Historically, the northern Chiang Mai region was
the rich intersection of various regional cultures. Today, the city of
Chiang Mai is the main focus of governmental, commercial and academic
ICT development. This development seeks to establish Chiang Mai as not
only the "Rose" but the "IT Capital of the North." Chiang Mai's calm but
evolving cultural climate makes it an ideal place for this dynamic new
media art festival.

This festival Pathiharn Electron [Supernatural] will provide a unique
opportunity for all involved parties to engage the Thai people and
extend awareness to the surrounding Southeast Asian and international
communities. switch media seeks the cooperation of organizations and
institutions from the artistic, academic, governmental and commercial
fields on the local, national and international levels. The art works at
the festival will consist of: 40 percent from the Thai art community, 30
percent from the other Southeast Asian communities, and 30 percent from
the international sphere. Special support will be given to the artists
from Laos, Burma, Vietnam and Cambodia by inviting them to new media
workshops that are not as accessible in their own countries. To
establish logistical support and cultural understanding on the local
level, Switch Media has the support of Chiang Mai University Art Museum
and the Media Art Design Center, Chiang Mai. It has also started a
dialogue with the Chiang Mai Information Technology Development project
and the Chiang Mai Chamber of Commerce.

An explosion of new media is currently saturating Thai everyday life:
from digital media entertainment (i.e. mp3, vcd) to karaoke bars to
on-line game and internet cafes. The government of Prime-Minister
Thaksin is engaged on many levels in transforming and developing
Thailand into a "knowledge society," encompassing education and
technology, among other fields. Simultaneously, major economic players
in the Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector are gaining
momentum in the commercial realm through their business strategies. The
ICT sector is, thereby, impacting the economic and cultural progression
of Thai society. Aware of the importance of these governmental and
commercial developments, the Thai academic community has increasingly
incorporated new media and ICT elements in university curriculums (from
the sciences to the humanities) such as on-line research access and
software product training, etc.  

At this crucial juncture when the field of new media is accelerating
Thai society and the rest of the Southeast Asian region into the 21st
Century, the festival Pathiharn Electron [Supernatural] offers these
communities a creative outlet to reflect on new media's influence on
their current condition and explore the field's limitations and
possibilities. The festival will address critical questions generated by
new media and ICT regarding issues such as: the homogenizing influence
of satellite TV on different countries, the similarities and differences
in audiovisual expression across cultures, and the significance of the
internet and online-gaming in social transformation. This festival will
enrich the cooperation of various communities in the following ways: by
educating artists more fully about the technological and economic
systems necessary to create new media art; by encouraging the commercial
ICT sector to see the value of artists' impact on public awareness and,
by extension, market developments; and by engaging the academic
community beyond the theoretical field in favor of a more practical and
tangible connection to artistic, popular, economic, and technological
forces in society. Pathiharn Electron [Supernatural] seeks to establish
awareness, dialogue and cooperation among these communities through the
language of new media art.

The concepts for the new media art festival Pathiharn Electron
[Supernatural] were developed from discussions regarding the impact of
new media on the contemporary cultures of Thailand, the rest of
Southeast Asia, and other countries in the world. The Thai term
pathiharn literally means "miracle." In incorporating this term, the
festival delves into ideas beyond nature, into the realm of the
"supernatural." Although the festival will examine how practical,
technological aspects of new media contribute to various levels of human
survival, it will also extend beyond the material and address the
humanizing and spiritual perspectives of the field. In relation to how
new media affects contemporary reality, the festival will discuss levels
of physical space as opposed to or in juxtaposition with virtual space.
By engaging artists from the Southeast Asian region as well as the rest
of the world, the festival will explore the fluid exchange among
cultures regarding the use of technology and new media. Through new
media art, it will address the similarities, differences, and the points
of hybridization among cultures.  


For example, the Thai culture's deep spiritual tradition is manifested
in contemporary culture by the fact that local people try to use
technology to affirm their superstitious and spiritual beliefs. In
contrast to the rational approach of Europe and America in gathering
empirical data to search for truth in nature and the outside world for
the sake of progress, some countries in Asia use technology to support
their inner, supernatural strengths and to validate spiritual tradition.
Yet at the same time, all these cultures look to technology as a sort of
hope for perfection which may never be realized: in Europe and America,
the search for utopia and in Asia, the search for inner peace and
harmony. Pathiharn Electron [Supernatural] will provide the
participating media artists, the supporters, and the audience a unique
chance to address new media's position in our daily lives, ask questions
about all its different facets, and nurture thoughtful discussions about
the present and the future of new media in our societies.  

 The goals of Pathiharn Electron [Supernatural] are:
1)	to present new media art work mainly, but not exclusively, from
the Southeast Asian region that evaluates the contemporary situation in
terms of artistic process and expression, theoretical and practical
concerns, and options for future development.
2)	to present the efforts of the parties involved in the
development of  the Chiang Mai region as a new media and ICT center.
3)	to develop an internationally sustainable network of people from
the artistic, technological, academic, governmental, and commercial
fields.
4)	to create a meeting point for interested parties in the
Southeast Asian region and the international realm to enjoy a festival
and cultivate dialogue about new media.

The Chiang Mai New Media Art Festival 2004, Pathiharn Electron
[Supernatural] - will celebrate and inspire creative ways of thinking
about our changing technological world. The festival will consist of the
following activities: 
1)	exhibitions, installations and screenings of new media art
2)	related special events: a video festival, experimental sound
works, public happenings
3)	related educational events: workshops, lectures, and an
international conference

The festival's main location will be the Chiang Mai University Art
Museum, but some activities will be held throughout the city of Chiang
Mai. These extended activities will be a way to acknowledge and explore
Chiang Mai's rich social spaces such as its night markets, food stalls,
restaurants, bars, internet cafes, and video arcades.

The festival's target audiences:
1)	the artistic community (i. e. individuals interested in digital
media, sound, web-based work, 2D and 3D design)
2)	the new media and ICT community (i.e. software developers,
engineers, and IT support systems)
3)	the academic community (i.e. scholars, students, and
institutions)
4)	the general public (i.e. local families, foreign visitors)




For further information on switch media chiang mai and The New Media Art
Festival 2004, Pathiharn Electron [Supernatural], or the unique
opportunites it offers for partners, supporters, donators please
contact:

switch media chiang mai
Email: switchmedia at inter.net
Phone: +66-53-226461 
Fax: +66-53-226461

Ratchanok "Nok" Kateboonruang
Management Assistant
Email: mangnok at yahoo.com 
Phone: +66-1-7062305

Gridthiya "Jeab" Gaweewong
Project Management
Email: project304 at yahoo.com

Rudolf Stoert
Project Management
Email: r_stoert at gmx.net 
Phone: +66-7-1810367

October 2003

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First Call for Submissions switch media_ art festival pathiharn electron
[supernatural] - Chiang Mai, Thailand - 6th-30th April 2004

Please forward to interested parties.

switch media chiang mai is an independent, non-profit artists
organization run by an international team with different backgrounds and
skills in art, new media and project-management. switch media is guided
friendly by an international advisory board. In cooperation with
different partners switch media organizes a media art festival in Chiang
Mai, Thailand with the title PATHIHARN ELECTRON [supernatural] from
6th-30th April 2004. The title developed from discussions regarding the
approach to the use of new media (art) - as being different from a
western one. pathiharn electron [supernatural] will evaluate this topic
by asking questions: What is the difference between the visual-graphical
languages of east/west in expressing "supernatural" as in movies,
videos, animations, computer games? What is the difference between
eastern/western cultures of spirituality/supernatural, its
socio-cultural relevance and its expression in new media art? What is
the difference of the socio-cultural impact of digital media (art)
between east/west - is there a ghost in the machine?

The festival will consist of lectures, workshops, video-/digital
art-screenings and exhibitions. It will be mainly focused at the Chiang
Mai University Art Museum but it will also be spread throughout the city
- Chiang Mai "social space", internet cafes, night markets, night
foodstalls, bars, shopping malls, rice fields. An international
conference will close the festival.

We hereby invite interested artists and theorists, organizations and
institutions to participate in pathiharn electron [supernatural]. We
especially invite the neighbouring region.

switch media accepts any form of digital media art - which includes
digital video, sound & music, computer based/generated works,
online-experiments, software, games, asf. As the festival will happen
throughout Chiang Mai we especially look for submissions which can be
used in installations. Deadline for submissions: 15th January 2004. A
team of curators will select the works. Selection results will be sent
out by mail or email in February 2004. switch media will produce a
documentation.

All submissions should be send to:
switch media chiang mai, c/o Chiang Mai University Art Museum,
Nimanhemin Road, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.

Submissions should include:

1)	ID (name, postal address, e-mail address, telephone, fax) and
short CV (max 300 words).
2)	CD, VCD, DVD or video-tape of the actual work.
3)	Technical requirements & data-format-specifications.
4)	If the proposed piece is conceptual, please send a short
description (max 500words).
5)	If the proposed piece is an installation, please include a short
description (max 300 words) & an illustration/sketch. 
6)	If the proposed piece is netbased, please send the URL.

Please, don't send any material by email!

Additional information about the festival pathiharn electron
[supernatural] and the conference will be sent out later. For other
information requests on switch media chiang mai or the unique
opportunities pathiharn electron [supernatural] offers for partners,
supporters, donators please contact switch media chiang mai by email
switchmedia at inter.net, phone +66-53-226461 or fax +66-53-226461.

Enjoy!
Ratchanok "Nok" Kateboonruang, management assistant, mangnok at yahoo.com


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switch media (oct 1st 03):
core:
Gridthiya "Jeab" Gaweewong, Project 304, curator
Suttirat "Som" Supaparinya, Installation Artist, lecturer at Media
Design Center, Chiang Mai
Santiphap "Jay" Inkong-Ngam, AMCAD, Video Artist, lecturer at Media
Design Center, Chiang Mai
Ratchanok "Nok" Kateboonruang, Performace & Grfx Artist
Rudolf "Rudi" Stoert, IT-project management

advisory board:
uthit athimana, director media art & design center, chiang mai 
kamin lertchaiprasert, umong sippadhamma & "the land", chiang mai 
geert lovink, brisbane
(growing, very very carefully)

partners:
chiang mai university art museum
media art & design center chiang mai
asia-europe foundation (asef)
(& others)
(growing, fastly)


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have some very good times :-)

rudi

--
r_stoert at gmx.net
switch media chiang mai
Office: +66-53-226461
Fax: +66-53-226461
Mobile: +66-7-1810367

switch media_ pathiharn electron [supernatural] -- media art festival
chiang mai -- april 6th-30th 2004