[spectre] Sofia: NET. USER conference

[geert lovink]

From: "krassi" <krassi@i-space.org>
Subject: NET. USER conference


***anounce****

NET. USER conference
Presentations - Lectures - Discussions

Time: 23-26 October 2001
Venue: American Center, 18 Vitosha blvd, Sofia

Net. User is the first international conference in Bulgaria, which explores
the process of collaboration between art, technologies and business in
Internet.

Net. User will present how net artists, designers, theoreticians,
developers, editors, journalists,  Internet companies and general web users
combine the artistic and the commercial side of Internet projects.

Net User's mission is to initiate collaboration and future partnership
between the artistic, media and business sites and to provoke public
interest in the new media in Bulgaria.

Net. User will bring together the various points of view of participants
from Bulgaria, Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Finland
and Yugoslavia.  They will discuss the aesthetic, social and ecomic issues
of various questions provoked by the global network.

The project is organised by InterSpace Media Art Center, Sofia
(www.i-space.org) in collaboration with Orbitel Company, Sofia
(www.orbitel.bg) and with the support by: Pro Helvetia, American Center,
British Council, Goethe Institute, Embassy of Finland and Royal Dutch
Embassy, Sofia and Lifehouse club.

Context
Recently with the fast IT development in Bulgaria there has been a growing
interest in new media art forms. Many artists, groups and organizations have
created a new art environment in collaboration with highly skilled
programmers, software developers and web-designers. All these factors
contribute to the increase of international interest in Bulgaria as an IT
and Internet country.
Like all cultural initiatives in the last decade, net activism was
influenced by the political changes. It has examined the differences between
"East" and "West" searching for ways to overcome existing discrepancies.
Nowadays the influence of the Net is evident on various levels - political,
economic, cultural. The Internet has established itself as a field for
collaboration between Bulgarian and international art, business and social
agencies.
The main question now is how to make the presence of the net aesthetic by
means of art and business. The current trend is the search for the
successful collaboration between net.art and bussiness.
In this context, Net. User aims to be a "meeting point" of Eastern and
Western net professionals, which explore and realise in practice the balance
between art and commerce and the net. audience.

Program / Topics:
The conference program includes presentation, lecture and discussions panels
opened to the wide public.
23 october, Tuesday, 11-18:30 - net. art
24 october, Wednesday, 11-18:30 - web design & digital content
25 october, Thursday, 11-18:30 - net ecomony
26 october, Friday, 11-18:00 - media and Internet
Closing party-cocktail - 26 october, friday, Lifehouse club, entrance with
invitations

For the full program of the event see: www.netuser.cc

The web address of the Net User project is http://www.netuser.cc.

For more information:
Galina Dimitrova
Project coordinator
Media Art Center Interspace
13B Hadji Dimitar street
1000 Sofia
tel: + (359 2) 989 70 23
galia@i-space.org
http:www.i-space.org