[spectre] Walker Art closes Media dept. and sacks Steve Dietz

[honor]

Hi Spectres,

>As a cost saving measure, the Walker Art Center has decided to
>terminate its new media programming initiatives, including Steve
>Dietz's position.
>
>Dietz's latest project, How Latitudes Become Form, just closed a week ago:
>http://latitudes.walkerart.org/
>
>http://www.startribune.com/stories/389/3870414.html
>Walker Art Center lays off 7 employees, freezes wages

I just wanted to say how utterly shocked and appalled I was to learn of the
Walker Art Center's decision to close one of the most significant new media
art programmes operating within a museum internationally.  As I'm sure many
of you will agree, the Walker's support of artists using technology over
the past 5 - 10 years has been highly significant in raising the profile of
new media art within cultural institutions around the world.  It is hard to
imagine the new media art landscape without Gallery 9.

On a more personal note, Steve Dietz has been an intelligent and ebuillient
force not only within the Walker's programmes, but within the more global
context of new media curation.  I feel very sory that his work has been
devalued in this way by the management of the Walker.

It is now worth asking some questions about what this decision signifies in
terms's of art institutions overall committment, or lack thereof, to
artists who use new media.  It will be interesting to observe what evolves
within the new media art programmes at the Whitney and SFMOMA over the next
twelve months.
If an institution of the Walker's size and reputation can no longer afford,
or prioritise, their new media initiatives, it is worth wondering whether
other US museums of their size will also ultimately consider these
programmes surplus to requirements.

I think this poses some questions for the role of new media art within a
larger visual arts framework.  I've been reflecting on this over the
weekend, as we  staged a large symposium at Tate Modern in London, which
tried to analyse some of the issues current within interactive art and
design practices.  user_mode <http://www.usermode.net> provided some kind
of sign that, at least within the UK, there is still evidently a diverse
and growing audience interested in new media art practices, who consider a
museum like Tate Modern has an active role to play in the development and
support of the field.

It is a sad day, that this is no longer thought to be the case at the Walker.

Best wishes


Honor


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