[spectre] call for papers: Digital Era Art Works in Galleries and Museums

[Miloš VOJTĚCHOVSKÝ]

Save the Date / Call for Papers

International Colloquium: Digital Era Art Works in Galleries and
Museums
Brno House of Arts
Czech republic
8 - 9. October, 2019

A mere fifteen years ago, it seemed that electronic or new media will
barely become accepted by established, institutional collections of
modern and contemporary art. Around the year 2000, private collectors
and state galleries still seldom, and often with suspicion, paid
attention to electronic art works. Artists working in electronic media,
and university-level art institutions looked upon electronic media
departments with skepticism. But nowadays, new media, electronic and
digital art comprises a seminal part of most respected collections.

Since the closing of the 20th century, the (art) world has changed
substantially, and new media are no longer a tactic, a strategy, or a
statement, but rather one of the most popular means for commenting on
the condition of 21st century humanity. Artifacts which include an
element of the electronic moving image, digital code, static technical
image or sound are no longer limited to projects focusing on new media,
but have become an organic component of a large number of exhibitions.
Even art works which are presented within the context of the Internet
or of computer games appear in the acquisition-oriented endeavors of
galleries and museums all around the world.

Media art is however very dependent on technologies which are quickly
becoming outdated and are hard to acquire. Many media works are thus
losing their potential for being exhibited within a very short span of
time, or will eventually become lost forever. We are thus threatened
with the prospect that we will lose a large part of our heritage of the
post-industrial digital culture, since a systematic, widely accepted and
satisfactory methodology for their preservation and documentation is,
even in this day and age, still non-existent.

In 2018, the New Media Center  Vašulka Kitchen Brno opened under the
auspices of the Brno House of Arts. In collaboration with The Vašulkas,
as well as with a number of international institutions, it has been
confronted with the need for collecting and archiving electronic
artworks. What is the current situation in the field of state-owned and
private art collections, both Czech and foreign? What is the situation
at universities which have expertise in creating and archiving video
art, interactive audiovisual installations, net art, sound art and other
art forms which are considered as *new media*?

The colloquium entitled Digital Era Art Works in Galleries and Museums
intends to introduce, compare and discuss current knowledge, methods and
practices of managing collections in galleries and museums, mainly
across Central Europe.

The event is intended for curators, archivists, artist, and restorers
working with collections, museums and galleries which contain
documentation and artifacts which importantly feature analogue or
digital, moving or generated images and sounds, as well as other art
works whose essential characteristic is their instability.

Apart from presenting select model of media art acquisitions, the
colloquium*s program will also focus on the preservation and mediation
of new media art, and will also present several institutions with
long-term experience of managing and preserving collections.

Proposals for contributions (15-30 minutes) should be sent to:
kolo at vasulkakitchen.org 

The proposal must feature an abstract (maximum of 750 words) and a
short bio (100-150 words).

Deadline for proposals: July 15th, 2019

Organizers: Vašulka Kitchen Brno and the Brno House of Arts
Conception: Miloš Vojtěchovský, Matěj Strnad
Organizational committee: Monika Szücsová and Adéla Kudlová 
Curatorial committee: Jana Horáková, Martina Pachmanová, Tomáš Ruller,
Dušan Barok, Miklos Peternak, 
Cooperation: Národní filmový archiv, Prague, Theory of Interactive
Media department at Masaryk University, Department of Theory and
History
of Art, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. 

Vašulka Kitchen Brno (VKB) is a new project which offers a platform for
research, artistic experimentation and informal education in the sphere
of new media art. It comprises a digital archive dedicated to Woody and
Steina Vašulka and an exhibition of select works. The spaces are
intended for organizing events which would develop contemporary art and
creativity, and which are reminiscent of the Vašulkas* artistic and
philosophical legacy.

Brno House of Arts is an open, modern institution which aims to spark
contact between artists and the general public. The Art House has
traditionally been one of the most important movers of Brno*s culture,
and its ambition is to become a dynamic space which would work in close
contact with some of the most prestigious European galleries.

Further information

Vašulka Kitchen Brno
https://vasulkakitchen.org/ 
The Brno House of Arts
http://www.dum-umeni.cz/cz/o-nas/dum-umeni 
The National Film Archive
https://nfa.cz/en/ 
Theory of Interactive Media of MU
https://music.phil.muni.cz/ 
Department of Theory and History of Art, Academy of Arts, Architecture
and Design in Prague
https://www.umprum.cz/web/en/ 

Organized with the kind support of: The Agosto Foundation, Brno House
of Arts
https://agosto-foundation.org/