Extract from Call for papers

Conference Director: Lyndal Jones

Ten years after the heady days of Paul Keating’s Creative Nation, where multimedia became the focus for cultural and industrial innovation, there is n

ow a prevailing notion that new technology has not fulfilled the promise of transforming Australia

into leaders in either information tech-nology or new media.

The recent announcement by the Australia Council that it was dismantling the New Media Arts Board seemed, to the artists who identify themselves as New Media artists, as a betrayal of their cultural contribution over the last decade. At the same time, the ephemeral nature of the digital work that has already been created and the lack of strategies for its conservation means that the new media cultural heritage is under threat of simply disappearing.

Vital Signs is the next event in a series of annual conferences presented by RMIT University, School of Creative Media (www.rmit.edu.au/creativemedia/conference). This year’s conference will focus on the urgent issues for New Media artists relating to both our future and our past. We are interested in bringing together the key players of new media art to discover – collectively – new ways forward. We are interested in reading the Vital Signs.

Vital Signs will feature presentations by selected speakers who are at the cutting edge of their fields. We also look forward to inviting conference papers and artworks from practising artists, academics and cultural theorists across the whole range of disciplines that are encompassed by their use of new media – including photography, writing, film, video, animation, games, interactive media, installations, music, performance and visual art. Most particularly we are interested in the works of artists who regard themselves as exclusively New Media artists.

http://www.vitalsigns.rmit.edu.au/

Real Time Issue 68 Special Feature: Christy Dena is a PhD candidate at the School of Creative Arts, University of Melbourne. She is researching and creating cross-media works in the departments of New Media and Creative Writing. She experiments with

print and chatbot technology and works as a teacher, trainer and mentor.

http://www.realtimearts.net/article/68/7933

Darren Toft’s book Interzone comes at a crucial time for the media arts in Australia. The Australia Council

– despite vigorous opposition – has moved to dissolve the New Media Arts Board, effectively consigning the funding for electronic or

interactive works to the broader domain of Visual Arts. This bureaucratic decision is the fulcrum around which has swirled passionate debate on the identity, status and significance of media arts.

http://scan.net.au/scan/magazine/display.php?journal_id=47

Book Review: Darren Tofts, Interzone: Media Arts in Australia (Craftsman House)

by John Potts

Darren Toft’s book Interzone comes at a crucial time for the media arts in Australia. The Australia Council – despite vigorous opposition – has moved to dissolve the New Media Arts Board, effectively consigning the funding for electronic or interactive works to the broader domain of Visual Arts. This bureaucratic decision is the fulcrum around which has swirled passionate debate on the identity, status and significance of media arts.

http://scan.net.au/scan/magazine/display.php?journal_id=47

Trebor Scholz

A crisis has emerged in new-media arts education. Despite the widespread emergence of

new-media arts programs and strong student interest throughout North American

universities as well as in Finland, Singapore, Thailand, China, Germany, and Australia,

surprisingly little public debate about the goals, structure,

and topical orientation of these programs is taking place.

Grants of up to $10,000 are available to artists in 2005 for adventurous new art projects that utilise emerging technologies in areas such as digital, time-based, broadband, screen-based and biological art.

CLOSING D

ATE: 4^th March 2005, at 5pm

About BEAPworks

BEAPworks is a research and development grant funding adventurous new art projects utilising emergent technologies for Western Australian artists.

BEAPworks is a joint initiative between the Biennale of Electronic Arts, Perth and ArtsWA. BEAP is supported by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments and the Government of Western Australia through ArtsWA in association with Lotterywest.

About the BEAPworks Exhibition

Recipients of the BEAPworks 2004 grant round are being exhibited as part of the Perth International Arts Festival at John Curtin Gallery, Curtin University. The exhibition runs from 10 February until 12 June 2005.

BEAPworks is curated by Paul Thomas, the Director of BEAP. The exhibition presents the work of six local electronic artists, Mark Cypher, Cat Hope, Jo Law with Hilary Bunt & Raoul Marks, Cameron Merton with Yvette Merton, Nina Sellars with Iain Sweetman & Gareth Lockett, and Cynthia Verspaget. The works explore the way the world is shaped by scientific development. Through the interactive multimedia installations the works provide access to understanding how these scientific developments affect our perception of daily life.

More information on the artists can be found online at www.beap.org

BEAPworks exhibition:

John Curtin Gallery, Building 200 (Opposite the Kirribilli Café)

Curtin University of Technology, Kent St, BENTLEY WA

Opening hours Tuesday to Friday 10.30am – 5pm, Sunday 1 – 5pm

Admission is free

BEAPworks Grant Aims

BEAPworks grants assist in the creation new, cutting edge and experimental electronic and/ or biological art projects.

The BEAPworks grant aims to:

• • stimulate and cultivate electronic and emerging technology based artwork, by local emerging and practicing artists
• • assist in the development of innovative artwork, leading to the realisation of artistic outcomes, at an international standard
• • stimulate artistic research and development allowing artists to explore ideas uncovered by new developments in emerging technology

BEAP strongly recommends that all grant applicants visit the exhibition, as this will enhance understanding of the aims of the BEAPworks grant.

Funding Criteria

BEAPworks grants are awarded, by a panel, on the following considerations.

The extent to which the project:

• • is cutting edge, innovative or experimental
• • uses emerging/ electronic technologies in areas such
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  as digital, time-based, broadband, screen-based and biological art

• • holds strengths in research and development
• • has the potential for external collaborations, or explores external collaborations
• • has clearly defined aims, strategies and expected project outcomes
• • has evidence that the project is well planned and achievable with consideration given to financial management, proposal concept and technical requirements

Guidelines and Conditions

To be accepted, all BEAPworks applications must follow these guidelines and conditions:

• • BEAPworks grants are only available to Western Australia artists

• • Applicants must be Australian citizens or have permanent resident status in Australia;
• • Applicants must have resided in Western Australia for at least 12 months immediately prior to making an application;
• • Applicants must not have any overdue acquittals from previous ArtsWA funding;
• • Applicants must have an Australian Business Number (ABN) or proof that they are not subject to Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding

• • Students and organisations cannot apply to fund works for student based exhibitions
• • Funding will not be given to capital equipment
• • Only 1 application from each individual can be submitted

• Applicants must be over 18 years of age

Other Research/ Residency Opportunities

Residencies offered in partnership with BEAPworks will be negotiated directly between the artist and the organisation. Residencies offered are:

• • Physical residency space at CLEAR (Centre for Living, Electronic Arts Research): a dedicated research centre at the intersection of art, science and industry. Space is negotiable based on acceptance of a proposal.
• • Online residency space at CLEAR: offers interactive server access, file sharing, ftp access and web presence.
• • Online research facilities: offers online collaborative research space.
• • BEAPworks ISA Technologies HPC Fellowship: provides access to a high performance computing and visualisation facility through ISA Technologies (Applicants must have strong computer knowledge)

Successful Applicants

Successful applicants will be notified via mail.

The ArtsWA Grants Administrator will contact each successful applicant detailing the conditions and requirements applying to this offer.

Successful applicants must acknowledge such support in all publicity and promotional material, including websites, email notification and verbally, when relating to this project.

Un-successful Applicants

Un-successful applicants will be notified via mail.

How do I apply?

Fill in all questions on the BEAPworks grant submission form.

Complete the budget form.

Applications must:

• • be submitted via post (to the below address) or via email (to info@beap.org)
• • be short, concise, relevant and legible
• • not be bound, and must be printed on one side only (paper version only)
• • contain relevant support material (do not send original copies)
• • all support material must be labelled clearly with your name and contact details

Send the application via post to:

BEAPworks application

Centre for Living and Electronic Arts Research (CLEAR)

Suite 3 Enterprise Building 3

11 Brodie Hall Drive

Bentley, WA, 6102

CLOSING DATE: 4^th March 2005, at 5pm

Need more information?

Contact Amanda Alderson, BEAP administrator on 9266 4922 (until the 11^th of February) then on

6424 8203 (from the 14^th of February) or via info@beap.org, for more information, or to discuss proposals.

The works have come from a research and development grant program facilitated by BEAP with ArtsWA, showcasing 6 projects at the John Curtin Gallery as part of the 2005 Perth International Festival of the Arts.

BEAPWORKS from Paul Thomas on Vimeo.

Keith Gallasch

At the meeting convened by ANAT, dLux media arts, Performance Space, Experimenta, MAAP and RealTime at the Paddington RSL, Sydney on January 24 we hoped to hear from Australia Council staff why the Taskforce’s proposed restructuring of the organisation entailed the dissolution of the New Media Arts Board (NMAB) and why there had been no consultation with the sector and, at the time of the December press release, none offered in the future.

http://www.realtimearts.net/article/issue65/7717