ASEF/IFACCA to host mini-summit on new media arts policy

IFACCA,
24 July 2008, Singapore

The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) are co-hosting a mini-summit on government support for new media arts practice. This event which takes place in Singapore from 24 to 26 July 2008, gathers high-level government participants, artists, researchers and policy makers for a three-day dialogue on designing a coherent policy framework and recommendation for New Media Art.

In close cooperation with ISEA2008 (International Symposium for Electronic Arts) the mini summit aims for a productive synergy with the artists and researchers present at this prestigious event. With this event IFACCA and ASEF want to link back to the 2004 mini summit co-hosted by IFACCA, the Arts Council of Finland and m-cult which coincided with ISEA2004 and focused on policies to support media arts and new media culture. Debate at the 2004 mini summit resulted in the publishing of the ‘Helsinki Agenda’, which outlined the values of new media culture, set out key principles for new media arts policies, and made recommendations for further action.

In preparation to the 2008 mini summit IFACCA and ASEF initiated a D’Art research question to identify policy issues and to locate key people to invite to the mini summit. You may find the draft conclusions of the research here as well as the answers by the mini summit delegates to a small questionnaire sent prior to the meeting.

In consultation with the organizers four topics identified by Rob van Kranenburg, artistic director, will be specifically addressed during the meeting:

• Ambient intelligence, web 2.0 location based media, leapfrogging
• Creative research, iterative design cycles, academic research and creative communities
• Open source and open networks: the role of small independent new media labs
• Media education, media, civil society

The discussions held during the mini-summit will lead to final recommendations towards new media policy especially for ministries of culture and independent arts funding agencies and will be presented during the ISEA 2008 proceedings as the Singapore Agenda.

Since 2003, ASEF has been promoting the exchange between new media artists in Asia and Europe through the Art Camp series held in Paris, Tokyo, Bandung, Helsinki, Bangkok and from 22st -29th of July in Singapore along the ISEA2008. The theme of this year’s 6th Asia-Europe Art Camp is gaming and the nature of our contemporary ludic culture.

The Asia-Europe Foundation set up the mini-summit on New Media Policy & Practice to reflect and project how these artists exchanges are related with the realities in the different countries regarding support/policy of governments towards new media practices.

http://www.ifacca.org/ifacca_events/new-media-policy-practice/