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Hi Nina and Melinda and list, Re Melinda¹s question: "does work that is scientifically rigorous always make the best art? And Nina¹s comment about the storytelling¹ role of artists... As a curator what draws me to the work of new media artists is the powerful way art can aesthetically, emotionally, and intellectually explore issues relating to science and technology. It was while I was writing a Masters thesis on cyberpunk science fiction in the early 90¹s that I first became interested in the work of artists working with new technologies and particularly in the way that art could creatively explore and embody the aesthetic, social and ethical dimensions of new technologies and give us a feel¹ for the experience of new and emerging technologies. In A Cyborg Manifesto¹, Donna Haraway describes science fiction writers as ³storytellers exploring what it means to be embodied in high-tech worlds.² For me this is clearly a key role of artists, particularly those working with new technologies. Art (like literature and film) doesn¹t only intellectually and critically explore new technologies, it does this by giving audiences an imaginatively compelling experience of what our high-tech near future scenarios might look and feel like. Kathy Cleland www.kathycleland.com