Hi List, I am the MA Contemporary Curatorial Student Sarah mentioned... I'm
currently researching a paper about The Space and have drafted some
questions for the List around this subject; your recent discussion is very
timely and fascinating within the context of this Arts Council and BBC
collaboration.



My reason for contacting you all is that I am specifically looking at this
project in terms of what it says about art in the UK, how that intersects
with government and Arts Council policy, the specific investment and
showcasing of digital art forms all within the Cultural Olympiad. I am
considering what this says to us in the UK about our "culture" and to the
wider world.



My initial thoughts are that this platform is allied with current government
policy, increasing broadband connectivity, e-accessibility, inclusivity,
Raceonline etc, the development of a future, internet orientated economy.



It could indicate a highly creative and experimental approach to art making,
given that art institutions do not always readily engage with digital
platforms.



It is on the face of it highly inclusive, but will the reality be the case,
and do artists/practitioners want their art "distributed" in this way.



Will The Space be a marketing tool or to disseminate information, or will it
be used for its full creative potential as a medium in itself.



The brief mentions the inclusion of celebrity curators, do any members have
knowledge of who this may be? I am wondering in this context what
"celebrity" means and the affect that may have on the outward integrity of
the project.



This is also tempered with the knowledge of the Arts Council cuts that
affected digitally orientated new media organisations last year.

Perhaps the two are not related in that regard. Whilst this is not the focus
of the paper it is something to consider, and I would appreciate any
comments you may have, it would suggest a u-turn in policy but perhaps that
is a naive statement.



Your recent conversations also refer to the longevity of the project and
what happens after this event - will it create a precedent to build on. The
information I have read so far only refers to it as a "pop up service" and
Alan Yentob describes it as a space for experimentation and a space to
fail - which I find very interesting too and I wonder if that truly will be
the case.




It would be great to hear from any of you who are proposing work for The
Space.



If you prefer to reply to me privately given the nature/sensitivity of any
proposals you have submitted please email me [log in to unmask]

In anticipation, I appreciate your help and support.



Thanks



Sonya Russell-Saunders




----- Original Message -----
From: "honor" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2012 1:07 PM
Subject: Re: [NEW-MEDIA-CURATING] quick piece of research regarding artist's
television


> Hi Sarah,
>
> Thanks for the prompt to consider these questions, which are particularly
> timely
> I think, in light of The Space, the collaboration between the BBC and the
> Arts
> Council:
>
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/news/arts-council-england-bbc-launch-digital-arts-media-service.shtml
>
> http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/apply-for-funding/strategic-funding/thespace/
>
> It would be interesting to see whether anything that qualifies as
> "artists'
> television" is supported through The Space ...
>
> If not, I wonder what other vehicles of support and distribution there are
> in
> the UK for this type of practice at the moment? Perhaps video platforms
> such
> as Vimeo and YouTube have negated the need for more institutionalised
> systems
> of support? And does something like FACT's artplayer
> (http://www.artplayer.tv/) offer opportunities in this area? Or are
> platforms
> like this more of a distribution platform for pre-existing work?
>
> I know these observation don't really help you with your art historical
> research
> ;-) - but it just struck me as a resonant moment to be exploring such
> questions,
> in light of the Arts Council's investments into art and broadcasting here
> in the
> UK.
>
> Best,
>
> Honor
>
>
>
> Honor Harger
>
> Director
> Lighthouse
> http://www.lighthouse.org.uk
>
> Email: [log in to unmask]
> Tel: +44 1273 647197
> Address: 28 Kensington Street, Brighton, BN1 4AJ, UK
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/LighthouseArts
>
> Now on: Invisible Fields, an exhibition in Barcelona, 14 October 2011 - 4
> March
> 2012
> http://www.lighthouse.org.uk/programme/invisible-fields
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Quoting Sarah Cook <[log in to unmask]>:
>
>> Hello CRUMB list
>> as you are all eminently smart about art and technology and the history
>> of
>> art I have a request.
>>
>> There is a forthcoming publication from the Finnish Institute in London
>> about
>> artists' works and community television and I'm informally working with
>> Nina
>> Pope and Karen Guthrie to help them recontextualise their project TV
>> Swansong. We'd like to gather some thoughts related to this project's
>> place
>> in history from you all, before the end of next week.
>>
>> At the time (2002, a decade ago) TV Swansong was billed as:
>> "a cross-media art project which commissioned 8 new works reflecting on
>> the
>> current state of flux in television with idiosyncratic responses to its
>> past,
>> present and future." http://www.swansong.tv/
>>
>> Some of you might remember the exhibition I cocurated with Kathy Rae
>> Huffman
>> on a similar topic - http://www.broadcastyourself.net/ - for AV Festival
>> in
>> 2008, which included TV Swansong's archive. A question we asked with
>> Broadcast Yourself was how did we get here, to this moment of many online
>> platforms for dissemination of broadcast work (the end of television?) -
>> and
>> what initiatives did artists take before this point.
>>
>> So we are wondering the same thing again now: how do works which deal
>> with
>> the 'current state' of technology age?
>> How are works which were once live supposed to be exist within the
>> history of
>> art and technology in archived form?
>> Is television dead? Is artist's television dead? Was TV Swansong ever
>> considered as community television, or indeed television at all (as it
>> was
>> webcast)?
>> Can artists continue to contribute in their work to discussions around
>> community television and if so, how?
>>
>> As this is an informal chat we welcome any and all responses, which, with
>> your permission, we'd like to quote in the dialogues we hope to be
>> included
>> in the publication.
>> You can email back offlist if you like.
>>
>> We've got til the end of next week... and we'll launch some regular
>> monthly
>> discussions on CRUMB after that.
>>
>> Thanks all,
>> Sarah
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> University of Sunderland - life-changing: see our new TV advert at
>> http://www.lifechangingsunderland.com or http://www.sunderland.ac.uk
>>
>
>
> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
> honor harger
> email: [log in to unmask]
> r a d i o q u a l i a:
> http://www.radioqualia.net
>