Focus:Archive

The Focus:Archive section summarizes program items that take place at the festival this year in connection with archives.

Ars Electronica has one of the world’s most extensive archives on digital media art from the last 40 years. Unfortunately, due to technically necessary conversions, it is currently not accessible online. Bad timing… but: a short video presenting the archive is available at the Mozilla Hub. We invite you to enter the room, watch the video and discover more!

And there will also be input from others on the topic of archives: With Oliver Grau, Christiane Paul, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Mariano Sardón and Dagmar Schink, the “Networked Archives” panel offers profound knowledge and promises an exciting discussion about the significance of online archives and media art platforms, collaboration and new developments in the presentation of and work with archives. The role of artists in the archiving and conservation of media art is the subject of an independent talk by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, and audiences in Linz will also have the opportunity to get to know the Valie Export Archive in the tobacco factory and the Kunstlager Nord of the Stadtwerkstatt in the north of Linz – don’t forget to register!

A colourful mix of physical and digital, as is the case with archives for media art!

Open Mozilla Hub

Timetable

Program

VALIE EXPORT Center Linz – Guided Tour

The managing director of VALIE EXPORT Center Dagmar Schink will host the special guided tour during the Ars Electronica Festival.

Networked Archives
Oliver Grau (DE), Dagmar Schink (AT), Christiane Paul (DE/US), Mariano Sardón (AR), Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (MX/CA), Manuela Naveau (AT)

Panel – In a world in which we increasingly rely on online content, media art archives and platforms are no exception. The Networked Archives panel addresses their role in making media art accessible online, and highlights various approaches to the field. As archives and metadata are central issues and the base for the digital content sector they are evolving into important online value chains. How can archives be monetized, contribute to the developments in the media art markets and form base for online platforms?

Best Practices for the Conservation of Media Art from an Artist’s Perspective
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (MX/CA)

Talk – For the past five years, media artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer has been developing a system of procedures to help his studio deal with the maintenance of hundreds of computerized artworks that are in collections around the world. In this talk, Rafael will go over the main methods to accomplish this, in the hope that other artists will adopt them and create realistic expectations for potential collectors.

STWST Excursions
Stadtwerkstatt (AT)

The excursion leads to Kunstlager Nord. Here Stadtwerkstatt collects art relics and documents from the 40-year history of the house – between media art, subculture and city history. In the house of STWST also some archive materials can be seen.