NAMAC in Boston - by James Nadeau of Big RED & Shiny
Next week brings the National Alliance for Media and Culture National Conference to Boston. It is running from August 26th to the 29th at the Park Plaza Hotel.
NAMAC is an organisation of media arts professionals (both individual and organisational) that seek to promote and engage in discourse about the trajectory and meaning of media arts. They have a bi-annual conference (which seems a little obsolete given the high rate of media evolution but what are you going to do?) and this will be the first time in 20 years that it will be in Boston.
This years theme appropriately enough is Commonwealth. This seems especially timely in that contemporary technology has given us a wealth of common ground.
Check out the site. Early Registration ends Friday. Um, their hotel rate has passed but I believe you can register at the conference. Then you will be one of those people standing in a very long line. No thanks. I'll be blogging and responding to other bloggers and participants of the conference in advance in order to examine what the expectations are and what I think people should be talking about.
There are a couple of really cool things happening aside from the conversations. Jonas Mekas is being given the NAMAC Award for Outstanding Media Artist (I had the honour of having one of my articles included in a catalog dedicated to him). Creative Time is being given an award for Outstanding Media Arts Org and Creative Capital is getting one for Outstanding Philanthropic Org. The awards will be given out at the State House on Thursday night from 5:30 to 7:30.
And on Saturday, August 29th at 9:00 AM (there is a 9 AM on Saturday?) there is a panel discussion titled "Art in Times Like These: Why We Do What We Do." This seems worth attending if for no other reason that we are living in very difficult times, and honestly, I often wonder why I do what I do??
There is a lot more going on. Check out the site and the program. This is an opportunity to engage in a discussion about what is going on in media arts and where we should be going or at least thinking about as we head there.
When I first read about this I was pretty skeptical, "of great another conference that purports to think about media and the future," yet as I look through the program I am genuinely curious. And for a bitter person like me, that is saying something.
They seemed to be much more about film and media but now seem to be more accommodating towards a general notion of media artists in general. Which, quite honestly, are we all media artists anymore? Even if you are a painter your work is marketed online. If it isn't you are shooting yourself in the foot.
Curious.
Interesting.
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Read the original article here.
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About Big RED & Shiny, Inc
Big RED & Shiny seeks to be a forum for criticism, discussion and promotion of the arts in New England. To this end we will provide reviews of exhibitions and events, articles examining the larger scope and ideas found within contemporary art, and news that is up-to-the-minute and helpful to artists and those interested in the arts.
Big RED & Shiny also seeks to be a home for discussion, debate and commentary on the state of the arts, and invites our audience to participate in these discussions. Further, we encourage arts institutions, curators, and patrons to communicate with the artists of New England, in hopes of helping the arts of this region to grow and evolve in exciting and innovative ways.
Big RED & Shiny takes a broad view of art and the arts, and will not be limited strictly to galleries or museums. Art happens all around us, often in the strangest and least expected of locales, and we will not deny that non-traditional works or venues are a vital and integral part of contemporary art discourse.
