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Still from Paul Sermon's installation 'Headroom' produced at Taipei Artists Village April 2006

The Potential of High Speed Networks as a New Space for Cultural Research, Innovation and Production

A seminar developed by Graziano Milano in partnership with King's College London and the MARCEL Network, supported by University of London Computer Centre, at Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King’s College, London (19 March 2007).

Active and sustainable collaborative research programmes between UK innovative Media Arts organisations, creative producers, universities, archives, and other institutions are to date very problematic due to access to funding for research and few opportunities for collaborative R&D projects. In addition small and medium arts organisations face structural and financial issues for networked access to the high speed UK Educational Internet Network ‘SuperJanet’ which can potentially open opportunities to new forms of production, innovation and collaborations.

The resolution of these problems specially if done in collaboration with Universities research resources will potentially lead not only to new forms of cultural content, models and practices but also to technological advances and innovative learning applications in ICT.

Goals

The seminar explored the potential of the high speed UK Educational Internet Network ‘SuperJanet’ as a space for creative productions and to identify the opportunities for new types of research that innovative networked ICT tools can facilitate between different sectors of the creative industries and the research base. In particular, the seminar offered a space for discussion and debate in developing a collaborative strategy between academic and arts/media practice.

It also provided a unique opportunity for key stakeholders working in academia and arts and media practice with a shared interest in exploring the potential in advanced use of Grid and Network Technologies for new forms of research, production and archiving in the area of Arts and Humanities, to meet and discuss future challenges, collaborations and opportunities.

Objectives

The seminar aimed to identify solutions, new opportunities for all stakeholders and the development of new partnerships. The event focused on the following areas:

• The innovative ways in which UK small Media Arts organisations and creative producers are using ICT;
• Potential connections and opportunities for new type of research and production with universities, archives, and other institutions;
• Research issues, problems, or questions related to the creative process and creative practice involved in the pursuit of creative activities and productions in High Speed Networks;
• Ways in which the high speed internet technology allows a more "seamless" connection between the artist/researcher/curator/archivist and student.

The event also addressed the structural issues that small and medium arts organisations face for networked access to the high speed UK Educational Internet Network ‘SuperJanet’ and is a valuable starting point for these organisations to start the process of applying for funding for networked access through the establishment of a MARCEL working group.

Participation

Participants in the seminar included researchers from computing, arts and humanities disciplines, arts and media practitioners, cultural producers and representatives from UK independent Media Arts organisations.

Structure

The one-day seminar involved the following sessions:

• A morning session with 4 presentations by UK creative producers that use network technologies in innovative ways;
• An afternoon session with an open discussion.