New media art, participation, social engagement and public funding

This article investigates the current condition of new media art in Britain, examining how cuts to arts funding have affected the art form's infrastructure and capacity for survival and growth. It considers media art in relation to other contemporary art practices, particularly in relation to its inherent capacity for enhanced and sustained user participation, and asks why it is that, though government agendas favour participatory art as ‘socially useful', media art appears to have been hit harder than other art forms. The article puts forward four reasons that could explain this paradox, and argues the importance of the survival of new media art, not as isolated practices invited to exist within mainstream contexts, but as a distinct art form

Introduction to encountering the digital in performance : deployment | engagement | trace

The Introduction to this special issue performs a dual role. Firstly, it unpacks the main notions we bring forth through our title, specifically those of the ‘encounter’ and the ‘digital’, as well as the three words we have identified as key to digital theatre practices, namely: deployment, engagement and trace. The introduction examines how the contributors respond to those ideas, which preceded the articles and documents herein. Secondly, it offers observations that span across and connect the articles and documents, identifying key trends in current critical thinking and creative practice with regard to contemporary theatre in and through the digital. The observations that emerge suggest connections that allow us to reflect more broadly on developments to our understanding of the digital, and indeed to the larger ecosystem of performance in digital culture

Cybertheatres: Emergent Networked Performance Practices

This thesis explores the emergent genre of cybertheatres or networked performance, that is, performance that employs the Internet and/or other types of networking technologies (telecommunication, mobile) and attitudes. I argue that networking technologies produce hybrid spacetimes or heterotopias (Foucault), which function as stages for networked performances, a novel and increasingly popular field of practice and research. The aims of this project are to a) articulate networked performance as a distinct genre, which is a hybrid between theatre/performance and networking technologies, b) situate this within a lineage of performance practice, c) identify and analyse its principal ontological and dramaturgical elements and, d) explore appropriate curatorial strategies for its presentation to a spectrum of audiences. To achieve these aims I undertake a critical analysis of cybertheatres, starting from 1967 and focusing on current practices. My analysis unfolds through engagement with discussions along two pivotal conceptual vectors, and through applied exploration of two core elements of practice: The conceptual vectors along which this thesis develops are: 1. Space: I examine the spatial nature of the networks that host cybertheatres, employing British group Blast Theory as my case-study. 2. Presence: I question the validity of the presence vs. absence dichotomy within networked environments. I investigate this through the work of Belgian duo Entropy8Zuper!, relaunched as Tale of Tales. Further on, I undertake a practical exploration relating to the subject of the curation of cybertheatres. I reflect upon and evaluate the three-day event Intimacy: Across Digital and Visceral Pelformance (December 2007), which I initiated, produced, co-directed and cocurated, to propose curatorial strategies that are appropriate to emergent practices in general and cybertheatres in particular. I close by a shift of voice from the author to the collective: I join the collaborative project Deptford. TV as a method of studying artistic, curatorial and social platforms that demonstrate Web 2.0 attitudes, and argue for the genre's particular potential for new forms of social engagement within a computer-mediated culture

Blast Theory

Whether seen as a theatre or performance group, an art ensemble that uses different methodological approaches including live performance, or a new media art company that creates works informed by cutting-edge technology, from the very outset Blast Theory has actively questioned, challenged and transgressed disciplinary boundaries, merging theatre, performance, interactive arts and gaming. Through its artistic practice, the company innovates by developing new models for active audience participation: using emergent technologies and interactive media in ways that have shaped the contemporary British and international cultural landscapes; exploring formats that merge practices and approaches; situating its work in unconventional or unexpected contexts; confronting audiences with tough questions and challenging demands; and, above all, being prepared to take risks. Though refusing to be defined as a theatre company, Blast Theory has certainly helped shape the contemporary theatre landscape in Britain and internationally by inspiring companies to experiment with participative practices, locative media, mobile interfaces, pervasive gaming and the creation of complex and layered immersive experiences

Karen by Blast Theory : leaking privacy

This project offers engagement with digital technologies related to bodily interaction and creativity from a multi-disciplinary perspective. In so doing it aims to illustrate the synergies and differences in the theorisation of the body and technology, and how this in turn shapes new or evolving practices across the arts and humanities. By taking a multi-disciplinary approach the collection offers a comprehensive view of digital technology research that both extends our notions of the body and creativity through a digital lens, and informs of the role of technology in practices central to the Arts and Humanities