- Venue
- Co-Pilot
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In our wired, wild, media saturated world, there are numerous resources available for the nurturing and the development of both technical and theoretical skills as well as those wishing to develop curatorial media arts projects and exhibitions (CRUMB is the most obvious example that springs to mind). The artist deciding to make the media arts their place of creative practise has at their disposal many resources and contacts. What is less frequently available are those resources that occur in the interstitial places. The random conversations taking place at gallery openings or around the bar at festivals (Ars Electronica, ISEA, Transmediale and the plethora of others). These back-channel discussions are a vital part of the process.
Co-Pilot has been created as a forum for recording the experiences of anyone who has ever been involved in a media arts project developed at the intersection of artistic practise and social engagement in community programs and beyond. The tag line of "a shared resources for people working at the intersection of art, technology and social change," is a clarion call that promises a chance to be involved beyond the projects that people have been working and to look towards the future and how shared knowledge helps.
Melissa Bliss, in her post, People Round the Table, attempts to capture the essence of what it means when you have multiple players involved in the project. The idea of drawing a Venn diagram to understand who all those players are and what they expect from the project, becomes a useful resource as well as a great way to have everyone state their intentions. Of course, as she points out, it's also a gamble, the outcome is uncertain, despite careful planning at all stages.
One of Co-Pilot's case studies for how a project that works with members of the community might evolve and the factors that come into play, is The Not Quite Yet:
"An initiative led by DemTech (Democratising Technology), a research project of which Space Media Arts is a partner. The Not Quite Yet took place in spring 2008 in Hackney, east London, and involved artist residencies, an exhibition and a Symposium in spring 2008. The project sought to raise questions about Older People's involvement in, and exclusion from, technological design processes."
Part of this process was to engage with conflict resolution techniques. Discussion chaired and directed by the Newham Conflict and Change team allowed the various partners in the project to understand their own positions and where they had either attempted to take a larger part in the process at the expense of the others, and how these issues could be resolved to bring about a harmonious forward movement. It's important that people collaborating understand that issues are going to arise in projects that have multiple partners, particularly where those projects involve 'ordinary' members of the public as did The Not Quite Yet. Bringing in older people who may not have worked on projects such as this one.
In the resources section, there are listings of organisations that might be worth connecting up with such as Access Space and of course the ubiquitous a-n The Artists Information Company who offer a everything from research papers to a magazine that reflects the diverse and multi-faceted face of contemporary visual arts. Also in the resources section is the Manifesto of Possibilities as well as the Web Resources section. Elsewhere on the website are videos and numerous documents for downloading.
Co-Pilot is itself, of course, a collaborative project that should resonate with those who are used to working in a community (of artists or members of the public). But the site can offer a resource for those who are new to media arts as well as those who can contribute to the discussion. Media art itself is one of the few genres of art that most often involves collaboration across different disciplines. Working with programmers, scientists, biologists and any other trade or academic discipline, can soon become part of that practise. In Co-Pilot there is a chance for experienced artists to share and for those who are embarking on new projects to find out some of the pros and cons of collaborative projects.
