1. September 2024, 10:30 – 6 pm, ZKM Medientheater

The Advisory Board supports the Executive Board and the Board of Trustees in all important cultural and scientific matters. Since the appointment of Alistair Hudson as scientific and artistic director, a new Advisory Board has been formed ­– chaired by Prof. Dr. Gesche Joost (UdK Berlin). To kick off the joint work, the symposium invites you to reassess the state of media art.

In 1957, in an era of cultural and technological change, the cultural sociologist Richard Hoggart published “The Uses of Literacy”, one of the foundational texts of media theory. In this book, Hoggart foreshadows the negative effects of mass media on relationships between communities. Now, in 2024, when this has become a reality and we are experiencing the polarization caused by media technologies, is there an possibility to repurpose these cultural tools to build a society worth living in?

Alistair Hudson poses the question as to how ZKM, an institution that brings together art and science for society, should position itself in the future within the new landscape of a larger global network of partners and practitioners. What might have been overlooked thus far, what could be blind spots, and with which global and local partners, people, and social groups should ZKM connect, and how can this be best achieved with which goals.

Program

The event will be broadcast online

Welcoming: 10:30 – 11:00 am

Alistair Hudson, Scientific-Artistic Director ZKM, and Prof. Dr. Gesche Joost, Chair ZKM Advisory Board, Professor for Design Research at the Berlin University of the Arts and Head of Design Research Lab, Vice President of Goethe-Institut

Arne Braun, State Secretary, Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden-Württemberg Dr. Dominika Szope, Head of the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Karlsruhe

Advisory Board Statement on the Present and Future of Media Arts: 11:00 am

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c.mult. Michael Resch: We, the World and the Digital

A Historical Review of ZKM and Its Program to Date: 11:15 am – 12:30 pm

Margit Rosen (Collections, Archives & Research), Tina Lorenz (Artistic Research & Development), Philipp Ziegler (Curation), Dr. Anett Holzheid (Curation), Janine Burger (Mediation), Jens Lutz (Publications): Where Have We Got To?

Lunch Break: 12:30 – 01:30 pm

Advisory Board Statements on the Present and Future of Media Arts: 01:30 pm

Prof. Dr. Gesche Joost: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Prof. Constanze Fischbeck: Shifting Paradigms

José-Carlos Mariátegui, PhD: Alternative Cybernetics and Indigenous Knowledge Systems: An Approach towards a More Porous Media Art for the 21st Century

Charles Esche: Media Art and the 21st Century

Valentino Catricalà, PhD: The Relationship between Art and Innovation

Coffee Break: 03:15 – 04:00 pm

Advisory Board Statements on the Present and Future of Media Arts: 04:00 pm

Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth: The Connection between Technology, Art and Society and the Role of Museums in the Transformation of the Economy and Society

Shannon Jackson, PhD: Video Art and Social Practice

Stephen Wright: Contemporary Developments in Usology: Media Artists in the Forest and in the Field

Discussion and Summary: 05:00 – 06:00 pm

The symposium is aimed at specialist colleagues and interested parties who are engaged with media art and its redefinition and would like to participate in the current discussions and developments in this field. Representatives of the media are also welcome to attend.