UNews - media artists

IRDF project investigates world of new media

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 19:53:23 +0000

The very aspect of new media that makes it so engaging is also what makes the discipline challenging. While change is both exciting and invigorating, the pace at which new media practices and software evolve is almost too quick to fully explore the medium.

"I've been really fortunate in my career that I've been working at a time that has seen enormous changes in the way I work," says Leanne Elias, assistant professor in the department of New Media.

"At the same time, it just changes so rapidly that as an artist, it can be very frustrating because we never have the chance to fully exploit the tools and options that we have available to us in software before something new comes along and we then move on to that."

The IRDF project team (l to r) Cheryl Meheden, Leanne Elias, Dr. John Usher, Dr. Janice Rahn and Michael Campbell are exploring the world of new media.

In an attempt to capture how artists, educators and practitioners of new media approach and adapt to continual change in the medium, Elias and four other U of L researchers will produce the E-book of New Media Research Methods and Practice as one of three funded projects through the new Interdisciplinary Research Development Fund (IRDF).

"I see this as a perfect opportunity to examine how others are working in our world," says Elias, the principal investigator.

The project also includes Dr. Janice Rahn (education), Dr. John Usher (management), Michael Campbell (art) and Cheryl Meheden (management).

Elias says the group plans to conduct upwards of 50 video interviews with new media artists from around the world who are driving innovations in software and communication design, or exploring unexpected ways of working with technology. The goal is to discover how these people are using new media tools and how they, as educators, can work together to expand research and teaching practices.

"We have already learned that we all approach new media practice differently," says Elias. "There are some big unanswered questions about how we all teach, such as why does the way we teach change between disciplines, what are the crossovers between disciplines, and are we delivering the right curriculum?"

Data collection (interviews) will begin this summer and continue through to spring 2013, at which time a host of essays will be written interpreting the interview results. Both graduate and undergraduate students will assist in the process.

"The team members will analyze the results collaboratively through different research methodologies and I think that's where it really becomes interdisciplinary.

The exciting aspect about the e-book is that it will use current technology and be produced as an interactive book meant for tablet devices. This allows its creators to produce a living entity, dynamically changing over time. Although the book is expected to be released in 2014, updates to the book could be released as new interviews are created. Users of the book will be able to view the full video interviews, see art and design projects, read the interpretive essays or even hone in on one particular interview question and see the results from each respondent.

In the end, both students and educators will benefit from the project, as long as they are willing to adapt to the ever-changing landscape it explores.

This story first appeared in the June 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the entire issue in flipbook format, follow this link.

Residency opportunities a part of international pact

trevor.kenney — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:33:23 +0000

The doors to international exchanges have been opened wide with the recent signing of agreements between the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty of Fine Arts, the Centro Nacional de Las Artes (CENART) in Mexico and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology's (RMIT) School of Art.

"These accords set in place an agreement and a process for faculty artists from across the Faculty of Fine Arts' disciplines – visual art, drama, new media and music – to participate in residency exchange programs with artists from Australia and Mexico," says Dr. Desmond Rochfort, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty of Fine Arts dean. "Likewise, the accords provide opportunities for artists from Mexico and Australia to work and study in Lethbridge on a residency."

The agreement with Mexico's CENART, signed in November by Roberto Vázquez Díaz, Director General of CENART and Rochfort at a ceremony in Mexico City, provides opportunities for creative residencies in the National Centre's headquarters in Mexico City, as well as in its 15 satellite locations throughout the country. Three additional satellites are also in the process of being developed.

A major strategic investment in culture and the arts by the Mexican government has made these centres into major arts training and cultural facilities. They are designed to focus on creative arts education and research, as well as bring together artists from a variety of creative disciplines and different countries in an environment that combines tradition and the latest technologies.

The Australian residency exchange agreement has a more narrow focus.

"The agreement with the Artists International Residency program at RMIT provides residency opportunities for visual artists and new media artists from the U of L Faculty of Fine Arts," says Rochfort. "The accord also provides opportunities for artists from Australia to come to Lethbridge for a creative residency here."

"Both agreements are important strategic initiatives by the U of L Faculty of Fine Arts to broaden opportunities for international exchange in the field of the creative arts," he says. "Artist exchanges provide opportunities for both creative collaboration and interdisciplinary work as well as the opportunity to work in the context of a different culture."

According to Rochfort, another important component of both agreements is the development of exchanges among Aboriginal, Indigenous and First Nations artists in Australia, Canada and Mexico.

This story originally appeared in the Legend. For a look at the full issue of the December Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Residency a part of recent international pact

trevor.kenney — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:54:09 +0000

The Australian residency exchange agreement has a more narrow focus.

According to Rochfort, another important component of both agreements is the development of exchanges among Aboriginal, Indigenous and First Nations artists in Australia, Canada and Mexico.

For a look at the full issue of the December Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - media artists

IRDF project investigates world of new media

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Residency opportunities a part of international pact

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Residency a part of recent international pact

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