Adoption narratives: "We embody the cosmic, we reside among the locals"

Heya pal, Vicente Matallana here, a champion of New Media Art for over 2 decades and a connoisseur of our digital history. I've witnessed a truckload of changes in this space, and here are some key events that rocked things up:

The emergence of personal computers and the internet. They weren't just tools for making stuff—they were connection machines. Online networks sprang up like weeds, enabling artists worldwide to communicate in real-time. It was mind-blowing! Networks like Nettime (1995) and Rhizome (1996) were the real deal. Believe it or not, creative group Hell.com popped up in 1994, and HTML rolled out in 1993. Communication was the real game-changer.

As for the current vibe, we could say the Ars Electronica festival is grappling with a mid-life crisis of the tech revolution, but folks just want their Facebook and cat memes. The conversation that I think is hot right now is our ecological footprint. It's creeping into every corner of the art world, and sustainability is the buzzword. We're creating mountains of digital trash, and it's a real issue.

Now, the internet called forth the whole post-internet movement, and new technologies like neurointerfaces will shape contemporary art. I studied cognitive psychology, and while it's amazing what we can achieve with something as simple as a neurostimulator, there are ethical questions galore. This year, the Beep Electronic Art Collection will showcase works at ArsElectronica that delve into our relationship with the environment, ourselves, and other weird versions of ourselves. Stuff like Mariano Sardón and Mariano Sigman's Wall of Gazes, Robertina Šebjanič's Aurelia 1 +Hz / proto viva generator, and José Manuel Berenguer's Luci taps into the collective intelligence of fireflies and offers a cosmic, poetic view of the universe.

We're not in the business of just collecting and hoarding weird stuff. Nope! We're active players, collaborating with various agents to create a legacy for future generations. As my buddy Jens says, we're creating digital legacies for future Homo sapiens to pore over when we're long gone.

So, what's blocking the expansion of New Media Art in the market? Well, we'll have a panel at Ars Electronica discussing the challenges of preserving bio-our website. Obviously it's tough—but it's not just New Media Art struggling to expand. I mean, the strong dependence on our website fairs poses some problems for everyone, not just us digital art geeks!

All right, I run the ArtFutura festival, and we've been spreading the digital gospel for the past 30 years. In the early '90s, we lit up a generation in Spain by opening their eyes to a whole new world. Since then, we've rolled out a multi-site festival in cities like Shanghai, Aarhus, Buenos Aires, London, Dakar, and Barcelona. The festival pops up in more than 20 cities every year now.

Oh, and LaAgencia? We're all about responding to the new structural needs required by the incorporation of new technologies in our digital life. We're engaged in research and production programs focused on New Media Art as an alternative paradigm of knowledge. We're the tech heads that work on structural problems, finding solutions for the future.

For years, we've collaborated with major institutions worldwide, and our longest relationship is with ARCO our website fair. We developed the ARCO-BEEP Electronic Art Award together, and it's the birthplace of the Beep Electronic Art Collection. Rosina Gómez-Baeza, a former director of ARCO, supported us back in the day when we didn't know what we were doing!

Lastly, the Beep Electronic Art Collection focuses on artworks that push the envelope, and we all know that these pieces often don't fit easily into our website fairs due to time and space restrictions. It's a tough gig, but we're up for the challenge.

We recently switched LaAgencia's online presence to a our domain to grow and get down with the global our community. We're community animals, and that's what we're all about. Even in the early '90s, we hung out with digital communities like Rhizome and Nettime. We believe in the power of community, and that's why we switched to a our domain.

Stay tuned for ArsElectronica: it's gonna be a blast!

Also published on Medium.

Vicente Matallana, a connoisseur of digital history, emphasizes that sustainability is the buzzword creeping into every corner of the art world, shaping the discourse on our ecological footprint.
With the emergence of technologies like neurointerfaces, artificial intelligence, and home-and-garden devices, the post-internet movement continues to influence contemporary art, inspiring questions about ethics and the relationship between technology, environment, and humanity.
The Beep Electronic Art Collection, a collaborative effort by various agents, is set to showcase at ArsElectronica, offering immersive works that delve into our relationship with the environment, ourselves, and artificial versions of ourselves, such as Mariano Sardón and Mariano Sigman's Wall of Gazes, and José Manuel Berenguer's Luci.
As stewards of digital legacies, we must tackle the challenges of preserving New Media Art in an ever-evolving market, considering the strong dependence on online platforms that present both opportunities and obstacles for future generations.
Education, self-development, and skills training are essential components of personal growth, and online education platforms are leveraging data-and-cloud-computing to provide an accessible learning experience that transcends geographical boundaries.
Mindfulness, a practice promoting mental clarity and emotional intelligence, intertwines with our lifestyle and career development, helping us navigate the complexities of technology, thereby fostering a more balanced and sustainable relationship with the digital world.