This year, Rhizome placed a specific focus on projects that address social issues and/or promote individual advancement through education or participation. Our focus was not restricted to this theme, but made a priority.

Rhizome awarded ten grants: eight grants were determined by a jury of experts in the field, and two were determined by Rhizome’s membership through an open vote.

In this funding cycle, Rhizome will awarded ten grants: eight grants were be determined by a jury of experts in the field, and two were be determined by Rhizome’s membership through an open vote.

The jury consisted of Tina Kukelski, formerly of the Whitney Museum of American Art, currently one of the curators for the Carnegie International 2012; Candice Madey, founder of On Stellar Rays gallery, and Domenico Quaranta, writer and media art historian. Two awards were determined by Rhizome’s membership through an open vote.

For this cycle, Rhizome expanded the scope of our commissions program beyond a strict focus on Internet-based art to instead encompass the broad range of practices that fall under new media art. This included projects that creatively engage new and networked technologies, as well as works that reflect on the impact of these tools and media in a variety of forms. With this expanded format, commissioned works could take the final form of online works, performance, video, installation or sound art. Projects could be made for the context of the gallery, the public, the web or networked devices.

The jury included Oliver Laric, artist and co-founder of VVORK, Barbara London, Associate Curator, Department of Media, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Emma McRae, Curatorial and Projects Coordinator, Experimenta, Melbourne and Rick Rinehart, Digital Media Director and Adjunct Curator, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.From Rhizome, they will be joined by Luis Silva, our Lisbon-based Curatorial Fellow, and Lauren Cornell, Executive Director and Adjunct Curator at the New Museum.