ART BASEL - Contemporary Art and New Media: Toward a Hybrid Discourse

Curator Nicolas Bourriaud, ZKM CEO Peter Weibel, and artist Michael Joaquin Grey will address the topic, "Contemporary Art and New Media: Toward a Hybrid Discourse?" at Art Basel on Saturday 19, June, 1-1:30 pm. The discussion is being convened and moderated by Edward A. Shanken.

Contemporary Art and New Media: Toward a Hybrid Discourse?

Since the mid-1990s, new media has become an important force for creative culture and economic development. Supporting institutions including Ars Electronica, ZKM and Eyebeam have expanded, while interdisciplinary Ph.D. programs at the intersections of art, science, and technology have proliferated internationally. Simultaneously, mainstream contemporary art experienced dramatic growth, propelled by the proliferation of venues from Art Basel Miami to the Shanghai Biennial and by the creativity of artists, curators, dealers and pedagogues. Yet rarely do these two artworlds meet. As a result, their discourses have increasingly diverged. To what extent are new media art and mainstream contemporary art commensurable? Is it possible to construct a hybrid discourse that offers insights into each, while enabling greater mixing between them? What roles have educational programs and cultural institutions played in fostering these divides and how can they contribute to suturing them? What insights into larger questions of emerging art and cultural forms might be gleaned by such a rapprochement?