ART SERVERS UNLIMITED

ART SERVERS UNLIMITED
conference and net.radio event
London, 4th of July 1998, ICA, The Mall

Who are the real creative forces on the internet? Where will the net go,
after info-shops and e~commerce finally conquer it? What can be done to
support and sustain independent, noncommercial, artistic or experimental
projects on the internet?

The project is still open for more participants. Please contact the
organizers!

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CONFERENCE

ART SERVERS UNLIMITED is a conference and net radio event examining some
of the most innovative nodes of cultural activity on the net.

Art servers are servers on the internet hosting a wide variety of
cultural expression, from curated art-sites to freewheeling net.art,
e-mail discussion forums to invaluable text archives, and independent
artists' net.radios to forms of interactive tv and 3D worlds.

Artists were among the first to explore the potential of the internet to
develop new forms of art project which often cristallize into new net
practices. Art Servers are sites of collective shared expertise where
new net ideas are born and nurtured.

Now, with the ongoing commercialization of the net, it looks as if
independent run art server platforms are having to fight to prove their
worth in an environment dominated by economies of scale and stock market
frenzy.

Providing internet access for "cultural communities" and supporting
creative environments is of crucial importance now more than ever. ART
SERVERS UNLIMITED will look at a variety of working models that
incorporate old and new media as well as different economic strategies.

"Art Servers" are not an artistic genre like theatre or TV. Rather, they
are constantly shifting and evolving transitional mediums pointing the
way to new and diverse modes of expression. As such they are shaped by
the engaged individuals behind them, and vary wildly in structure and
approach.

In terms of financing such servers, many economic models co-exist from
government funding through to sponsorship or creating an income through
some commercial activity.

ART SERVERS UNLIMITED will seek to give an overview of a number of
leading edge art servers in the UK and Central Europe and will try to
investigate relations between art and cultural policy making in the
digital economy.

NET.RADIO NIGHT

Colliding the live conference sessions with the digital world, a
net.radio live event will be staged at the ICA theater and bar lounge.
Multiple live streaming of audio signals to and from London involving
Budapest (pararadio), Vienna (t0 escape lounge), Lubljana
(ministry:of:x-periment), Riga (OZOne), Rimini (radio Lada) and other
cities will demonstrate the possibilities of netcasting.

In London, the audio-streams of the participating radios, the DJs, the
moderator and studio guests at the ICA will be mixed live and
broadcasted back online as well as into the concert theatre. The
net.radio event is going to be co-ordinated by Ms. Rasa Smite and Mr.
Raitis Smits from the legendary OZOne radio in Riga, Latvia.

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ART SERVERS UNLIMITED

Schedule:

Date: 3rd of July 1998
Location: backspace, Clink Street,
Workshop/Internal meeting of participants

Date: 4th of July 1998
Location: ICA New Media Center:

Times:

11.30 a.m.-6 p.m.: Public Conference and Panel discussion, structured
presentation of art server activities and of a working meeting held on
2./3. of July in London; browsing opportunities in new media centre
facilities on web-stations dedicated to the presentet projects.

8 p.m.-1 a.m.: Net.Radio Live Event with ministry:of:x-periment
(Slovenia), Pararadio (Hungary), OZOne (Latvia), t0 ecape radio lounge
(Austria), radio Lada (Italy), Backspace (UK), ProteinTV (UK) a.o.

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Confirmed Participants:

Bal