FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - DECEMBER 1998
THE AUSTRALIAN NETWORK FOR ART & TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCES :

ANAT has been at the forefront of the movement to position artists as active participants in the 'information age'. Since 1989 ANAT has coordinated nine National Summer Schools around Australia, becoming a crucial aspect of ANAT's objective to advocate and promote artists' interaction with art, technology and science. This year ANAT's celebrates the tenth anniversary of this prestigious training program. The Summer School is unique in that it is the only intensive training program in Australia designed specifically for artists. Providing critical training and the catalyst for significant creative breakthroughs for key Australian art and technology practitioners, such as Stelarc, Paula Dawson and Joyce Hinterding. The school has in fact, "become something of a rite of passage for Australian artists working in this field" (Jon McCormack, former tutor of the school).

The Tenth National Summer School will focus on the interaction between art and science. During 1998 ANAT has undertaken research and investigation into this area, through a focus, entitled, scientific serendipity, which has provided the framework for a number of our key programs, including the development of projects and commissions which directly engage with science, scientific visualisation techniques and technologies. To culminate this, the 1999 National Summer School will be focussed on diverse science and technology practices, and how science and art can collaborate. The school will investigate the discrete discourses surrounding sciences and media arts and will encourage the generation of unexpected and alchemic outcomes. Metro Screen will provide technical facilities and support, and the critical context of a research and production site.

"The 1999 ANAT National Summer School will operate like a masterclass for experienced artists working across all artform disciplines providing a deeply immersive learning environment. The School has provided the catalyst for profound conceptual shifts and directions in practice for participating artists, many of whom are now highly respected within the Australian and international electronic artworld, and within the multimedia and film industries." says ANAT Director, Amanda McDonald Crowley.
In a vivid example of the cultural significance of the Summer School, participants of former schools have continued to work together. Under the collective name, nervous_objects, the 1997 graduates of the Summer School have gone on to receive critical acclaim for their totally networked synaesthetic environments. Demonstrating that Australian artists continue to earn the respect of their international colleagues with the quality and innovation of their work, nervous_objects presented a web performance at the world's foremost symposium for electronic art, ISEA, becoming the latest in a long line of Australians recognised with invitations to present at prestigious events such as SIGGRAPH, Ars Electronica, and London's Institute of Contemporary Art programs.

With an eye toward ensuring the Summer School remains current and tailored specifically for artists, ANAT have selected a number of Australia's leading new media artists as this year's tutors. Science and art specialists, including John Tonkin, Horst Keichle, Paul Brown and Joyce Hinterding, will form a team who fully comprehend artists' desire to 'bend' technological and scientific tools to achieve their artistic goals.

To culturally contextualise the school, a satellite event combining a forum with an open day of the school, will give the public and media an opportunity to view the work-in-progress produced by the students. This gala event will showcase not only the innovations of the artists participating in the school, but also the work of several key science and art practitioners. This special event will be an excellent opportunity to experience the best of the hybrid practices created out of cross-fertilisation between art, science and technology. Stay tuned for details.

The National Summer School is supported by: the Federal Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body; the Queensland Government's Office of Arts and Cultural Development through Queensland Artworker's Alliance; the New South Wales Film and Television Office; and the Minister for Education and the Arts through Arts Tasmania. This year's School also receives support from Metro Screen and the University of New South Wales' College of Fine Arts.
For further information, please contact:

Amanda McDonald Crowley, Director,
Australian Network for Art & Technology
tel: 08 82319037/ 0419 829 313
email: [email protected]
fax: 08 82117323
URL: http://www.anat.org.au/

ANAT is assisted by the Australia Council, the Federal Government's arts funding and advisory body.