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OzeCulture Conference 2002: taking the next step
Anyone who still thought a museum was a bricks-and-mortar affair, or a gallery was the only place to see fine art was in for a wake-up call when 300 people working at the cultural coalface met with some of the best new media practitioners in Australia.
Building on the success of the inaugural conference in 2001, OZeCulture Conference 2002: Taking the next step brought together arts and cultural organisations, artists, webservice and information technology companies, government agencies and education bodies to take a comprehensive look at online culture, new media and eBusiness at a national level.
Emphasising the focus on partnerships the forum was held in Sydney in May to coincide with the Biennale of Sydney, the Sydney Writers Festival and the Sydney Film Festival.
OzeCulture 2002 featured a line-up of Australian and overseas speakers who addressed some of the primary issues confronting cultural organisations as they grapple with the opportunities presented by the Internet and digital media.
Highlights of the conference included the thorny and pressing issue of digital rights management and a look at an enhanced form of metadata. The metadata system will enable Indigenous collections to be categorised digitally for online access in a culturally sensitive manner, while providing culturally appropriate access to the material.
Other sessions focused on building the value of online activity; repurposing cultural material for digital products; online ticketing; new trends in new media art; and art, science and technology.
A session on developing digital exhibitions included Drew Whitehouse, a visualisation and virtual environment programmer from the Australian National University Supercomputer Facility talking about the exciting development of the kSpace exhibition for kids (and everyone else it seems) at the National Museum of Australia. Sarah Kenderdine who is responsible for special projects at the Powerhouse Museum contrasted this with a presentation about a number of online exhibitions including the ground-breaking 1000 years of the Olympic Games virtual exhibition which supplemented the physical one during the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
The relationship between cultural organisations and online educational developments came under scrutiny in an important and stimulating session on online learning. Susan Mann from the Learning Federation and Peter Maggs from the Australian Children's Television Foundation presented two extremely contrasting papers that showed the diversity of activity in this area. At the end of the session a wide range of organisations met to discuss follow up partnerships.
An important strand of the conference, developed from last year, focused on partnerships between cultural organisations and information technology and webservice companies. Presenters from both areas outlined the results of their collaboration showing how cultural organisations are able to capitalise on technological opportunities tailored to their needs.
As with the previous year, the conference provided an opportunity to showcase digital artwork. Recent works by students from the University of NSW College of Fine Arts, the Australian Film, Televison and Radio School and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology opened each session and a selection of the works was made available on CD-ROM for conference participants.
An associated trade display in the foyer of the City Recital Hall allowed information technology and webservice companies to present examples of their work--creating ideal opportunities to network.
The OZeCulture: Taking the next step conference showed there is clearly an important need for cultural organisations, artists, educational bodies and webservice and information technology companies to get together to exchange information and experience, and build practical working partnerships. Planning is currently underway for the 2003 conference.
For further information visit www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au