The Media Art Festival at the Rome MAXXI is an initiative promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale to explore new increasingly collaborative and interactive forms of art. On May 17-19, over 50 artists from 10 countries, ranging from the United States to Russia, will exhibit their works at the “The Great Convergence: Natural and Artificial Intelligence” Exhibition, which will be hosted by the MAXXI “Spazio Extra.”
On Thursday, May 17, at 11:30 am, there will bre a press preview and meeting with the artists.
What is the relation between natural creativity and artificial intelligence? Artists invite us to discover unexpected relations and reflect on the potential of media art to comprehend urgent cultural and social issues and interpret the complexity of our times. Who are we? Who will we be? What will we become? Using installations, robotic applications, sound art and video art, the artists will involve the audience in an original viewpoint of the world, a fascinating journey through knowledge that will transform us and motivate new behaviour.
The Media Art Festival, now in its fourth edition directed by Valentino Catricalà, will present the works of world-renowned artists: from Eduardo Kac’s “Inner Telescope,” a work developed in space (a first for Italy), to Gary Hill’s mental experiments and Anna Frants and the Vasulkas’ video art, as well as Italian artists such as Ra Di Martino and Donato Piccolo. Moreover, the directors and curators of international events will also be present, including Donna Holford Lovell, Jaqueline Butler, Hege Tapio and Sarah Cook, who will hold a debate with the public at RUFA – Rome University of Fine Arts and the Rome Accademia di Belle Arti.
As in the previous editions, there also are collaboration with prestigious European festivals, academies, galleries and technology companies. Today, culture is one of the factors that drive the quality and competitivity of our economy. Indeed, for every euro produced by culture, 1.8 euro are produced in other sectors. Thus, the interest of large corporations for new forms of artistic production in on the rise.
Thanks to a partnership with Epson, three Italian artists have worked with new technology, including the Moverio glasses and new interactive laser video-projectors to develop immersive installations. Moreover, there will also be the works produced by the Artists in Residence Programme of Project European Light Expression Network – ENLIGHT, funded by the European Commission for the Europa Creativa Programme, as well as the works produced for the Mix User Experience Contest, promoted with the Rome Palazzo delle Esposizioni.
Six of the works that will be exhibited at the MAXXI “Spazio Extra” were developed through collaborative labs that involved 200 students from 8 schools in Rome, Milan and Palermo. Three schools participated in Project “Holomakers,” promoted as part of the European Commission’s Erasmus+ Programme, while the Rome Liceo Virgilio worked on an immersive work for Project “Projecting the Future,” developed in collaboration with Epson.
On May 17, 100 students will participate in an original Art Spatial Hackathon, promoted with the United States Embassy in Rome. The event, which will be held in the MAXXI Sala Carlo Scarpa, will focus on Eduardo Kac’s challenge to develop a digital art work dedicated to space.
The Media Art Festival 2018 is organised in collaboration with the MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Art, Epson, the United States Embassy in Italy, the Rome Accademia delle Belle Arti and the Palazzo delle Esposizioni. RUFA – Rome University of Fine Arts is our cultural partner, while Inside Art is the media partner. The Festival is held in connection with the Europa Creativa and Erasmus+ Programmes.
For further information on exhibiting artists: mediaartfestival.org.
ART THAT CHANGES THE WORLD AT THE MEDIA ART FESTIVAL
over 50 artists from 10 countries for
The Great Convergence: Natural and Artificial Intelligence Exhibition
May 17 – 19, 2018 | Spazio Extra MAXXI
