Begin forwarded message:

> From: iseainfo@lume.fi
> Date: March 29, 2004 4:50:42 AM EST
> To: rachel@rhizome.org
> Subject: ISEA2004 Press Release
>
> Press Release, March 29, 2004
> NEW MEDIA MEETS ART, SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND POP CULTURE IN NORDIC
> CAPITALS
>
> The biggest ever media culture event, ISEA2004, will be held this
> August
> (14th-22nd) in three Baltic cities: Helsinki, Tallinn and Mariehamn.
> The
> symposium on electronic arts and research brings together top
> professionals
> and large audiences interested in experiencing new media culture in
> all its
> forms. More than 300 artists and scholars have been selected to display
> their work during the event. ISEA2004 participants from all over the
> world
> get to experience the latest vibes of new media by joining the Baltic
> cruises, exhibitions, seminars, clubs, live performances and concerts.
> Many
> events are also interfaced via television, radio, broadband Internet,
> and
> mobile networks making them available to the widest possible audience.
> Electronic music, arts, design, research and technology have never been
> intertwined on this scale before.
>
> The leading international ISEA symposium for electronic arts and
> research
> is held for the 12th time, but for the first time an event of this
> scale is
> being organised between several harbour cities and a cruiser ferry
> connecting them across the sea. ISEA2004 will unite 1400 media
> research and
> production professionals, and appeal to approximately 200 000 visitors
> to
> exhibitions, live events and public projects, and thousands of people
> at
> concerts and performances.
>
> One of the biggest attractions during the event will be Silja Opera
> ferry
> that connects Helsinki, Stockholm, Mariehamn and Tallinn by electrified
> Baltic cruises. The first part of the journey from Helsinki to
> Stockholm
> will be organised in collaboration with Koneisto festival on electronic
> music. As a result the ship becomes the most exciting electronic music
> and
> arts venue in the world! The cruiser then turns into a nomadic research
> laboratory and sails on to Mariehamn and Tallinn with floating
> workshops,
> networking sessions, round table lunches and discussions.
>
> OFFICIAL PATRONS: PRESIDENT TARJA HALONEN AND UNESCO
>
> ISEA2004 is happy to announce the patron of the event, President of the
> Republic of Finland, Mrs. Tarja Halonen. As a leading figure promoting
> education, culture, international collaboration and dynamic
> incorporation
> of arts into the society, president Halonen is ideal patron for
> ISEA2004.
>
> United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
> (UNESCO)
> is the international patron of the symposium. This year, UNESCO has
> decided
> to grant the annual Digital Arts Award to one of the ISEA2004 artists.
> For
> more information on the award, see http://portal.unesco.org/digiarts.
> ISEA2004 is organised under the patronage of UNESCO as a truly
> international and multicultural event uniting people from all
> continents.
>
>
> INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION TEAM BEHIND THE GROUNDBREAKING SYMPOSIUM
>
> The International Programme Committee (IPC) of ISEA2004, which
> consists of
> circa 40 media professionals all over the world, called for programme
> proposals last autumn and consequently received 1300 works for
> consideration. Altogether 303 of them were shortlisted for
> presentation at
> the event; these were creative and innovative projects in the fields
> of new
> media art, media culture research, science, design and electronic
> music.
>
> The concept of ISEA2004 was created by new media researcher and artist,
> programme chair Tapio Makela, who started working on the project in=

> 1999 in
> collaboration with the Inter-Society for Electronic Arts
> (www.isea-web.org). ISEA2004 executive producer, Australian new media
> curator and writer Amanda McDonald Crowley moved to Finland one year
> ago
> after having worked as an associate director for Adelaide2002 Festival.
> Mare Tralla, artist and associate professor at the e-media centre of
> Estonian Academy of Arts, works as Tallinn programme chair.
>
> ISEA2004 CRUISE ON THE BALTIC SEA MIXES ELECTRONIC MUSIC AND CREATIVE
> WORKSHOPS
>
> ISEA2004 kicks off in Helsinki, Finland, with Interfacing Sound
> programme.
> This year, ISEA2004 collaborates with Koneisto festival for electronic
> music. On 15 August, some 1400 ISEA2004 and Koneisto participants
> board the
> luxurious cruiser ferry, Silja Opera. The first part of the trip, the
> Interfacing Sound Cruise from Helsinki to Stockholm, mixes clubbing,
> sound
> art, installations, interactive games and sonic experiments in an
> electrified environment. The journey continues under the file name
> Networked Experience to Aland Islands and on to Tallinn. Themes in
> Tallinn
> comprise Wearable Experience, Geopolitics of Media and Critical
> Interdisciplines: research, science, art and collaboration. These will
> be
> explored in a range of conferences, exhibitions, concerts, live
> performances and club events. ISEA2004 culminates in Helsinki with
> conferences, exhibitions, performances and works in public spaces
> exploring
> the themes Wireless Experience, Histories of the New, Critical
> Interaction
> Design and Open Source and Software as Culture.
>
> Interesting enough, this year marks the 10th anniversary since ISEA was
> organised in Finland for the previous time. Before, ISEA has taken
> place in
> Utrecht, Groningen, Sydney, Minneapolis, Helsinki, Montreal, Rotterdam,
> Chicago, Liverpool-Manchester, Paris, and Nagoya. This time ISEA2004
> will
> break new ground for new media culture, arts, and research. The event
> travels through new waters as a physical, critical, and creative
> experience. We invite you as representatives of international media to
> join
> ISEA2004 journey!
>
> Further information on ferry programme will be provided on 16 April,
> details of key notes on 7 May, and programme highlights on 4 June.
>
>
> _________________________________________
>
>
> By its very nature, ISEA2004 is interdisciplinary and thus brings
> together
> a wide range of individuals and organizations. m-cult, centre for new
> media
> culture (www.m-cult.org), is the main organiser of the symposium,
> coordinating the programme and managing the event across the three
> cities
> and on the ferry. Other organisers include the Museum of Contemporary
> Art
> Kiasma (www.kiasma.fi), Media Centre Lume (www.lume.fi) and Koneisto
> festival for electronic music and arts (www.koneisto.com). In Tallinn,
> Estonian Academy of Arts (www.artun.ee) and the Centre for Contemporary
> Arts (www.cca.ee) are partner organisers.
>
> ISEA2004 is supported among others by UNESCO, Finnish Cultural
> Foundation,
> Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Nordic Cultural Fund, Ministry of
> Education
> (Finland), Ministry of Culture (Estonia), Arts Council of Finland,
> City of
> Helsinki, Academy of Finland, Finnish Swedish Cultural Fund, The
> Finnish
> Institute in London, The Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture in
> Finland AVEK, British Council, Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres
> (France),
> Centre Culturel Francais, Goethe-Institut Helsinki and Asia-Europe
> Foundation. In addition, ISEA2004 sponsors include Finnish newspaper
> HBL
> (Hufvudstadsbladet) and Silja Line.
>
>
>
> -More information, pictures and interviews:
> Mika Minetti, ISEA2004 marketing and communications manager, +358
> (0)40 719
> 2280, mika@isea2004.net
>
> -Event details, tickets, registration: http://www.isea2004.net
>
> -Press releases: http://www.isea2004.net/press/index.html
>