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Connecticut College´s 11th Biennial Symposium to celebrate Art and Technology
Choreographer Anita Cheng will premier a new work, commissioned by the symposium, during the multi-media concert Friday, Feb. 29, at 8 p.m.
February 25, 2008
Prominent artists and technology experts from all over the world will gather at Connecticut College next weekend to explore the increasing links between art, science, media and technology at the college´s 11th Biennial Symposium on Arts and Technology Feb. 29 - March 1.
With three days of speakers, panels, concerts, video screenings and dance performances, the symposium offers a unique, interdisciplinary look at the world of art and technology.
"As the technologies used by the artists continue to evolve, the symposium provides an important forum where artists can discuss aspects of the artistic relationship to technology across a diverse range of perspectives," Andrea Wollensak, associate professor of art at Connecticut College, said.
"Hosting the conference has provided Connecticut College with a means to bring a high number of leading technologically-oriented artists to campus, exposing students to their ideas and fostering an environment filled with lively discussions, budding collaborations and mutual support," Wollensak added.
The symposium will also mark the premier of three new art works commissioned by Connecticut College´s Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology. The commissioned works include a multimedia dance performance by choreographer Anita Cheng, a zoetrope/ photography installation by artist Eric Dyer and a stereoscopic film by Erich Ragsdale and Jeanne Stern, a 2003 graduate of Connecticut College.
Connecticut College students will also get a chance to work closely with the commissioned artists, as each will spend the week prior to the symposium on campus completing their pieces and meeting with students.
Several events are open to the public, and are free unless otherwise noted. The schedule for public events is as follows:
Thursday, Feb. 28
- Electroacoustic tape concert featuring pre-recorded music, 4 p.m. in Fortune Recital Hall, Cummings Arts Center.
- Artistic installation viewing, 5 - 6:30 p.m. on the third floor in the Cummings Arts Center. Artist Eric Dyer will use a zoetrope, a device that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession of static pictures, to create an artistic animation that will be projected onto a blank wall.
- Multi-media concert featuring music, dance, video, animation and interactive performances, 8 p.m. in Evans Hall, Cummings Arts Center. Tickets are $15.
Friday, Feb. 29
- "World of Warcraft: Race, Labor and Avatars in Shared Digital Space," a keynote speech by Lisa Nakamura, associate professor of speech communications and Asian American studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. Nakamura, author of "Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity and Identity on the Internet," will address issues of race and identity in the world of online video gaming, 4 p.m. in Evans Hall, Cummings Arts Center.
- A multi-media concert, featuring music, dance, video, animation and interactive performances, 8 p.m. in Evans Hall, Cummings Arts Center. Tickets are $15.
Saturday, March 1
- A screening of videos and animated films, 4 p.m. in Olin Science Center room 014.
- A performance by the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, co-sponsored by onStage at Connecticut College, and other multimedia artists, 8 p.m. in Evans Hall, Cummings Arts Center. Tickets are $15.
The symposium is sponsored by Connecticut College´s Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology with support from Connecticut College´s onStage, the Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity; the Connecticut College departments of computer science, music, film studies and art; Chester Kitchings Foundation; Citizens Bank and Sherman Fairchild Foundation.
For more information about the symposium, visit the 2008 Symposium Web site.
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For more information contact: Amy Sullivan (860) 439-2526; amy.sullivan@conncoll.edu