New Media

New media art is an exciting and integral part of the contemporary art scene in Australia

New Media

New media art is an exciting and integral part of the contemporary art scene in Australia. It means many things to many people but all agree on one thing - it involves innovative work that uses new technologies. Genuine innovation requires taking risks. The challenge is to keep alive the process of experimentation, of pushing the boundaries into the future. John Rimmer, Chair of New Media Arts Fund 1997-2000

What is New Media Art?

New media art, as defined by the Australia Council, is a process where new technologies are used by artists to create works that explore new modes of artistic expression. These new technologies include computers, information and communications technology, virtual or immersive environments, or sound engineering. They are the brushes and pens of a new generation of artists.

new media

The Australian new media art scene

The potential of new media is limitless and Australian artists stand at the forefront of the new media art movement. Over 300 visual artists, performance artists, musicians, dancers, choreographers, sound artists and writers make up the core of new media arts practice in Australia. The new media art movement challenges conventional notions of 'what art is' and the role it plays in our society. Audiences are challenged - and confronted - by different art forms, disciplines and media. Examples include nonlinear theatre, multimedia dance and music, hybrid performances, multidimensional installations, site specific performative installations, conceptual and improvisatory performances. Many of these collaborations involve cultural and artistic differences reflecting the cultural diversity of the Australian population.

Visual arts board

The visual arts board supports the contemporary expression of art through the broadest range of visual media. These include craft, design, new media arts and visual arts. The renaming of the visual arts board carries with it the intention of providing a clear and inclusive signpost to the many artforms that together comprise Australia's extraordinarily diverse and dynamic visual culture. We encourage all such artists to apply to and engage with the visual arts board, so as to develop new relationships that allow new ideas to prosper. The meaning of the term 'new media arts' is evolving. The board recognises it as a general term defining a process where artists use convergent technologies to create new modes of artistic expression, utilising practices based on networked, interactive and other performative arts. Hybrid and interdisciplinary projects should be discussed with the Inter-Arts Office.

Australian artists

The creativity of Australian new media artists is recognised internationally and includes works by Patricia Piccinini, John Tonkin, Jon McCormack, Troy Innocent, Stelarc, Arthur Wicks and Susie Treiste.

Patricia Piccinini - a new media artist

A resident of Melbourne, Patricia Piccinini is one of Australia's leading contemporary artists.

Piccinini's work explores the relationship between gender and technology in a humorous and confronting way. She is also interested in the way technology impacts on life. Her work confronts topical issues such as genetic engineering, the consequences of which are revealed in cute humanoids that seem uncannily synthetic.

Piccinini works with a diverse range of materials. These include still computer-generated images, interactive CD-ROMs, immersive video, sculptural installations and film.

She has had solo exhibitions in Australia, Japan, Peru and the Philippines, and has participated in group shows in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Wales, Korea and New Zealand.