5 Groups Building Bridges Between Art And Technology

Recent years have seen an increased cultural obsession with new technological developments. The art world is no exception when it comes to this fixation. Many creators have undertaken projects that focus on the social consequences of new digital media, or that make use of cutting-edge tools. This list, presented in no particular order, highlights organizations working to forge even stronger connections between the fields of art and technology.

Coming in at #1, we have CODAworx, a hub of the commissioned art economy. The site is a resource to find and hire artists, creative teams, and sub-contractors. Every year, the company hosts CODAsummit, a two-day conference focused on the ways creative professionals are incorporating technology to create installations that are changing the way humans experience the environments around them.

The company also hosts the CODAawards, which serves to celebrate projects that most successfully integrate commissioned art into interior, architectural, or public spaces. Winners are selected by 20 experts from the worlds of design, architecture, art, and media. The CODAawards have been featured in various press outlets, such as the Portland Tribune and the Columbus Dispatch.

The #2 entry is ISEA International. Founded in the Netherlands in 1990, this nonprofit works to foster interdisciplinary academic discourse and exchange among culturally diverse organizations and individuals working within art, science, and technology. The institution's main activity is the annual International Symposium on Electronic Art, which began in 1988.

The symposium includes an academic conference, exhibitions, performances, and workshops. It is a nomadic event and is held in a different place every year; past locations have included Gwangju, South Korea, and Istanbul, Turkey. The organization is in partnership with several other associations, such as Ars Electronica and New Media Caucus. The ISEA International Headquarters is hosted at the University of Brighton in the United Kingdom.

Up next, at #3, we have Future Everything, a non-profit center for digital culture. It is also the creator of an annual festival, established in Manchester, England, in 1995. Through a community network and regular events, it strives to make connections between thinkers, developers, coders, artists, designers, urbanists, and policymakers.

Future Everything's events range from walking tours of Manchester that trace the history of "mechanical manifestation" in the city, to hack-a-thons for kids. Future Sessions is a series of daylong workshops; one was held in the industrial city of Borlange, Sweden, and was intended for artists, makers, and thinkers to explore ideas of culture, technology, and society.

The #4 entry is Sonic Acts, an interdisciplinary arts organization based in Amsterdam. Founded in 1994 to provide a platform for new developments in electronic and digital art forms, it has gained prominence with its biennial international festival and its intervening Sonic Acts Academy, a new forum dedicated to creative research.

Sonic Acts is a platform for international projects, research, and the commissioning and co-production of new works. It is a hub for a global network of artists, curators, and critical thinkers. It also facilitates artist residencies, publications, and year-round activities, often working with local and international partner organizations such as independent and institutional cultural incubators, universities, and kindred festivals.

Last but not least, at #5, we present Technarte. It creates unique, technology-driven artistic experiences for various companies. In addition, it hosts two annual international conferences in Bilbao and Los Angeles, where makers, designers, and researchers from all around the world meet to share their visions of the fusion between art and technology.

Former speakers at Technarte have included well-known artists and designers such as Asher Levine, Refik Anadol, and Raven Kwok, among many others. Topics of interest for the conference include generative art, painting, dance, artificial intelligence, and more. The company also hosts a 3D artist residency, offering makers the chance to use this cutting-edge technology in their work.