Ian & Stuart's Australian Mac: Not for Sale/Another.not.for.sale (Australia).iso/hold me in your arms/Michael Ney's Cyberculture/Cyberculture/Banff Centre Events in '94

Text File | 1994-09-02 | 14KB | 335 lines

Topic 275       Banff Centre Events in '94
vrxaus  cyberculture zone        4:36 AM  Jan  4, 1994


4Cyberconf announcement

[e-mail]  -  alt.arts.nomad  -  Dec 22, 1993

For Immediate Release - December 20, 1993

The Banff Centre is "Virtually" the Only Place to Be

BANFF -- The Banff Centre will host two important conferences focusing
on cyberspace and virtual reality in May1994. From May 20 to 22,
4CyberConf, brings together theoreticians and practitioners to discuss
the implications of cyberspace. The Art and Virtual Environments
Symposium, immediately following on May 23 and 24, focuses on the
artistic uses of the new medium of virtual reality. Participation is
expected from the fields of art and design, entertainment, medical
research and computer graphics.

4CyberConf is the fourth of a prestigious annual event and the first to
be held outside the United States. Last year's conference at the
University of Texas, proved a powerful forum for discussions on the
essential nature of this new space, which combines the latest
developments in the fields of networking, user interfaces and virtual
reality to create a dramatically different form of shared experience
that may shape our future lives and work. The economics, the politics
and the technologies of cyberspace will all be explored at this conference.

Both events will showcase the work of artists who have completed virtual
environments at The Banff Centre over the past three years.

The art and virtual environments project in the Centre's Media Arts
program has given artists access to virtual technologies to explore the
artistic uses of this innovative medium. Eight groups of artists
participated in the project and, in the process, pioneered important
advances in the field. In addition, 12 writers explored the impact of
this technology and, in some cases, the implications of specific works.

The result is one of the most important investigations in the short
history of virtual reality. New ground has been broken in both the
theory and technology of virtual reality.

These pieces and others will be presented and exhibited over the course
of these two conferences. The 4CyberConf conference and the Art and
Virtual Environments Symposium offer a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to
enter into new and different worlds. Many of these works will never be
shown again.

The Banff Centre provides a full conference facility nestled in one of
the most picturesque environments in North America. Founded in 1933, The
Banff Centre is a multi-disciplinary, innovative facility bringing
artists, academics, professionals, business leaders, administrators and
scientists face to face with new ideas, achievements, experimentation.

For information on the conference or to
register, contact Virginia Campbell,
The Banff Centre for Conferences,
Box 1020, Stn. 11, Banff, Alberta,
Canada TOL OCO.
Tel: [phone].
Fax: [phone].

Media contact: Jon Bjorgum [phone]
Email:         [e-mail]

_____________________________________________

In May of 1994, The Banff Centre is Virtually the Only Place to be

The Banff Centre for the Arts, in Banff, Alberta, Canada will host two
important conferences on cyberspace and virtual reality. The first
conference, 4CYBERCONF, to be held May 20 through 22, is a prestigious
annual event that brings together theoreticians and practitioners to
discuss the implications of cyberspace.

Immediately following is the ART AND VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS SYMPOSIUM to
be held May 23 and 24. This event focuses on artistic approaches to
virtual reality, providing an opportunity for critical inquiry of the
political, practical and aesthetic concerns around new media and
cultural practices.

Over the course of the two conferences, the work of eight groups of
artists who have completed virtual environments at the Banff Centre
will be installed at various sites.

Participants may register for either or both events.

4CYBERCONF -
THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
ON CYBERSPACE
MAY 20, 21, and 22, 1994
THE BANFF CENTRE FOR THE ARTS

INTRODUCTION

4CYBERCONF deals with the issues of cyberspace on many different levels.
The technologies of virtual reality, networking and digital media are
investigated from a critical standpoint that examines their social and
cultural impacts and meanings. This conference considers cross- cultural
contributions to the space and time of cyberspace, embraces the
challenge of design for virtual environments and cybersound and suggests
a new perception of space that challenges conventional views. Cyberspace
is a space in flux where shared identities collide with discussions of
diversity and the most potent constructions are the discussions that
define and delineate these new environments.

In the matrices and the nets, there is a growing society that ranges
from architects to aboriginal artists to anarchists, from cyborgs to
Silicon Valley sophisticates to cyberpunks. 4CYBERCONF offers the
opportunity for exchange within and between these confluent and diverse
interests.

CONFERENCE FORMAT

The Fourth Conference on Cyberspace is scheduled to take place over
three days, with regular sessions, demonstrations and a "birds of a
feather" meeting space for conference participants to exchange ideas and
information. In addition, there will be an evening Round Table
Discussion on Friday, May 20th and a Dinner on Sunday, May 22nd.

CALL FOR PANEL AND PAPER PROPOSALS

This is a call for paper and panel proposals, approximately twenty of
which will be selected by the Program Committee for development and
presentation at the conference. Papers submitted by individuals will be
grouped by the Program Committee by theme.

The following is a list of the general topics of interest to the Program
Committee.

ECONOMICS OF CYBERSPACE

Everyone talks about the information economy but few are willing to face
up to its implications: A nation's wealth will be based on the
information it produces. Commercial services may become the primary
focus of the Net. Our copyright laws will need to be totally re-written
for cyberspace. Intellectual property will become the most valued
commodity of this new economy. Who will determine what's public domain
and what's privatized? This session will deal with those issues and will
provide a forum for exploring a dramatically different approach to
economic issues.

THE SOUNDS OF CYBER

Cyberspace will be an environment vibrant with sound. While much of the
technical investigation of virtuality has concentrated on the image,
some of the richest and most compelling results have been achieved with
audio. This theme will focus on the aesthetics, theory and practice of
creating sound in immersion environments, as well as the synergy of
sound and image in virtual space.

DIVERSITY, TECHNOLOGY AND CYBERSPACE

It is tough out there on the planetary streets,
but is cyberspace a territory with a better immigration policy?
How do individuals and groups gain access to cyberspace?

Are technologies culturally, linguistically and gender specific?
Are questions of authenticity relevant in cyberspace?

How can technology be created and applied to serve the needs
of varied communities, such as aboriginal groups and
those from the myriad of cultural diasporas?
How are the social constructions of body, gender, desire, race,
place, economy and language built in cyberspace?

What is imported, what is modified and what is
created in human interaction and meaning within cyberspace;
how does it then affect other experiences?

CYBER NARRATIVES

How and to whom are stories being structured and told in cyberspace?
What are the entertainment industryUs distribution outlets? What tools
are available to create cyber tales P and do these permit creative
expression? What are the structures of interactive texts? What is the
relationship between reading and authoring, viewing and creating? Are
there existing forms of criticism - for example, architectural,
literary, film, media, art, cultural studies - relevant to describing
cyber stories? What new critical tools do we need? Are there genres in
cyberspace?

THE POETICS OF CYBERSPACE: DESIGNING THE VIRTUAL

Traditional concepts of design travel poorly in cyberspace. Papers are
invited that investigate the new design issues that must be resolved if
virtual environments are to become compelling, evocative and effective.
New tools and new approaches and the role of the design profession in
cyberspace are critical aspects of this investigation.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Proposals for papers and panels should be presented in abstracts of
approximately 1000 words. Panel proposals should include abstracts of
papers. Copies of illustrations and photographs can be submitted at this
time. Persons proposing a panel should contact potential panelists prior
to submitting. All proposals are due in hard copy and on disk at the
address below by February 15, 1994. Papers selected for presentation,
either as part of a theme session or a panel, are due May 1, 1994, in
hard copy and digital form. Selected presenters will be notified by
March 15, 1994. The final papers should be between 3000 and 6000 words.
Papers will be allotted a half hour for presentation. Panels should not
exceed one hour.

Videotapes, recordings and other forms of presentation will be
considered as part of panels or as a component of sessions.
Submitted material on videotape, optical disk, film, and other media,
will be returned.

Brief biographical information may accompany submissions
on a separate page.

Because all accepted abstracts will be published as the Collected Papers
of the Fourth Conference on Cyberspace and available at the conference,
we ask that you observe the following format guidelines:

Proposals should be printed on one side of 8.5" x 11" paper, single
spaced, with one inch margins and in 12-point Times-Roman, unless there
is specific artistic purpose to breaking this convention. Do not number
the pages. Provide six copies, and a floppy disk with both ASCII and
Word versions.

The first page should start with:

TITLE
(Proposed Session)
Your Name
Your Affiliation
Body of paper or abstract


DEADLINES

%FEBRUARY 15, 1994  Deadline for submission of papers, abstracts and
proposals inclusion in 4Cyberconf.

%MARCH 15, 1994 Notification date of selection for presentation:

%APRIL 8, 1994 Deadline for registration for both conferences:
 (Late registration will be available as space permits and
 at an extra charge)

NOTE: Submission of an abstract or proposal indicates your intention,
obligation, and capability to write/present/demonstrate the
corresponding, full-length work if chosen.

All materials should be sent to:
4CYBERCONF
THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
CYBERSPACE
Submissions
Media Arts
The Banff Centre for the Arts
Box 1020P8
Banff, Alberta, T0L 0C0   Canada
E-MAIL   [e-mail]
PHONE: [phone]
FAX: [phone]


The Art and Virtual Environments Symposium

MAY 23 and 24, 1994

THE BANFF CENTRE FOR THE ARTS

The ART AND VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS SYMPOSIUM will be held immediately
following 4CYBERCONF and is intended to facilitate dialogue and debate
among artists, presenters and participants.

This is an invitation to attend this two-day event that will include
presentations and discussions on art, culture and new media technologies
in the 1990s. In addition, virtual environment artworks will be
exhibited and discussed by the artists. Since many of these works will
never be shown again, this symposium represents an opportunity to
experience and analyze some of the worlds that are shaping developments
in virtual reality.

The eight groups of artists who participated in the Art and Virtual
Environments Project, include: Will Bauer and Steve Gibson; Toni Dove
and Michael Mackenzie; Diane Gromala, Marcos Novak and Yacov Sharir;
Perry Hoberman; Ron Kuivila; Brenda Laurel and Rachel Strickland;
Michael Naimark; Michael Scroggins and Stewart Dixon. Over the past
three years, these artists have explored this innovative medium at Banff
and in the process developed important advances in the field.

Presentations on art and virtual environments will be made by writers
and thinkers invited to investigate current cultural practices.
Speakers may include Frances Dyson, N.Katherine Hayles, Michael Heim,
Erkki Huhtamo, Rob Milthorp, Margaret Morse, Jeanne Randolph, Allucquere
Rosanne Stone, Nell Tenhaaf, Gene Youngblood and others. Writings on
art, culture and virtual environments have also been commissioned to
stimulate discussion and analysis of culture and new technologies. The
end result is one of the most important critical investigations in the
short history of virtual reality.

The Art and Virtual Environments Project, undertaken by the Computer
Applications and Research Program at the Banff Centre for the Arts, has
been funded by The Department of Canadian Heritage and CITI (Centre for
Information Technologies Innovation). The Banff Centre gratefully
acknowledges the generous contributions of the Art and Virtual
Environments Project sponsors:  Silicon Graphics Inc., Alias Research,
The Computer Graphics Lab in the Department of Computing Science at the
University of Alberta, Apple Canada, The Intel Corporation, and AutoDesk Inc.

LOCATION

Both conferences will be held at The Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta,
Canada. The Centre provides a comfortable setting nestled in one of the
most picturesque environments in North America. Founded in 1933, The
Banff Centre has evolved into an exciting, multi-disciplinary entity
that is an experience unto itself. Artists, academics, professionals,
business leaders, administrators and scientists come here to learn in an
efficient, service-oriented setting that happens to be surrounded by
some of the most breathtaking mountain wilderness in the world.

Banff is located 125 kilometers, or a scenic 1 1/2 hour drive, west of
the city of Calgary. The Calgary International Airport services daily
flights from most major centres in Canada, the United States, Europe and
the Orient. Bus service is available directly from the airport or
downtown Calgary.

For Further Information Regarding Registration
Please Contact:
 Virginia Campbell
 The Banff Centre for Conferences
 Box 1020 - Station 11
 Banff, Alberta
 Canada T0L 0C0
 Tel: [phone]
 Fax: [phone]