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interSpace Media Art Center

New Media Art Program

(Sofia, Bulgaria)

The Foundation supported the development of a more comprehensive new media art program at interSpace. As part of this program, new projects in art and technology have been produced, presented, distributed and collected. The program focused specifically on creating new media projects on an open-competition principle and showcasing the projects generated by the media lab. The aims were to foster sustainable growth in the independent artistic scene in Bulgaria and to encourage experimentation through alternative networks. Developing and promoting new media work are increasingly important given Bulgaria’s social and artistic landscape. In addition, documenting and preserving this work are paramount. Therefore, interSpace has also decided to feed the new Bulgarian server for art and culture, called www.cult.bg, with material and information produced through the centre’s new residencies, commissioning programs and exhibitions. This move towards long-term planning and sustainability has inevitably encouraged future development and knowledge sharing.

Over time, interSpace has also set up a media art lab for artistic production. The Foundation partially supported this undertaking. As noted by the organizers of interSpace:

"Until this moment the only possible places for media art productions in Bulgaria are computer labs in different educational institutions. These centres are customized for the educational process and are equipped exactly for this purpose. In this way they appear to be not suitable for independent art productions. Another alternative is the commercial studios, which are financially not affordable for the usually tiny budget of artistic projects. Recently we are facing a growing number of requests by various groups of artists and institutions for support. Their need is for assistance and know-how in the different stages in the realization of events where media display is involved. This made us focus on the urgent need for a strategic program in new media." (1)

Combining a comprehensive production and presentation program with an accessible media art lab has further interSpace’s active goal to nurture and showcase local talent, which can flourish if artists are given access to the tools.

Angela Plohman © 2001 FDL

(1) This is an excerpt taken from the project proposal submitted to the Daniel Langlois Foundation, January 31, 2001, cited with permission of the organization.