NEWS_
FOLDBACK national touring exhibition_
Date 21st May 1999
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The FOLDBACK exhibition was presented in Townsville, Cairns, Darwin and Perth during 1999. FOLDBACK arose from a project undertaken by ANAT in association with the 1998 Telstra Adelaide Festival of the Arts. Visions of Australia support ensured that the exhibition component of the Festival project was able to tour to regional centres in Australia. The project itself was a historical look at many of the artists whom ANAT programs have supported during the first ten years of ANAT’s existence from 1988 to 1998. For a number of the places FOLDBACK travelled, it was the first time they were able to present such a diverse cross section of Australian New Media based artworks, and as such represented a terrific opportunity to have this work seen in new contexts and exposed to new audiences, particularly in regional Australia.
ANAT’S Web and Technical Officer, Martin Thompson, assisted with the installation of the FOLDBACK Touring Exhibition at Umbrella Studios in Townsville and he has developed a comprehensive installation manual for the touring exhibition venues. Martin writes this report:
“The first leg of the national tour of FOLDBACK began last month in Townsville at Umbrella Studios. Being billed as the first digital exhibition to be shown in the region, FOLDBACK is featuring a selection of artists who have participated in ANAT programs such as the National Summer School, the Art Research and Development funding program, the residencies initiated over the last year and forums for critical discourse.”
“FOLDBACK is a tremendous innovation for Townsville, being the first 100% digital and online exhibition staged in the region acting as a stimulus for audience development for the gallery and a catalyst for local contemporary artists wishing to move into new methods of practice.” Robert Barton, Director of Umbrella Studio Gallery.
The opening was well attended by the community, as were the satellite talks and tutorials presented by Glen O’Malley, a local artist and co-collaborator of the nervous_objects artists collective represented in the exhibition, during the opening week. The support from Umbrella Studios in staging FOLDBACK was fantastic, as was the support provided by the Vincent Campus of James Cook University.
Some of the most needed support when touring a digital exhibition in rural centres is from local computing companies. MacLeay Computing in Townsville and The Byte Centre in Cairns have been instrumental in ensuring the success of the FOLDBACK tour so far.
FOLDBACK now moves on to Kick Arts Gallery in Cairns, where it will open on Friday May 21st. Other dates currently confirmed for the tour are:
24 Hour Art, Darwin NT
25 June - 3 July
PH: 08 8981 5368
Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Perth, WA
29 September - 31 October
PH: 08 9227 6144
The FOLDBACK exhibition toured to Townsville, Cairns and Darwin. Simon Tait from Kick Arts said of the exhibition in Cairns, “The use of new technology attracted a wide audience, including many people who would not normally engage in the arts. The people who visited the exhibition tended to stay for a considerable period, enjoying the freedom offered to ‘surf’ through a range of aesthetics and interpretations of the artistic condition, perhaps making some comment on accessibility.” The exhibition opened in Darwin during the NISNMA project and Amanda McDonald Crowley gave the artists participating in that project a tour of the exhibition whilst she was there.
ANAT’S Web and Technical Officer, Martin Thompson, assisted with the installation of the FOLDBACK Touring Exhibition at Umbrella Studios in Townsville and he has developed a comprehensive installation manual for the touring exhibition venues. Martin writes this report:
“The first leg of the national tour of FOLDBACK began last month in Townsville at Umbrella Studios. Being billed as the first digital exhibition to be shown in the region, FOLDBACK is featuring a selection of artists who have participated in ANAT programs such as the National Summer School, the Art Research and Development funding program, the residencies initiated over the last year and forums for critical discourse.”
“FOLDBACK is a tremendous innovation for Townsville, being the first 100% digital and online exhibition staged in the region acting as a stimulus for audience development for the gallery and a catalyst for local contemporary artists wishing to move into new methods of practice.” Robert Barton, Director of Umbrella Studio Gallery.
The opening was well attended by the community, as were the satellite talks and tutorials presented by Glen O’Malley, a local artist and co-collaborator of the nervous_objects artists collective represented in the exhibition, during the opening week. The support from Umbrella Studios in staging FOLDBACK was fantastic, as was the support provided by the Vincent Campus of James Cook University.
Some of the most needed support when touring a digital exhibition in rural centres is from local computing companies. MacLeay Computing in Townsville and The Byte Centre in Cairns have been instrumental in ensuring the success of the FOLDBACK tour so far.
FOLDBACK now moves on to Kick Arts Gallery in Cairns, where it will open on Friday May 21st. Other dates currently confirmed for the tour are:
24 Hour Art, Darwin NT
25 June - 3 July
PH: 08 8981 5368
Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Perth, WA
29 September - 31 October
PH: 08 9227 6144
The FOLDBACK exhibition toured to Townsville, Cairns and Darwin. Simon Tait from Kick Arts said of the exhibition in Cairns, “The use of new technology attracted a wide audience, including many people who would not normally engage in the arts. The people who visited the exhibition tended to stay for a considerable period, enjoying the freedom offered to ‘surf’ through a range of aesthetics and interpretations of the artistic condition, perhaps making some comment on accessibility.” The exhibition opened in Darwin during the NISNMA project and Amanda McDonald Crowley gave the artists participating in that project a tour of the exhibition whilst she was there.
