Connect2Abilities aims to kick-start dialogue between Australia and South Korea, to build understanding between disability arts workers and artists in both countries and to pave the way for future collaborations and long-term partnerships. The Australia-Korea Art & Technology Talk Series focused on leading organisations from Australia and Korea representing festivals, performing arts, museums and artists’ residencies. The webinar opened with the special keynote address by Korea’s pioneering digital art museum director, Roh Soh-yeong at the Art Center Nabi.

 

Joining ANAT’s CEO Melissa for the February event were Australian arts leaders from Illuminate Adelaide, Museum of Discovery. (MOD.) and Patch Theatre. Featuring experts from Australia and Korea, the conversations expanded the boundaries of art, providing new experiences to audiences based on the creative reinterpretation of technology. Korean experts joined the conversation from Art & Technology Team at Arts Council Korea, the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, Total Museum and Dandi Fest.

Presenting a case study of ANAT’s place and role in the Australian art, science and technology landscape, Melissa highlighted ANAT as a network and connector. Offering a glimpse into the ANAT alumni the video introduces new and old audiences to pioneering performance artist Stelarc, interdisciplinary artist Eugenie Lee and artist researcher Helen Pynor.

The two-day online talk series on 24 – 25 February discussed how arts leaders face change and transform art within this disrupted environment in a hyper-connected world. Exploring the topics of ‘communication between art and technology’ and ‘sustainable art and technology convergence for exchange and expansion’, this will focus on the roles of professional art managers working at the art/tech interface.

ANAT’s CEO Melissa DeLaney’s work resides at the intersections of arts and cultural development, education and government, recreation, wellness, creative industries, technology, and science. With post graduate qualifications in visual art and arts management, Melissa is a Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop Fellowship recipient as part of the Asialink Leaders Program (2021) and a current peer assessor for the Australia Council for the Arts (2021-2023).

Connect2Abilities: Creating Australia–Korea People–to–People Connections in Art & Technology