The First (2004) Beijing International New Media Arts Exhibition and Forum opened at the China Millennium Altar on May 28, and will continue through June 13. The event is co-sponsored by Tsinghua University, Center for Arts and Media Technology (ZKM) in Karlsruhe, Germany, and V2 of the Netherlands.

This is the highest level forum of the kind in China to date.

With the theme of “The Leading Edge”, the exhibition presents a platform for the international exchange of China’s new media arts. Included are many works from world-renowned art institutes, such as the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) of Germany, Banff Centre for the Art (Canada), The Whitney Museum of American Art (US), Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum (US), V2 (Holland), Ars Electronica (Austria), and Kiasma Museum of Modern Art (Finland).

Works on the International Exhibition comprised works selected by a group of distinguished curators, including representative works of telemetric art, virtual reality, net arts, robotic art, interactive TV/cinema, software art, Biotech art, data visualization and game art. Showcasing the creative energy and innovative spirit of these institutions, the works manifest highly original artistic accomplishment and academic excellence.

The forum was focused on four areas of academic exchange in regards to new media arts education and transmission: Synergy – New Media as an Incubator for Interdisciplinary Curricula Development and New Social Spaces; Meaningful Technologies; Methodology and Multiplicity – Models of New Media Education; and Dissemination as Education.

Each section was followed by a panel discussion.

Reported by Liu Aixiang