The city of Dortmund has under gone a radical structural metamorphosis during the last 15 years. It has transformed from a region dominated by heavy industry to a North Rhine Westphalia center for new information and communication technology.
Parallel to these developments, Dortmund’s cultural landscape has been engaged in the area of media art. In addition to a large number of international exhibitions dedicated to various forms of media and new media art, infrastructures such as the hartware medien kunst verein have been established. The hartware medien kunst verein is an independent and non-commercial association for the production and presentation of media art and the various discourses involved. Also several collections of media and interactive art had been set-up. The Museum am Ostwall collection includes for example 11 interactive art works from media artists, such as Jeffrey Shaw, Jill Scott, Studio Azzuro, Perry Hoberman, Doug Hall, Bill Seaman or Graham Weinbren. The University of Dortmund recently received the archive of the Department of Intermedia and Video Art from the University of Iowa, which contains approximately 400 documents dealing with early media art.

In this context media_art_net dortmund was initiated in 2001 as an interdisciplinary platform for the production, presentation and preservation of media/new media art. media_art_net dortmund operates as both a local institution as well as a decentralized operational unit. The partners of this platform are the hartware medien kunst verein, the Museum am Ostwall, the Department of Culture of the City of Dortmund, the University of Dortmund and others.
One of the central aims of media_art_net dortmund is to establish interdisciplinary infrastructures, which allow – taking onto account production and presentation considerations – the development of strategies, methods and facilities for the documentation and preservation of media/new media art.

Local Partners

hartware medien kunst verein
Museum am Ostwall Dortmund
Kulturbüro Stadt Dortmund
art.net.dortmund.de
Universität Dortmund
Fachhochschule Dortmund

Projects 2004

So wie die Dinge liegen / as matters stand
Exhibition in the framework of "Scene:Schweiz"
1 May - 4 July, PhoenixHalle, Dortmund

Nam June Paik Award
September - November, PhoenixHalle, Dortmund

videomakers online

Projects 2003

On Translation: Das Museum
MUNTADAS
Exhibition, May 24 - July 13

404 Object Not Found. What remains of media art?
Research project and conference, June 19 - 22

New ways of art need new ways of funding
Discussion

Projects 2002

Eurocities AGM 2002, Barcelona
Workshop 1 / knowledge-based cities: Proposal for a best practice presentation
Say Hello To Peace and Tranquility, Amsterdam, Kopenhagen
Exhibition
Kontrollfelder. Programmieren als künstlerische Praxis, Dortmund
Exhibition
no one ever dies there, no one has a head, Dortmund
Exhibition
nicht weit von der wirklichkeit entfern, Dortmund
Exhibition
serverfestival, Dortmund
Event
Prix de Rome, Dortmund
Exhibition
LowLive, Dortmund
Workshop