INC in December

In research publications, more often than not media production—be it audiovisual or any other form of artistic practice that isn’t writing—is still seen as somehow inferior; mere support material. A figure that accompanies the text, the main act, and that fails to be considered as a form of research itself. Producing, distributing and consuming media is not about illustrating previously existing research or knowledge, but about doing things: working with media is actively doing research. In this sense, we should try and facilitate both tools and means for practitioners of this practice-based research, currently not or at least underrepresented in the publishing industries. To put it concisely: what is the role of publishing within practice-based research?

With THE VOID (a new research project set up by INC), over the past year, there has been tons of research and experimentation with audio-visual production and distribution. To do so, THE VOID team decided to approach the topic by starting the production of their own content, in collaboration with artists. Now, after the first year of experimentation, we from The Void are trying to collect different ideas and questions that arose during this time of research. To properly set up a research agenda, we believe it’s crucial to engage in conversations with other artists, researchers, and experts from within the field.

In setting up this event, THE VOID aims to gather and discuss the role of expanded publishing and its possible trajectories. The program will consist of two parts. First, we begin with the presentation of the multimedia research done by artist collective [removed], which is creating a repository for self-organized initiatives in the art world through means of both video and 3D footage. This presentation will be the starting point for a broader discussion on the role of publishing and archiving for practice-based research. How can publishing be expanded to non-text-based output as well? What does it mean to create a transparent workflow for audiovisual projects? How can artistic researchers share open-source material without diminishing their labor? We would like to discuss these and many other topics together with a group of experts from various fields such as (fine) art research, education, publishing, archiving, and (new) media industries.

Find out more about the event HERE.

This two-day conference will start with a day of panel talks on the 9th of March at Spui25 and a second day of workshops, expert sessions, and other (hybrid) experiments at Framer Framed on the 10th of March. Topics range from hybrid solutions to (virtual) togetherness; green tech, tactical media and the war in Ukraine; memes beyond the static image to employing (memetic) moving images in line with the work of INC’s Video Vortex network which has been focusing on the politics and aesthetics of online video since 2006. What sort of hybrid tools can help evade the current crises? Can the on and offline world, filled perhaps with low and/or green tech, help us navigate an environment in which data and information are used as a tool for power?

Save the date and consider yourself most welcome to come and attend panel talks, workshops and expert sessions around media activism, tactical intimacy, TikTok and the moving meme, hybrid publishing, living archives, and much more.

This INC conference is organized within the framework of the two-year research project Going Hybrid, a partnership sponsored by Raak/SIA with partners such as MU (Eindhoven), The Hmm (Amsterdam), Hackers & Designers (Amsterdam), Willem de Kooning Academy (Rotterdam), Framer Framed (Amsterdam), Varia (Rotterdam) and IMPAKT (Utrecht). The project researches with a hands-on approach the future of hybridity in the cultural field; specifically, the possibilities that lie within hybrid publishing and participatory live casting, as well as living archives.

Keep an eye on this newsletter or our website for more updates on the program. In the meantime, find more information about the research project HERE.