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A grand-scale celebration of art and culture taking place for the first time nationally and internationally in Nice.
The “Internet Festival” was, since 1997, the flagship event in France for emerging public activities: commerce, services, training, culture… on the medium of the Internet. At the time, France was considerably lagging behind in this area. A handful of individuals, from diverse backgrounds (civil servants, business leaders, university officials, technicians, artists…) who had all already sensed the social importance of this new medium in the future, embarked on the adventure.
The two main initiators of this project were Bruno Oudet and Jean-Michel Billaut. Surrounded by a small group that included Pierre de la Coste, Christian Scherer, Philippe Batreau, Jean-Michel Yolin… I was one of the first, as an ideas man and communication artist.
Why Nice?
So why Nice for this fifteenth anniversary? It happens that, as a Professor at its university, heading the Communication Chair, I created a seminar that, starting in 1994 and continuing for four years, at the MAMAC of Nice (Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art), introduced as its main study theme, with two public sessions per month, the subjects related to technological arts and the Internet. A seminar that quickly became a tool for reflection and a European reference on the topic with contributions from the most prominent personalities and actors of the time on this issue: Roy Ascott, Stéphane Barron, Pierre Lévy, Edouardo Kac, Pierre Musso, Christian Huitema, Serge Soudoplatoff, Derrick de Kerckhove, Pierre Restany, Philippe Queau, Sophie Lavaud, Vinton Cerf, Isabelle Chemin, Jean-Noël Laszlo, Roger Malina, Annick Bureaud, Yannick Geffroy etc.) Through MUSEAAV in Nice, I took the opportunity to use their room, their site, and equipment, on Sunday, March 20th, to organize a day called “INTERNET FESTIVAL 2011” to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of its creation. Fifteen years already! MUSEAAV is now a significant place in Nice’s trendy culture.
This initiative is not intended to be merely commemorative but aims to take stock and build bridges between yesterday and today, by presenting five new generation artists animated by the same spirit of research and the same passion for creation on the Internet.
DIGITALARTI and its founder Anne-Cécile Worms have been selected as curators.
The event is supported by Edgar Morin, President of “Voix du Net” (with whom we share a total ideological affinity) and its founder Eve Moreau, the holder of the brand, who generously released it into the public domain, and by Bruno Oudet and Jean-Michel Billaut.
The program will include contributions from historical figures, the presentation by Gérard Diaconesco (Diaconsesco TV Blog) and Philippe Vacheyrout (capucine.net) of a memory site created on Second Life for the “Internet Festival,” the intervention of Pierre Cornette de Saint Cyr, President of the Palais de Tokyo, presentation of his own work by Patrick Moya, a local artist who works mainly on Second Life, that of Sophie Lavaud, Isabelle Chemin, Ricardo Mbarkho, professor at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts in Beirut, selected this year for the Venice Biennale, Ferdinand Corte (artist and agent), Sophie Taam (artist, writer, editor), Christian Depardieu (gallerist), Frédéric Altmann (art critic).
We look forward to welcoming many of you to this major event, taking place for the first time nationally and internationally in Nice.
Organizing Committee: Fred Forest, Gérard Diaconesco, Patrick Moya, Philippe Vacheyrout.
Sunday, March 20, 2011, starting at 3:00 PM at MUSEAAV, 16 bis Place Garibaldi, 06300 Nice.
Program
3:00 PM Opening: Fred Forest, Gérard Diaconesco
3:30 PM Pierre Cornette de Saint Cyr: presentation on the place of digital art in the context of contemporary art (followed by a debate with the audience)
4:00 PM Philippe Vacheyrout, Gérard Diaconesco: Presentation of the memory of the Internet Festival on Second Life and digital identity
6:30 PM Anne-Cécile Worms, Founder of Digitalarti
Presentation of DIGITALARTI and five young artists from the emerging Net Art scene and the curator Anne Roquigny
– Albertine Meunier
– David Guez
– Julien Levesque
– Systaime
(followed by a debate with the audience)
5:30 PM Coffee break
6:00 PM Patrick Moya: Presentation by the artist of his work on Second Life
8:30 PM Isabelle Chemin: Presentation by the artist of her work on the Internet
8:45 PM Ricardo Mbarhkho: Artist’s work presented by Fred Forest
7:00 PM Sophie Lavaud: Presentation of her work on the Internet
7:00 PM Round table discussion on The traders’ ball, Experimental Territory, and A life in 100 portraits by Fred Forest, with Ferdinand Corte (artist, agent, and producer), Christian Depardieu (Gallerist), Sophie Taam (artist, writer, editor) Yannick Geffroy (University professor) live from Morocco, Moderator Frédéric Altmann (Art critic), Fred Forest with Ardisson
8:00 PM Ferdinand Corte, (artist) Presentation of his project: Planting, watering, cultivating… on the Internet
Starting at 9:00 PM: MUSEAAV Program: Computing, music, and the Internet, presented by MUSEAAV
