Fwd: [transmediale] US Department of Art & Technology

[anna balint]

                        US Department of Art & Technology

                        PO Box 32265 Washington, DC 20007
                          http://www.usdept-arttech.net
                             press at usdept-arttech.net

   Press Secretary
                                      For Immediate Release:  January 28, 2002


                    Global Virtualization Council Delegates to

             Sign and Ratify International Charter at Transmediale 02


   WASHINGTON, DC - On Tuesday, February 5, 8:30 PM (GMT+0100), Global

   Virtualization Council delegates are expected to sign and ratify the

   official "Berlin Virtualization Charter" at the opening of the

   Transmediale 02 International Festival of Media in Berlin  The Council is
   directed towards the mobilization and coordination of artistic forces of

   virtualization internationally. Present at the signing will be the

   Secretary of the US Department of Art & Technology, Randall M. Packer;

   Festival Director, Andreas Broeckmann; and Council Delegates who include
   the Secretary-General and Artist-Ambassadors representing 9 nations.


   Preparations for the Charter, to be signed at the opening of Transmediale,

   are now under way for this historic event that will potentially establish

   conditions under which the most far-flung aspirations of humankind are
   ignited. In light of the Festival theme, go public!, government officials

   and leading media artists from around the world will gather in Berlin

   under the auspices of Transmediale to endorse a global initiative that

   promotes radical aesthetic ideology in the larger political and social
   context.


   As mandated by the Global Virtualization Council, the Charter aims to

   promote: (a) international standards for socially-engaged interactivity

   and collective action; (b) movements of international activist,
   hyper-mediated, utopian, and related ideologies; (c) universal respect

   for, and observance of, artist rights and fundamental creative expression

   for all citizens without distinction as to discipline, medium, gender,

   bias, or identity. [extracted from sub-paragraphs a,b, and c of Article 9]

   The accord establishes a promising roadmap as it provides for the

   employment of media for the purpose of reaffirming our faith in the

   suspension of disbelief, as well as the advancement of all artists towards

   their desire to initiate social action. The Secretary of the US Department
   of Art & Technology has stated repeatedly that "to succeed in the 21st

   Century, we must be prepared to adapt to changes in our social condition -

   in how we communicate, where we seek cultural enrichment, and how we

   balance our real and virtual lives."

   The Secretary considers that only negotiated and verifiable accords

   between media artists and government can adequately address the social and

   political impact of our increasingly cybernated world. Accordingly, the

   Charter states, "through representatives assembled in the city of Berlin,
   who have exhibited their full recognition of the power of the artist

   engaged with media... hereby establish an international movement of the

   avant-garde to be known as the Global Virtualization Council."


   For further information, visit the following URLs:

   US Department of Art & Technology:  http://www.usdept-arttech.net

   Global Virtualization Council and Charter: 

   http://www.usdept-arttech.net/gvc
   Transmediale 02: http://www.transmediale.de


   Contact: Press Secretary of the US Department of Art & Technology
   press at usdept-arttech.net


   ##


   01-094



   Annette Schäfer
   Presse&Öffentlichkeitsarbeit

   transmediale.02

   [go public!]
   5 - 10 february 2002
   international media art festival berlin

   klosterstr. 68-70

   10179 berlin
   germany
   fon +49 30 2472 1907
   fax +49 30 2472 1909

   http://www.transmediale.de

   .............................................................................
   Member of the European Coordination of Film Festivals E.E.I.G
   .............................................................................
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