The project ‘Putting Distribution On The Map’ aimed to offer a comprehensive overview of various distribution channels and platforms available for media artists to showcase their work. Through extensive research and collaboration with experts in the field, the project has mapped out the current landscape of media art distribution, identifying both traditional and emerging channels and analysing their strengths and limitations. The resulting book publication ‘A New Era for the Distribution of Media Art’ is now available.

New publication on distribution

The project ‘Putting Distribution On The Map’ aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of emerging distribution practices and platforms. The resulting publication A New Era For The Distribution Of Media Art is now available.

Order your copy at Underbelly (NL), Barnes & Noble or Amazon.

Challenges for the distribution of media art

In recent years, media art distributors have seen their distribution and revenue models eroded. The focus on shareability and mass distribution – rooted in the ideals of early video art – was always at odds with the scarcity-based model of the art world but is now also challenged by emerging digital economies. 

Profound shifts in artistic practice over the past decades have also posed challenges to existing distribution models. More artists become engaged in digital art, using custom-built software or AI-driven tools, producing live AV performances, immersive installations or game inspired experiences. 

Unfortunately, due to their technical complexity, the distribution of media  art often falls between the cracks, fitting neither the model of the film or visual arts world nor existing video art distribution.

Research findings: a distributional turn yields new

Exploring the potential of strategies such as festival-based distribution, commodification through encapsulation and emulation, and decoupling ownership from possession (e.g. NFT’s) shows the still lopsided foundations of an infrastructure tailored for software-based art. This raises the question: how can a distributional turn, calling on the expertise of media arts distributors, strengthen this new infrastructure?

In media art, works that exist only as files constitute a particular category. How do various types of digital platforms and their ingrained distribution models create opportunities for fair and sustainable distribution for this type of software-based art?

 

Transformation of distribution 

These questions have been lingering around but gained momentum due to the COVID-pandemic. As a result, this publication explores the acceleration of media art distributors’ transformation by critically embracing emerging technologies and innovative  strategies that guarantee public accessibility, thus opening up a new era for the distribution of media art.

About the research project

This research, conducted in 2019-2022, aimed to map the state of digital art distribution internationally. It investigated various distribution models and their financial business models for video art, art-as-files and software-based installations. The project seeked to gather insights through a literature review and interviews with distributors, artists, festivals, platforms, and other stakeholders to assess successes, challenges, and learnings from different distribution practices. 

Furthermore, the researchers focused on distribution model business cases. More insights about current practices were generated through collaborations with other organisations and a round table meeting with fellow distributors at the end of 2020 when the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic gradually became apparent. In a subsequent phase, attention was paid to new technologies through online platforms for distribution.

Information

Rachel Somers Miles & Gaby Wijers (eds.) – A New Era for the Distribution of Media Art. Amsterdam, LI-MA, 2023.

Paperback / 132 pages / ISBN: 978909036902

With contributions by Stefan Glowacki, Rachel Somers Miles, Gaby Wijers & UBERMORGEN. 

Design: Pier Taylor

LIMA is a prominent platform for media art based in Amsterdam. All our activities aim at fostering a critical understanding of media art and technology and sustainable access to media art. At an international level LIMA is a pioneer and centre of expertise in the fields of preservation, research and distribution of media art. As a distributor LIMA represents an array of artists – ranging from early pioneers to upcoming artists, and supports them in the presentation and promotion of new work. LIMA houses the collections of the Lijnbaan Center, MonteVideo, Time Based Arts and De Appel. The memory of Dutch media art is not only preserved by LIMA through its collection and archive but also through her digital repository and conservation services for various museums, artists, archives and collectors. In collaboration with a multidisciplinary national and international network LIMA researches and develops services and tools for artists and institutions, as well as methods and practices for dealing with digital art thoughtfully and sustainably. LIMA actively develops best practice guidelines, performs case studies and shares knowledge through projects, lectures, presentations and workshops. New methods for the preservation and distribution of media art are continuously investigated through a public programme with various (online and offline) projects, events and activities.