Victoria is studded with monumental civic architecture, from Gold
Rush-era Town Halls to the ‘wave’ roof atop Southern Cross Station. And whether
it’s the F1 Grand Prix, chamber music or street art, we invest tens of millions in
events and attractions.
Yet even though Victoria is home to a significant digital arts culture,
with RMIT and other universities leading the way, digital art doesn’t get much
attention.
Other states are doing better. New South Wales has the Anne Landa Awards for Digital and New Media.
Queensland has the Premier of Queensland’s National New Media Art Award.
These are both invitation-only state gallery acquisition prizes. Recent
winners got their gongs for digital installations, designed to be experienced
in (and, as it turned out, acquired by) galleries. After brief exhibitions, the work is packed away now in museum storage.
I think Victoria should take a new tack when it comes to digital art:
let’s hold the Australian Digital Open. This prize would celebrate digital for
digital’s sake. As long as you can view the work on a web-connected device,
breakthrough aesthetics and experience would be the only
requirements.
If
the State of Victoria were to offer prize money and management costs equivalent to
.5% of what we’re currently spending on the Grand Prix ($250K), we would
attract entries from leading digital artists worldwide. We would generate valuable publicity for Melbourne and Victoria among a very well connected
global audience. Best of all, we’d be creating a lasting digital arts legacy
for Australia and the world.
The government is spending $27 billion to be a world leader in broadband infrastructure. Let's fill those pipes with something beautiful: a digital art 'Grand Slam' event.