A CRASH COURSE IN ART & MEDIA TECHNOLOGY: INTERNET CULTURE X SOCIETY

Are you unfamiliar with media art, but interested in the influence of media technologies on society? Are you a student or young professional working in art, design, dance, theatre, music or technology and curious about how these disciplines intersect? Then this Crash Course is for you. Crash Course is organized by Alex Falk & Kendal Beynon.

In this sixth season of Crash Course, we turn our attention to the internet and the impact that digital culture and online phenomena have on us as individuals and as a society.

The internet and its culture have undoubtedly changed our lives and societies in many ways. For example, it has enabled global connectivity and instant access to a wealth of knowledge. However, this connectivity and access have also brought challenges such as misinformation, privacy concerns, and digital divides. Internet culture, with its memes, trends, and online communities, has influenced the way people communicate, express themselves, and form identities. It has blurred geographical boundaries, fostered new forms of creativity and collaboration, and amplified diverse voices. Yet it has also raised concerns about mental health, who gets to govern and moderate these digital spaces, and the increasing difficulty in distinguishing between online and offline realities.

Artists working at the intersection of art and media technology have been concerned with the impact of the Internet on society since its inception. Sometimes they stimulate developments by introducing new concepts, sometimes they stimulate a critical dialogue about the impact of the Internet through artistic reflection. As the impact of the Internet on society becomes increasingly complex, artists continue to critique, question, and reveal how Internet technology and culture are intertwined.

Over four interconnected evenings, we will look at how internet culture has shaped our sense of identity, how we communicate, how we build communities, and how information flows. Invited artists, other researchers, and experts in digital culture will help us break down each topic and approach it from different perspectives, both critical and laudatory.

Internet Culture x Identity

In this first edition of Crash Course, we explore how the Internet has changed the way we form, express, defend, and celebrate our identities, both online and offline.

Internet Culture x Communication

In the second edition, we delve deeper into how new communication channels have changed the speed and scope at which we can now express ourselves, and how this affects our language.

Internet Culture x Community

In the third edition, we shift our focus from individual to group interactions within online communities, the dynamic nature of which is changing how we interact socially and form communities in the physical world.

Internet Culture x Information

In the fourth and final part of the Crash Course, we take a macro perspective on how information spreads, is accessed, used and abused on the Internet and how this affects the world around us.