Andreas Broeckmann on Wed, 1 Dec 1999 17:52:42 +0200 |
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Syndicate: <nettime> The scene in Finland |
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999 00:17:20 +0100 (CET) From: Minna Tarkka <tarkka@mlab.uiah.fi> The scene in Finland - some remarks and plans "If [the Finnish phenomena of] leveling pyramids, opening back channels of communication, collaborative improvisation, and subverting despots all ring a bell, these have also proven to be emergent dynamics in the social petri dish of the Internet. It's not just that Finns are embracing the Net and figuring out ways to create mutually beneficial links between it and the world of wireless telephony. It's that the Net is, you might say, essentialy Finnish". - Steve Silberman: Just say Nokia, Wired September 1999. "Although the level of technology in Finland is one of the highest in the world, the reflection on the shape (and effects) of this rapid growing 'technological culture' remains underdevelopedä The happy consumerism, gadget fetishism and male engineering culture are going hand in hand with a lack of analysis about the economic dimensions of the IT sector, and the implicit cultural agenda of new technologies." - Geert Lovink, afterthoughts on a project in Helsinki oct-nov 1999, email 11.11.1999 "Why I like it better in California? Why was Silicon Valley developed next to San Fransisco? According to research a central reason for the Valley innovations is the multiplicity of cultures and values in Californiaä In Finnish monoculture, the actors are traditionally grouped into closed guilds. Academicians, artists, technologists and businessmen work safely inside their institutional structures." Merja Puustinen, email 27.10.1999. These quotes describe the paradoxical scene of Finnish media culture at the turn of the millennium. The nineties has been a period of intensive infrastructure building, establishment of educational programs (Media science, University of Lapland, UIAH Media Lab) and institutions for public display (Kiasma, Lasipalatsi Media Centre). 5 years after the dynamic, critical and multidisciplinary ambience felt at ISEA'94 Helsinki, it seems that the actors are dispersed and the field lacks a dynamic. Here are some characteristics describing digital cultural policy and practice in Finland today. *Supporting infrastructures instead of 'content'. The policy efforts have concentrated on funding bandwidth, machines and buildings instead of production, research and education. In general, the field is institution and individual driven; not too networked or collaborative. *Increasing polarization of the technology and cultural sectors; and the increasing marginalisation of media culture and art. Technology projects get easily funded, while traditional art forms have established public support systems. Media cultural productions fall outside the categories. *Lack of national and international coordination in digital culture. The associations (MUU, AV-ark) in the field are too poorly funded to be able to do professional work. Each event, such as the MuuMediaFestival is funded separately and realized through volunteer work. The international connections are maintained mostly through the efforts and contacts of some active individuals. *Lack of critical and constructive discourse on technoculture. Several Finnish universities make excellent research on the social-economic and aesthetic-philosophical aspects of media culture. Due to the existing dynamics (read stagnated positions) of the field, the sectors of cultural practice, academic research and technology development remain without productive contact. *Burn-out of culturally oriented media producers, whose energies are consumed into putting up companies, seeking funding, volunteer work and other organizational tasks. Due to the difficult situation of cultural production, ever fewer artists and producers seem to emerge from the younger generations. For some, work outside of Finland seems to be the only option. Some steps forward In August 1999, Minna Tarkka (UIAH Media Lab) wrote a proposal to put up a centre to coordinate cultural production related to digital media and art. The proposal was sent to over 50 persons representing artists and culturally oriented small companies, cultural and educational institutions, as well as policy and funding organizations. Its aim was to initiate discussion across different interest groups. On October 28, Perttu Rastas (Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art) and Tarkka invited a general discussion on the topic "Do we need an independent media centre" The Kiasma event was attended by 70 people from the above named groups as well as technology developers. There seemed to be a consensus on each side - the need for a node for digital culture was clearly expressed. Also present in Kiasma were representatives of the 'Content Finland' project, who welcomed the idea of the centre as well as more detailed plans for its establishment. As described in the Cultural Industry working group memorandum (Ministry of Education 1999), the aim of Content Finland is to increase international competitiveness through projects that raise content industries to the level of technology development in Finland. Modelling the profile The discussions so far seem to prove that the centre would help to bridge missing links in the 'value networks' of Finnish media culture and technology development, while also establishing a node in international networks. The aims and functions of the centre could include the following: 1. Supporting content development. Production, design and development of cd-roms, web works, networks, (digital) videos/films by independent artists, cultural organizations and small/medium sized companies; support environment for production - studios for digital production and development; distribution and information services. 2. Shaping discourses and practices. Supporting and shaping multidisciplinary critical discourses and practices through research, debates, publications, events and conferences; acting as a promoter in the formation of a 'new media branch' or digital artisan collectives. 3. Policy-making and collaboration. Involvement in cultural policy - creating local, national, regional and European networks for exchange and collaboration; joint ventures; information and communication services; artist-in-residence programs, etc. The next phases should involve drafts of different models of the functional/economic setup of the planned centre. The work will draw on the valuable work done on best practice models in European media culture and hopefully produce a new member to the European Cultural Backbone. ECB / Connected at Lasipalatsi, Helsinki November 19, 1999 / Minna Tarkka, Media Lab, University of Art and Design ****************************************************** Minna Tarkka Professor (Interactive and multimedia communication) Media Lab, University of Art and Design Helsinki UIAH Hameentie 135 C, FIN-00560, Helsinki, Finland TEL +358-9-75630316, FAX +358-9-75630555 http://www.mlab.uiah.fi # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net ------Syndicate mailinglist-------------------- Syndicate network for media culture and media art information and archive: http://www.v2.nl/syndicate to unsubscribe, write to <syndicate-request@aec.at> in the body of the msg: unsubscribe your@email.adress