The Future of Learning in a Networked World

I had the opportunity to participate in this open space conference yesterday, organised by Otago Polytechnic. It is a travelling conference, and the first leg was in Dunedin. There were 3 days of activity planned in Dunedin, but I only attended yesterday, to hear from the invited speakers, and join in discussions. Find out more here
I had a great experience, finding out about new things, and meeting new people. There was a great range of projects from the invited guests, and all had something interesting to offer.
As a visual artist who is interested in digital theory and new media arts, a lot of technology resonates with possibilites to me.
Web 2.0 technology with mobile phone applications, as discussed by Teemu Leinonen from Finland, is something I can see myself working with, as have many other artists. I just came across this website this morning of New Zealand Photographer Peter Peryer
Jo Kay from Australia, also had a really interesting presentation about Second Life, an immersive 3d modelled world, where people exist in real-life communities through their avatars. I could see the potential for artists to have exhibition spaces in this world, or make work to sell to people in their 'houses'. Might be an interesting way to test work, but I can't see how it could compare to real art in the real world (and real reactions!).
Anyway, thanks to Leigh Blackall, who not only played a big part in getting all these people together to talk about the future of learning in a networked world, but who also taught me how to blog!

Sam Taylor-Wood in NZ

British Artist, Sam Taylor-Wood is to have her works Crying Men (2002-04) shown at the City Gallery in Wellington, NZ.
Further info can be found here: The Big Idea_Web
(The Big Idea is an excellent online arts community)

I had the great fortune of seeing see one of Taylor-Wood's works, Strings in Edinburgh a couple of years ago.

If you can get to see this show in the flesh, I would highly recommend it.

Tracey Moffatt at Stills, Edinburgh, UK

I discovered this short review of the exhibition at Stills (www.stills.org), Tracey Moffatt - Adventures. http://www.list.co.uk/festival/index.php?w=module:article,action:view,id:159 I find it interesting that the review focuses solely on the work, and mentions nothing of its situ in the gallery space. Is it a concern that that the same show can have a dramatically different feel in a different exhibition space? Or does the work sometimes speak for itself, where the space is extinguished by the luminosity of the art?

I haven't seen the work at Stills, but I know the space, and I recently saw some of the works at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, Australia, within a very different context. My own experience in viewing art works in general is that the interaction with the work, the feel of the piece, can be very different with the slightest shifts in perception, caused by surrounding, mood, light...

I personally would find it interesting to be able to feel the through the review the existence of these works within that space, that context, that exhibition.

Tracey Moffatt - Adventure Series 5, 2004