Strategic Actions Ideas

Strategic actions ideas submitted that shaped the discussion at the May 2 Creative Economy Council's Art and Technology Initiative Committee convocation (bulleted points were submitted at the meeting)

Networking and Advocacy

Develop an incentive program for Boston commercial technology services (i.e., digital printers) to create a different fee structure for artists, rather than the higher current commercial rates, perhaps in exchange for credit in exhibition printed matter, or for other artist customer referrals, etc.

Create a guild of Boston new media artists, and use that organization to leverage opportunities, discounts, and access to technologies from private, educational, and non-profit organizations that possess technologies of interest.

Develop Self-Identity: the new media/arts technology community needs to develop a cohesive identity and demonstrate an understanding of its relationship to the wider society. This includes identifying who new media artists are and recognizing the dissolution of boundaries between the arts and sciences, and the fine and commercial arts.

Outreach: to the arts community and the technology community (including foundations)--to both inform and educate.

Increase Our Visibility: could include the development of a seminar series, site visits, and brochures and other informational documents.

Network: The more activity, the greater the sense of identity, the possibility of visibility, and the significance of outreach.

Technology as it relates to the promotion of the creative Economy. With the world turning to increased use of the internet and permission marketing, the CEI may want to concentrate some efforts on increased capacity for the industries in their use of technology as a call for action and to promote their work.

Promotion of career opportunities for musicians in Boston.

How can we best promote concerts and develop audiences?

• Educating community leaders and potential funders about the importance of the arts and arts & technology. Sense that these people tend to be very cautious about supporting the arts. Love how the CyberArts festival pervades the city at all levels, but it is still a pocket of activity. Arts should pervade the fabric of the community as seen in other cities where the city leaders drive it.
• Audience development, particularly for young people
• Collaboration within the industry, build existing organizations so that they can be effective resources
• Connect different communities within arts/tech sector
• Create a newsletter
• Give youth technology skills and art skills

Building Businesses in Art and Technology

Attract more businesses to the region by strengthening the quality of the students graduating in art/design/technology programs ... The right KIND of quality CURRICULUM. Accomplish this by sending local industry professionals to review aspects of curriculum, quality standards, and techniques being taught in the Universities, such as the very large computer graphics degree program at UMass Lowell (a full accredited national fine art program). Travel and honorarium budgets could be augmented from various sources. (I would love to do this myself, having been for many years very active in academic programs nation wide.) This applies particularly to interactive VIDEO GAME development studios ... a huge growing market with an established base already here in the region

To also strengthen the awareness of the local "talent pool", create a communication mechanism for INTERNSHIPS, a proven critical tool to a) getting local students hired and b) retaining and reinforcing long term local recruiting. I would being by compiling a database of all New England businesses related to art and technology with appropriate contact persons .. matched by a similar list of college and university programs from the area. With the basis of the suggestion above in 1) employers will be sure to get student interns with an appropriate skill base. This applies particularly to interactive VIDEO GAME development studios ... a huge growing market with an established base already here in the region

Development of software tool kits to help build new kinds of interfaces -- funding for programmer / artist collaborations.

Music is still the #1 entertainment revenue industry, tap into MUSIC VIDEO production and other aspects of visual and music combinations ...

Non-entertainment areas such as RESEARCH need technical visual aids .. how to strengthen this awareness?

Creation of incubator center for artists and musicians who want to start new businesses.

Outreach to schools to promote career opportunities in this area.

Facilitate career development opportunities for music professionals. link to our career center
How can we help create jobs for musicians in New England ? How many/percentage of our graduates remain in NE after graduation?

How can other New England industries use musicians in their own marketing efforts (jingle writers, performers, music business interns etc)

• Promote trans-disciplinary teams
• Database for artists - skill base, list of potential funders new organization. Support artists who want to start their own organizations.
• Educate business on how artists can be used to up the bottom line.
• Companies have fertile grounds for starting up because of number of experienced/educated artists and technologists.
• Must support creative and explorative arts that will attract students to want to stay in the city.
• Attract satellite research labs like Intel
• Job fairs for both artists and non-artists
• Model mixers after MIMC that bring people together

Creating Access to Tools and Knowledge

Visiting Artist Exchange scheme with related apartments / studios, digital infrastructure.

Resource/Equipment Donation & Loan Programs -- Often artists simply do not have access to the equipment they need to create high-quality artwork with technology. Corporations could donate/loan equipment and services to a non-profit org who would administrate a program to loan these materials out to artists at a highly discounted rate. There could be an associated press component -- e.g. companies get both the tax write-off and some visibility for contributing to innovative technological artwork.

Creation of a volunteer engineers for the arts program: Art Interactive's CAT program. Get engineers and scientists to work with individual artists to solve technical problems outside of the work environment.

Expansion of Artist-in-Residence programs in technology corporations. The Boston Cyberarts organization just applied for a grant to help organize these. Increased visibility of such programs along with publicly created art as part of the resultant product would be great.

Create opportunities for Boston artists to work with Boston technology engineers in the development of new products or in the new uses of existing technologies, in exchange for access to equipment or materials, fees, or other creative arrangements.

Encourage corporate sponsorships

How can higher education programs in the arts best integrate with related NE industries ( Bose, Avid, Apple others ) Related to this would be ways to work/partner with film scoring or recording studios.

• Visiting artist program
• Equipment loan program
• CAT program
• Expansion of artist-in-residencies in technology organizations
• Create opportunities for Boston artists to work with engineers in exchange for technology
• Sponsored studio for college students that builds off of company technology or funding support (happening at RISD)
• Model tool box that helps people learn how to use money
• Build awareness of what exists - great need for grant writing help for artists
• Space within MOS that is a tech/arts lab open to all interested
• Convince those with resources that there are payoffs for supporting arts/technology
• Create and NE directory of electronic arts

Building Institutions

Funded Center for Interactive and Digital Arts exhibitions, with symposia and conferences.

Artist Cave for developing new ideas / exhibition.

Digital museum with funding to create a collection.

Funding initiative to help technological artists to make their work. (see Langlois Foundation).

Encourage a group of at least 100 technology leaders in the greater Boston area to create a technology and art foundation and raise funds on an annual membership fee basis, in order to award an annual grant to a deserving Boston artist who works with new media.

Provide assistance to working professional musicians to further develop skills perhaps though online education. (eg: Berkleemusic - Online Music School, Music Jobs and Careers)

• Goal to build an institution that supports artists and technologists.
• Is it an institution or an infrastructure? (All of these strategic actions could be done each by one dedicated institution)

Art & Technology Youth Education

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