[ISEA2004] Introduction: Tarja Halonen — The UNESCO Digital Arts Award Ceremony

Introductory Statement

The UNESCO Digital Arts Award Ceremony took place in the presence of President of Finland, Ms. Tarja Halonen as part of ISEA2004 at the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki on the 20th of August 2004. UNESCO Digital Arts Award aims to promote digital art as an innovative and artistic reflection on the information society. It forms a special category of the UNESCO Prize for the Promotion of the Arts, rewarding young emerging artists for outstanding creative achievements.

The winners were chosen out of the artistic projects that were presented at the ISEA2004 symposium. Indian Sarai Media Lab was the prize winner of UNESCO Digital Arts Award 2004. Sarai Media Lab will receive 7000 US dollars for their project “Network of No Des” and a three-month artistic residency in association with the Helsinki International Artist-in-residence Programme, HIAP and the Finnish new media culture centre, m-cult.

The prize money for the second tier awards were shared amongst three projects; Slovenian Makrolab, Thai artist Bundith’s project Path of Illusion and Radio Astronomy from New Zealand each received 1000 US dollars.

According to the International Jury Committee, the awarded projects all demonstrated a balance of artistic imagination, innovative research, social and cultural criticism, social interaction and a connection to the public space.

  1. Sarai Media Lab, India  sarai.net
  2. Makrolab, Slovenia
  3. Bundith, Thailand
  4. Radio Astronomy, New Zealand  irasr.aut.ac.nz