[ISEA2022] Panel: Rhonda Holberton, Don Hanson, Amanda Helton, Dr. Timothy C. Summers & Nick Szydlowski — Multi-Generation Digital Stewardship: XR Art & Technology Archives

Panel Statement 

Second Summit on New Media Art Archiving
June 11, MACBA – Convent dels Àngels. Panel.

Keywords: digital archives, XR archives, Blockchain certificates, NFTs, controlled digital lending

Panelists will discuss their roles in a collaborative inter-institutional project funded by the Knight Foundation to create an XR & blockchain certificate enabled digital database that will archive, index, lend, and exhibit complex digital objects using a web-based platform that expands the current capabilities of the virtual 3D exhibition platform New Art City.

The panel will offer perspectives on collections management, blockchain certificates, artist contracts, and best practices for re-authoring. The team will provide insights from the first 6 months of the beta test of this collaborative project which archives and exhibits Creative New Media Projects produced in San José from 1984-2014 on New Art City. The Art & Technology Archive beta test will allow the technical and digital design upgrades to follow the material, social, and archival process; ensuring that necessary upgrades to New Art City are designed holistically and inclusively with integrated feedback from Museums, Librarians, Archivists, & Curators. https://newart.city

  • Rhonda Holberton. Assistant Professor of Digital Media Arts, Department of Art & Art History San José State University, USA. Holberton’s interdisciplinary research and art practice illuminates the politics of the corporeal body navigating through virtual space. Recent projects utilize networked VR designed to trigger subtle interactions of electrons between biological and digital systems through biofeedback & reiki, a speculative cosmetic company whose mission is focused on the potential of products to create distributed performative action ritualizing the Anthropocene, and a collaborative choreography with Neural Networks.
  • Don Hanson. Founder of New Art City. Don is an interdisciplinary/internet artist producing web-based interactive work and digital artmaking tools since 2008. As founder of New Art City he aims to provide an accessible toolkit to all types of artists and create an online home for born-digital artifacts. As an active member of the arts and technology community in the Bay Area (USA), Don has served as technical director for Codame Art+Tech and B4BEL4B Gallery, and now focuses full-time on the operations and development of New Art City.
  • Amanda Helton. As Manager of Digital Strategy, a position created as part of the San José (USA) Museum of Art’s (SJMA) 2018 strategic plan, Helton works closely with the curatorial and public programs teams to develop innovative digital engagement tools that expand access to the Museum’s programs and permanent collection. At SJMA since 2017, she served as project database registrar for 50X50: Stories of Visionary Artists from the Collection, a major grant-funded digital publication designed to share the Museum’s permanent collection with a wide audience. Subsequent ongoing projects support efforts to shape the technological vision for the Museum’s future and to support its strategic ambition to be a borderless museum. Helton is also deeply committed to accessibility issues in both the physical and virtual realms and is a member of the Museum’s Equity Task Force.
  • Dr. Timothy C. Summers (USA). Board Member of the enterprise think tank Leonardo/ISAST, is a seasoned, high-impact executive with broad strategic perspective and a proven track record in growing businesses, delivering solutions to problems, and developing and executing sound internal processes from the ground up. He is an ethical hacker, professor, frequent media commentator, TED speaker, and consulted expert internationally recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on cyber strategy, blockchain, normal chaos, and how hackers think. He is a trusted adviser and executive consultant to Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions, and governments worldwide. Timothy specializes in the scholarship and practice of hacker cognitive psychology (the hacker’s mindset) and normal chaos paradigm enabling him to advise on building and sustaining organizations during times of uncertainty. Dr. Summers is an executive scholar with an in-depth understanding of disruptive technologies and their strategic applications, as well as international business expertise, having conducted business around the world.
  • Nick Szydlowski. Scholarly Communications & Digital Scholarship Librarian, Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, San José State University, USA. Nick is a librarian with experience in scholarly communications, repository management, preservation, and web development. His recent projects include the digital exhibit Robert Morris: Civil Rights Lawyer & Antislavery Activist.

Project funded by the Knight Foundation