U.S. Department of Art & Technology
Press Secretary
press@usdept-arttech.net
For Immediate Release: January 28, 2002
GLOBAL VIRTUALIZATION DELEGATES
TO SIGN AND RATIFY INTERNATIONAL CHARTER AT TRANSMEDIALE 02
WASHINGTON, DC - On Tuesday, February 5, 8:30
PM (GMT+0100), Global Virtualization Council delegates are expected to
sign and ratify the official "Berlin Virtualization Charter"
at the opening of the Transmediale 02 International Festival of Media
in Berlin. The Council is directed towards the mobilization and coordination
of artistic forces of virtualization internationally. Present at the signing
will be the Secretary of the US Department of Art & Technology, Randall
M. Packer; Festival Director, Andreas Broeckmann; and Council Delegates
who include the Secretary-General and Artist-Ambassadors representing
9 nations.
Preparations for the Charter, to be signed
at the opening of Transmediale, are now under way for this historic event
that will potentially establish conditions under which the most far-flung
aspirations of humankind are ignited. In light of the Festival theme,
go public!, government officials and leading media artists from around
the world will gather in Berlin under the auspices of Transmediale to
endorse a global initiative that promotes radical aesthetic ideology in
the larger political and social context.
As mandated by the Global Virtualization Council, the Charter aims to promote: (a) international standards for socially-engaged interactivity and collective action; (b) movements of international activist, hyper-mediated, utopian, and related ideologies; (c) universal respect for, and observance of, artist rights and fundamental creative expression for all citizens without distinction as to discipline, medium, gender, bias, or identity. [extracted from sub-paragraphs a,b, and c of Article 9]
The accord establishes a promising roadmap
as it provides for the employment of media for the purpose of reaffirming
our faith in the suspension of disbelief, as well as the advancement of
all artists towards their desire to initiate social action. The Secretary
of the US Department of Art & Technology has stated repeatedly that
"to succeed in the 21st Century, we must be prepared to adapt to
changes in our social condition - in how we communicate, where we seek
cultural enrichment, and how we balance our real and virtual lives."
The Secretary considers that only negotiated
and verifiable accords between media artists and government can adequately
address the social and political impact of our increasingly cybernated
world. Accordingly, the Charter states, "through representatives
assembled in the city of Berlin, who have exhibited their full recognition
of the power of the artist engaged with media... hereby establish an international
movement of the avant-garde to be known as the Global Virtualization Council."
For further information, visit the following
URLs:
US Department of Art & Technology
Global Virtualization
Council and Charter
Transmediale 02
Contact: Press Secretary of the US Department
of Art & Technology
press@usdept-arttech.net
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