Emma Quinn

htttp://www.ica.org.uk/

Area: ICA Digital Director Age: 39 Nationality: British London's Institute of Contemporary Arts has long pioneered digital exhibitions and online interaction, with its bespoke Digital Studio one of the first dedicated spaces for new media art within an arts organisation. Emma Quinn currently heads up their digital programme developing off- and online projects. She recently curated the viral emails exhibition Outragous and Contagious, Slovenian artist Martin Bricelj's Everlandia - a virtual travel agency - and invited Heath Bunting to take up residence.

More from Emma Quinn

Could you give a bit of background in terms of your career, how you started being involved in digital and web-based creative media?
I did an MA in Digital Art at Middlesex University in 1996/97. My initial aim was to use it to move on with photography but it ended up being a life changing experience and I decided that I wanted to start curating this kind of work. The course was great teaching artists how to programme a computer using 'C' and Java as well as using creative software and scripting languages (HTML). I was pretty bad at the programming side of it but the theory and the organisation of the shows we did was fantastic. The course was very much geared towards artists taking control and creating their own software rather than relying on off the shelf stuff which tended to make all art works look the same and restricted what you could do. By creating your own software you are freeing yourself of the limitations of software someone else has written - you're also giving yourself a lot more headaches.

Can you describe your role at the ICA, and the main aims you have in terms of commissioning and programming digital and online work?
I am the Director of Live and Media Arts at the ICA and it involves curating live events as well as installation and on-line work. There are more similarities between live arts and media arts than many people realise. As with a performance there are usually a number of people involved all with a specialism that contributes to the final outcome. It's rare that a digital or media artist works alone. The focus for the near future is to emphasise work that engages with the world around us - to be more politically, enviromentally and socially aware with the work we are showcasing and supporting. Though this will not be an exclusive remit. I want to instigate more collaborative projects but also allow artists to investigate issues that they are up against.

Why is it so important for the ICA to have a dedicated online / digital curator?
It's a genre that can be more complicated that the more traditional art forms. I think that some people in the arts are put off by it's complications both perceived and real and in all honesty I think it does need a bit of specialised knowledge - a background in the subject. But that's true of most art forms anyway.

What has been the most successful show you've put on at the ICA so far with specific web-related content?
Outrageous and Contagious, the viral marketing awards and exhibition that was run here last spring. It was on the web but we also showed it in the gallery and had a talk about the subject. We are hoping to run it again a bit later this year.

How has technology changed online / web-based creative production in the last ten years?
Personally speaking online production has become more complicated - remember that my coding skills were tested to the limit at University! - and software is less intuitive than it was - it's become more complex. Having said that, my first web site was done in Times New Roman and centred text - beautiful! But the people with the knowledge and the skills are creating fantastic stuff. It's amazing how many web sites there are out there with great art but also how much rubbish is created in the name of digital art.

Where do you see it going / can you give a few examples of exciting current trends?
I'm not sure about Second Life, but I've just found out that Linden Labs will be making the software open source. This could be a interesting opportunity for artists. Open source software is about the fundamental structure of the software and it can be said is the crux of creativity within Media Arts. Going back to my MA, being able to create and control software is very empowering for artists.

If you had to pick the 3 most exciting web-based artists and online creatives currently working in the world, who would you choose?
That's a really easy question! Not. The first thing that springs to mind is Moovl and especially Ed Burton, its creator, (who is also responsible for Sodaconstructor). It's an online tool that enables you to create drawings that can be animated and sounds can be associated with them. A magical use of Java on the web.

There are the usual suspects, like John Maeda and also the direct line from him to other key artists such as Golan Levin, Scott Snibbe etc. But not exactly in the 'exciting' camp but something that I like is Blank Workshop. It comes back to the simplest use of the web to create a fiction that you can lose yourself in. Read about Scrumptyons Sweets, the mysterious moor town of Clinkskell where the workshop is based. You can also read about the Moonwiring Club and hear the distinctive Moonwiring Club sound. It's like the Boards of Canada meets the Wicker Man. It's a thing of beauty.

What do you have coming up in terms of digital content for the ICA?
Neurotic, which is going to be punk robots po-going to a live punk band.

Interview by Emma Pettit.