Plain Language

In recent years, there have been new technical developments in computers and the Internet. They change art and the connection between people. The audience enjoys a new kind of art. Artists can reach their audience from a great distance. They exchange ideas with colleagues in other countries.

We live in a difficult world with wars and conflicts. Many people are not allowed to express their opinions freely. Artists are monitored and persecuted. Many flee and leave their country. Some stay behind. They are afraid of being arrested. Nevertheless, they continue to make art. They express their concerns, they protest. Their topics are, for example, politics, economics and climate protection.

New technologies can help artists. That’s the theme of our online conference “CYBER ATTACK: DIGITAL ART AND ACTIVISM” We connect artists and activists. How they connect with each other and with the audience. And how they spread their messages under difficult conditions.

We bring artists and professionals together. They come, for example, from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and the USA. We talk about new ways of producing art. About life in a political crisis. About the questions of our time and what answers artists are looking for.
For example, we are looking forward to:

Chico MacMurtries from the USA. He works with robots, for example. How they “protest” at the border between the U.S. and Mexico, connecting the two countries. Theo Triantafyllidis from Greece. He creates spaces and uses artificial intelligence to do so. He uses role-playing games to explore the American Civil War in the 19th century.

AES+F, a group of Russian artists. For example, they work with photos and videos, which they combine with computer art. Her current work “Inverso Mundus” shows a world in which things are upside down.

Tosca Terán, who lives in Canada. Environmental protection is close to her heart. The artist has found a way that allows us to listen to mushrooms and plants. She will give an electronic concert at the conference.

Program:

Discussion and presentation

The history of the avant-garde and contemporary disruptive technologies.

New technologies are having a major impact on contemporary art and culture. Digital art is becoming more and more prevalent in the market. One form is NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), which consist of records (blockchain) on the internet. Existing works of art are also being digitally imitated. Sometimes the analog original is destroyed afterwards.

Throughout history, there have been innovations and upheavals in art. They are often referred to as avant-garde. We’re talking about whether digital art is the new avant-garde. And what this view might mean for the art world.

Panelists:

Arseniy Zhilyaev, Joshua Citarella, Egor Kraft.

Moderation:

Lev Manovich

Wednesday, Nov 16
CET 20:00 – 21:00

ET 14:00 – 15:00

Talk:

Intervening, Resisting – Digital Art as a Means of Political Action

Artists* use digital technologies to resist politically. The speakers support active movements. Their topics are social, political and economic crises. They deal with national borders that remain closed to many people. With the growth of national movements. And with the war in Ukraine, which is raging in Eastern Europe.

Speakers:

Chico MacMurtrie & Luise Kaunert, Ellina Genadievna, Irina Konyukhova

Moderation:

Allen Feldman

Wednesday, Nov 16

CET 21:30 – 22:30

ET 15:30 – 16:30

Discussion with presentations

Being able to work anywhere and virtually.

Digital nomads can work almost anywhere in the world. They only need internet, cell phone and computer to do so. In the past, there were hardly any digital nomads. Today, there are millions, including in the arts. Many of them do not work from a different location by choice. Rather, they have been forced to do so by wars, migration, or other circumstances. Digital platforms offer artists the opportunity to reach their audience from afar. This allows them to overcome spatial, financial, and political barriers.

Speakers:

Anna Evtyugina + Nikita Shokhov, Georgy Molodtsov, Team Rolfes.

Moderation:

Anna Shvets

Thursday, NOV 17

CET 20:45 – 21:45

ET 14:45 – 15:45

Discussion with presentations

who are we in real life and online? And how do we act?

We are becoming more and more dependent on computers. We have our own websites and social media profiles. They form our online identities. We think carefully about how we present ourselves online. We have an analog and a digital personality that can meet and overlap. Which personality shows up when? Which part of us becomes politically or artistically active? How do we express ourselves on social issues? These are the topics of this discussion.

Panelists:

LaJuné McMillan, Anna Shvets, Oleg Nikolaenko

Moderation:

Alina Mikhaleva

Thursday, NOV 17

CET 22:15 – 23:20

ET 16:15 – 17:20

Discussion with work excerpts

The new art market, its history, misunderstandings and opportunities.

Art is increasingly taking place in virtual space. One form is NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), which consist of data sets (blockchain) on the Internet. These new technologies draw questions: what is art? Where does it take place? Who buys it? How is it valued? Who is the artist?

We discuss NFTs and their history. The participants talk about blockchain technology. And what opportunities and problems it has. We wonder if its use can be expanded in the current war situation.

Panelists:

Olga Dvoretskaya, Vladimir Storm.

Moderation:

René Pinnell

Special lecture: Lev Manovich, Technologies of Freedom

Lev Manovich talks about wars: for example, about the “Cold War”, which was the East-West conflict starting in 1947. In 1979, soldiers from the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Since this year there is war in Ukraine.

FR, Nov 18

CET 20:15 – 21:30

ET 14:15 – 15:30

Discussion with presentations

New forms of reality.

New technologies are changing art. For example, there is artificial intelligence, virtual spaces, social media, and video games. How do artists work with them? How do they use hybrid spaces that are analog and digital at the same time? How do theater, dance, visual art, opera, video art, music and installation continue to develop? The participants talk

about artistic and political parts of their work. And how they use the new digital possibilities.

Speakers:

AES+F Group, Theo Triantafyllidis

Moderator:

Jiabao Li

FR, Nov 18

CET 22:00 – 23:00

ET 16:00 – 17:00

Discussion with presentations

The Metaverse. A discussion in virtual space.

One day, there will be the Metaverse. An entire digital world through which we will move in 3D. There we will work, meet, shop or play.

In this discussion we talk with artists about the Metaverse. They want there to be not only commerce there. They want us to find art and social justice in the Metaverse. That we can participate and feel good.

Panelists and presentations:

Tosca Terán, Oksana Syhareva, Alina Mikhaleva.

Moderation:

Georgy Molodtsov

FR, Nov 18

CET 23:15 – 00:10

ET 17:15 – 18:10