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| Australian Network for Art and Technology | |
|---|---|
| Name | Australian Network for Art and Technology |
| Abbreviation | ANAT |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Type | Nonprofit organisation |
| Headquarters | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Region served | Australia |
Australian Network for Art and Technology The Australian Network for Art and Technology is a national non-profit arts organisation based in Adelaide that supports experimental practices at the intersection of art, science and digital culture. It has engaged with artists, curators and researchers through residencies, commissions and collaborations with institutions such as Australian Broadcasting Corporation, National Gallery of Australia, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, South Australian Film Corporation and Seymour Centre. The network has connections with international partners including Ars Electronica, FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology), Sónar and Zentrum für Kunst und Medien.
Founded in 1988 amid debates involving Australia Council for the Arts, Australia Council funding priorities and regional arts policy in Adelaide, ANAT emerged alongside organisations such as Australian Centre for Photography and Gertrude Contemporary to address technological change affecting artists. Early milestones included collaborations with National Film and Sound Archive, partnerships with South Australian Museum and participation in festivals like Biennale of Sydney and Melbourne International Arts Festival. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s ANAT engaged with initiatives influenced by actors such as Tim Berners-Lee, Nicholas Negroponte and institutions including CSIRO and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation research programs. Shifts in digital culture saw ANAT intersect with movements associated with net.art, interactive art and platforms championed by Creative Commons and Digital Art@Microsoft-era collaborations.
ANAT's stated mission focuses on enabling contemporary practitioners to work at the nexus of creative practice and emerging technologies, aligning with goals championed by organisations including Australia Council for the Arts, Craft Australia and Helpman Institute-style research models. Activities have ranged from artist residencies linked with CSIRO, commission programs paralleling those of Creative Time and Eyebeam, and public programs in conjunction with venues such as Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australian Centre for the Moving Image and academic partners like University of Adelaide and RMIT University. The organisation has promoted practitioner-led research echoing agendas from Tate Modern, MoMA and The Serpentine.
ANAT has run residency and professional development programs comparable to Eyebeam residencies and Banff Centre fellowships, collaborating with laboratories such as CSIRO Data61, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and cultural producers like Vivid Sydney and Sydney Opera House. Collaborative projects have connected artists to research infrastructures at Monash University, University of Melbourne, Griffith University and international labs including MIT Media Lab, Harvard University Research Centers and Goldsmiths, University of London. Commission streams have worked with curators from International Symposium on Electronic Art and festivals such as Sónar+D and Transmediale.
ANAT-curated exhibitions and public programs have been staged at venues including Mona (Museum of Old and New Art), Adelaide Festival Centre, Perth Festival and satellite spaces linked to Biennale of Sydney, Melbourne International Arts Festival and Brisbane Festival. Events have featured artists and technologists associated with institutions such as Ars Electronica, ZKM, FACT, Eyebeam and guest speakers connected to TED and SXSW. ANAT has contributed to exhibition projects engaging themes present in shows at National Gallery of Victoria, Tate Modern and Centre Pompidou.
The organisation has facilitated practice-led research projects in partnership with higher education providers such as University of South Australia, University of Sydney, RMIT University and international partners like Goldsmiths and MIT Media Lab. ANAT-supported research examines contexts that resonate with scholarship from Leonardo (journal), policy debates involving Department of Communications and the Arts (Australia) and pedagogies used at Royal College of Art and School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Educational outputs have included workshops, publications and toolkits aligned with standards and methodologies from Creative Commons, Open Source Initiative and maker-education movements associated with Fab Lab networks.
Governance has included boards and advisors drawn from professional networks linked to Australia Council for the Arts, Arts South Australia, major universities including University of Adelaide and cultural organisations such as Artspace (Sydney), ACE (Arts Council England)-aligned partners and philanthropists active in Australian cultural funding. Funding streams historically encompassed project grants, philanthropic support and collaborations with industry partners like Telstra, research funding through Australian Research Council and in-kind contributions from institutions such as CSIRO and state-based arts agencies.
ANAT has influenced the development of media arts infrastructure in Australia, contributing to trajectories mapped alongside SAGA (South Australian Government Arts), Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Tarnanthi-era programming and practices visible in institutions like National Gallery of Australia and Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. Alumni and collaborators have gone on to roles at Ars Electronica, ZKM, Tate, MoMA and universities including RMIT and Monash University, embedding ANAT's model within national and international circuits that include Biennale of Sydney, Transmediale, Sónar and Ars Electronica Festival.
Category:Arts organisations based in Australia