Where do Art and Technology Meet? Discovering the MUTEK Festival

In an age when the line between the actual and the virtual is rapidly dissolving, how and where do we locate ourselves as consumers of visual and digital culture? How does art play a role in the constant integration of our private and public lives? What are the consequences of the ever-expanding technology in how our world increasingly views itself?

MUTEK is an annual international festival dedicated to the dissemination and development of digital creativity in sound, music, and audio-visual art. MUTEK's programming intends to create a sonic space that can support innovation in new electronic music and digital art. Each year, the festival's programming includes a public component, with a range of activities happening out of doors, usually in or near the Quartier des Spectacles. As a site of contention within the arts community, the Quartier des Spectacles has created a polarity in Montreal's cultural offerings. By focusing on MUTEK's engagement with the Quartier des Spectacles (the festival, while embracing their geographical location, still aims to be critical of the role QdeS plays in the Montreal arts scene), we will explore the veritable connections between art and the public domain, and how these connections can go right or wrong.

This session is co-presented by La Société des Arts Technologiques