Geek in Residence & Digital Culture Fund

SUPPORTING A NEW BREED OF DIGITAL PIONEERS

Two pilot Australia Council schemes invite you to get creative in the digital era.

‘Arts content for the digital era’ (or ‘artsdigitalera’ for short) is The Australia Council’s response to the impact of digital technologies on the arts sector, artists and arts audiences.

Some of the artists, organisations and audiences we support have demonstrated the need to be educated in, or to develop a confidence with, digital technologies. Others have been working authoritatively in this space for a decade or more, and need recognition as well as financial (and other) support in order to continue.

Outside of the typical Australia Council community there is an emerging breed of practitioner who might not come from a traditional arts background, but who proactively create and share their work across digital platforms. They attract (and are themselves) an emerging type of audience, possibly a co-creator or a remixer.

The Australia Council needs to continue supporting the two spectrums of the community we already know well. But we also need to start exploring relationships with these ‘digital natives’. In working together, learning from each other’s unique skills and abilities, we have the potential to produce innovative new creative experiences on platforms which could feasibly provide economic sustainability. The Geek in Residence and Digital Culture Fund provide support and opportunities for both within the ‘Arts content for the digital era’ Strategic Initiative.
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Geek in Residence brings the expertise of technically confident artists and creative technicians together with a host arts organisation. The pilot program will seed innovative digital arts practices by providing an opportunity to intensively share skills, ideas and experiences.

The Digital Culture Fund is a pilot grant available to confident digital arts practitioners. The Australia Council is asking initially for expressions of interest from these new creators working at the frontier of digital technology. With a strong focus on the ‘live event’, the ultimate arts projects could exist in either physical or online worlds.

For more information visit the ‘Arts content for a digital era’ blog.