Conference Partners

The Experimental Television Center was founded in 1971, an outgrowth of a media access program established by Ralph Hocking at Binghamton University in 1969. Today the Center offers a unique concentration on electronic image-making by providing a residency program for artists from around the world, with access to both analog and digital tools, many custom-designed by Dave Jones and other artist-technicians. A grants program offers support to New York State organizations for personal appearances by digital, video and film artists and to individuals to assist with the completion of cinema and sonic works. The Center provides support services to artists, serving as a sponsoring organization for projects in the electronic and film arts, assisting with proposal development and providing fiscal and administrative management. Preservation and research activities are focused on the videotape collection and on electronic imaging instruments. The Video History Project is an on-going research effort concerning the development of video art and community television; the website is constructed as both an information-gathering and exchange system.

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts was established in 1987. In accordance with Andy Warhol's will, its mission is the advancement of the visual arts. The Foundation's objective is to foster innovative artistic expression and the creative process by encouraging and supporting cultural organizations that in turn, directly or indirectly, support artists and their work. The Foundation values the contribution these organizations make to artists and audiences and to society as a whole by supporting, exhibiting and interpreting a broad spectrum of contemporary artistic practice. The Foundation is focused primarily on supporting work of a challenging and often experimental nature, while noting that the interpretation of those terms may vary from place to place and culture to culture. In this regard the Foundation encourages curatorial research leading to new scholarship in the field of contemporary art.

Black Hammer Productions is the interactive media company that helps clients meet the challenges of tomorrow, today. As a new media developer and design studio, we create interactive products and adapt brands and identities to interactive environments. Black Hammer harnesses digital technologies to develop compelling consumer products and strategic marketing solutions. Black Hammer has produced award-winning games and educational CD-ROMs for Scholastic New Media, Prentice Hall, and Simon and Shuster. For the Internet, we have created websites for clients such as Thomas Publishing, as well as web games for the Showtime Network and General Mills. We recently completed interactive presentations for the Wall Street Journal and the Pyramid Companies real estate group, a video wall for Bayer Corporation, and the Ultra Challenge medical trade show kiosk for another major pharmaceutical company. We are currently developing interactive projects for the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; WNET's Nature television series; the Asset Alliance family of hedge funds; and Bombardier Business Aircraft, a leading manufacturer of corporate jets.

Dave Jones Design is a unique small business that specializes in products and services for artists and museums involved in electronic art. Founded by Dave Jones in 1985 under the name Designlab, it is now involved in many aspects of Video Art and electronic installation art. There are standard products like the LasrPlay series of laserdisc synchronizers, used to synchronize multiple channels of video laserdiscs, and the VMUX series of video routing switchers. Also available are custom designed and built hardware/software systems that can manipulate raw images, editing data, or mechanical devices. Products built by Designlab/Dave Jones Design have been used in major contemporary art exhibitions around the world by some of the best known artists in the field. All of the products are designed in-house by Dave Jones, and fabricated either in-house or by one of several sub-contractors to exact specifications. For large or complex projects, there is also a team of electronic designers, mechanical designers, and fabricators available.

The Everson Museum of Art, formerly the Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts, was founded by George Fisk Comfort, and held its inaugural exhibition in 1900. Over the years the museum had several homes. In 1968 it opened its present quarters in a building designed by internationally-acclaimed architect I. M. Pei. The collection is wide-ranging, along several focal areas. The permanent collection represents American paintings, sculpture, drawings, and graphics that date from Colonial times to the present day. The Everson Museum also made an early and long-term commitment to the ceramic arts, enabling the museum to amass one of the most comprehensive holding of American ceramic art in the nation.. The Everson Museum has played an important role in the media field, establishing one of the first nationally-recognized Media Programs, under Director James Harithas, appointing David Ross as Video Curator. Today the Museum is engaged in a program of restoration of the video collection.

Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center is a multi-disciplinary arts center in Buffalo which for over 20 years has presented contemporary art to audiences in the Western New York region. Hallwalls' mission is to support the creation and presentation of new work in the visual, media, performing, and literary arts. Hallwalls is dedicated in particular to work by artists which challenges and extends the boundaries of the various art forms, and which is critically engaged with current issues in the arts and, through the arts, in society. In the past 20 years, Hallwalls has presented the work of over 7,000 artists from around the world.

The Institute for Electronic Arts at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University was established in 1997 and is dedicated to the integration of electronic media within the fine arts through a focus on art-making, research and education. The Institute was established in 1997 to support the development of electronic imaging studios, and to encourage cross- disciplinary work and interactive workshops for the promotion of professional dialogs. The Institute sponsors projects which involve interactive multi-media, distance learning and communication systems. The Instituteís Corporate Sponsors include the Macer Corporation, ColorSpec Corporation, Polaroid, SMART Technologies and UMAX Computer Corporation. The Institute members include faculty members in Systems Engineering, Art History as well as the Fine Arts. Directors: Peer Bode, Joseph Scheer and Jessie Shefrin. Technical Specialist: Mark Klingensmith. Sonic Arts: Andrew Deutsch. Art History: Gerar Edizel, Barbara Lattanzi. Design: Paul Mazzucca. Honorary Members: Harland Snodgrass, John Wood.

Light Work was formed in 1973 by Phil Block and Tom Bryan to support emerging and under-recognized visual artists working in photography and related media through exhibitions, artists' residencies, special projects and publications. Light Work is the programming affiliate of Community Darkrooms, a public access photography and computer lab at Syracuse University. Light Work Gallery features exhibitions from the collection. The Robert B. Menschel Photography Gallery features solo and small group exhibitions. The Artist in Residence Program provides opportunity for artists to create new work. Contact Sheet is published four times each year and features works which are exhibited in the Menschel Gallery and also created through the Residency Program.

Media Alliance was founded in 1979 as an advocacy and service organization dedicated to advancing the independent media arts - video, audio, and computer arts - in New York State. Media Alliance is membership organization, committed to expanding resources, support and audiences for media arts. Members include media arts centers, distributors, museums, libraries, educators, cable access and public television programmers, and independent artists and producers. Media Alliance provides media arts information and referral, publishes a bi-monthly newsletter, Media Matters, and convenes members for workshops, conferences and working groups on pressing issues. Media Alliance also provides funding to rural media groups through the Media Action Grant for projects that network media makers or groups.

The New York Foundation for the Arts http://www.nyfa.org enables contemporary artists to create and share their work, and provides the broader public with opportunities to experience and understand the arts. The Foundation accomplishes this by providing responsive leadership and advocacy, offering financial and informational support, and building collaborative relationships with others who are committed to the arts in New York State and throughout the United States.

The New York State Alliance for Arts Education is a not-for-profit Statewide service organization dedicated to ensuring that the arts become an integral part of every childís education in New York State. The Alliance provides informational services and professional development programs; creates networking and partnership opportunities for educators, teaching artists and arts professionals; and presents arts education programs across the State. The NYSAAE is supported in part by its members, the New York State Council on the Arts, the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the New York State Education Department and the Chase Manhattan Bank.

The New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, was established in 1960 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller and the State Legislature, and became a state agency in 1965. The Council funds activities in a wide range of disciplines. Almost from its inception, the Council recognized the importance of support for artists working in electronic art forms and independent film. The New York State Council on the Arts is dedicated to preserving and expanding the rich and diverse cultural resources that are the heritage of the people of this State. Through government funding and all other means within its power, the Council seeks to support and strengthen:
-The freedom of artists to exercise their creativity, aspiring to the best in all artistic forms, without interference or censure,
-The right of New Yorkers of all ages, wherever they may be within the State, to learn about and experience, first hand, the varied and rich cultures of our people,
-The ability of arts groups and organizations to serve their communities by presenting artistic works of quality.

VidiPax is the nation's largest restorer of video tape and magnetic media ranging from obsolete format to damaged reels. VidiPax is dedicated to restoring magnetic tape and keeping the stored information accessible and usable in the future. With headquarters located in New York and local offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Canada, VidiPax is now in the process of opening offices worldwide. The VidiPax philosophy and technique for magnetic media restoration is similar to art conservation. VidiPax has the staff and the facilities to evaluate, restore, and remaster virtually every form of magnetic media. We own a museum of recording equipment that spans the history of recorded media including every conceivable broadcast, corporate, and consumer format, domestic and international. In addition, VidiPax has recording options that are state-of-the-art and include digital recording as well as direct output to computer files in all formats. VidiPax has been involved in the restoration of magnetic tape used in television and motion picture productions, including Oliver Stone's Nixon. Staff are highly trained professionals who work with irreplaceable collections on a daily basis. VidiPax clients include the NBC News Archive, Library of Congress, Yale University, and the Andy Warhol Foundation, in addition to many other leading broadcasters and archives.

Visual Studies Workshop is an internationally recognized center for media studies, including photography, visual books, electronic imaging and film. It is located in two historic buildings, comprising 44,000 feet of space in Rochester's museum and cultural district. It serves visual artists and the general public with diversified programming in education, exhibitions, and publishing. Artists residencies, access programs, and internships make the facilities available for the production of artworks and for scholarly research. A Master of Fine Arts degree in visual studies is offered through a joint program with the State University College at Brockport, incorporating studies in history, theory, and criticism with an emphasis on studio practice in photography, visual books, and electronic media.