Inter(PR)Axis is a free one day conference addressing the historical context, current practice and future directions of media art in Toronto and beyond, as a parallel event with the InterAccess exhibition IA25: Mapping a Practice of Media Art. Conference panelists from the Ontario College of Art & Design and York University - many of whom have been integral to the development of InterAccess over the past 25 years - will reflect on the historical and contemporary context of Canadian media art, as traced through these two important educational programs, the surrounding community, and the innovative activities of InterAccess, Canada's first and premier centre for electronic art. Keynote speaker Machiko Kusahara, whose research ranges from the history of Japanese automata to device art, will address these issues in terms of current international media art practices.

Keynote Speaker:
Machiko Kusahara, Ph.D Media Scholar/Curator, Waseda University, Tokyo.

Panelists:
Mike Darroch, Patricio Davila, Judith Doyle, Anna Friz, Paula Gardner, Simone Jones, Janine Marchessault, David McIntosh, Jim Ruxton, Geoffrey Shea, Nell Tenhaaf, Norman White.

Moderators:
Nina Czegledy, John Greyson, Michael Longford.

Conference Schedule

9:00am: Introductions
Sara Diamond, President, Ontario College of Art & Design
Nina Czegledy, Senior Fellow, KMDI, University of Toronto, Adjunct Associate Professor Concordia University

9:15am: Media Theory and Practice: Historical reflections
Moderator John Greyson, artist/filmmaker, Assistant Professor, York University

Art and Architecture at the Onset of Canadian Media Theory
Janine Marchessault, Canada Research Chair, Director, Visible City Project + Archive (VCPA), York University and Michael Darroch, Postdoctoral Research Fellow (FQRSC), York University

Worldpool (1978) to Odyssey (2008: Toronto episodes in Art Exchange
Judith Doyle, Artist, Chair of Integrated Media, Ontario College of Art & Design

Mobile Media Workshop in a Suitcase: A case study of the transcultural intersection of art and new technologies
David McIntosh, Associate Professor, and Patricio Davila, MA (candidate), Ontario College of Art & Design

Digital Appearances
Simone Jones, Artist, Associate Dean, Faculty of Art, Ontario College of Art & Design

11:15am: Coffee break

11:30am: Keynote - Device Art: A New Approach to Bridge Art, Design, Technology and Entertainment
Machiko Kusahara, Media Scholar/Media Art Curator, Professor, School of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.

12:30pm: Lunch

1:30pm: Media Theory and Practice: Toronto Context
Moderator Nina Czegledy

Dynamics of Interactivity
Nell Tenhaaf, Artist, Associate Professor in Visual Arts, Associate Dean of Fine Arts, York University

Subtle Technologies, A Historical Perspective
Jim Ruxton, Artist, Director, Subtle Technologies Festival, Toronto

Why artists make robots?
Norman White, Artist, Instructor, School of Image Arts, Ryerson University

2:45 pm: Coffee break

3:00 pm: Media Art Current Trends and Future Directions
Moderator Michael Longford, Associate Chair Department of Design, Faculty of Fine Arts, York University

Mobile Anarchy from Resistance to Microsurveillance: The Portage Project
Paula Gardner, Associate Dean, Faculty of Liberal Studies, Ontario College of Art & Design

The Radio of the Future, Redux
Anna Friz, Artist, Research Associate, PhD Candidate, Communication and Culture/York University PhD Candidate, York University

i = i + 1
Geoffrey Shea, Artist, Assistant Professor, Researcher, Ontario College of Art & Design

4:45 pm: Closing remarks
Dana Samuel, Director/Curator, InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre
Nina Czegledy

Inter(PR)Axis was developed and organized by Nina Czegledy, media artist, curator, Senior Fellow, KMDI, University of Toronto, Adjunct Associate Professor Concordia University, co-chair Leonardo Education Forum, in collaboration with the Ontario College of Art and Design, York University and InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre. Special thanks to: the Gladstone Hotel for sponsoring accommodations for Machiko Kusahara,Simone Jones, John Greyson, Judith Doyle, Janine Marchessault and Machiko Kusahara.

For Media inquiries, please contact Jennifer Cherniack at: (416 599 7206 or email her at jenniferDOTcherniackATinteraccessDOTorg.