Trondheim Electronic Arts Centre presents: Trondheim Matchmaking 2008, festival for art and technology: HYBRIDS

A species can be defined as “a population or group of populations whose members have the potential to interbreed with one another in nature to produce viable, fertile offspring, but who cannot successfully interbreed with members of other species”.

From medieval mythologies we are familiar with hybrid creatures like the Centaur and the Griffon. The creation of these fantasy beings denies in itself the very existence of species as we define the term today. The tendency to try to abolish the species’s and our body’s limitations seems to be a recurring theme with mankind.

This years conference highlights amongst others how knowledge from new research and insight radically can happen to change human biology and self understanding, and how art practise both becomes influenced by this development, as well as being able to influence the same.

The conference keynote speaker is researcher and artist Roy Ascott (UK), pioneer within interactive computer art in the 60’s and later telematic art. Ascott is founder of the Planetary Collegium, he is a professor at Technoetic Arts at the University of Plymouth in addition to several other positions and appointments. Ascott is today one of our most innovative theorists regarding our virtual present and future.

Further at the festival you will among others be able to experience speakers and exhibitors as moderator Laura Beloff (FIN), Natasha Vita-More (US), Margarete Jahrmann (AUS), Eva Sutton (US), Victoria Vesna (US), Marta De Menezes (P), Eric Singer (US), Amy Youngs (US), Peter Flemming (CAN) and George Gessert (US).

This year´s festival concerts includes names as ALEPH (N), BOL (N), LEMUR & ADAM MATTA (US), PIERRE BASTIEN (NL), INCITE/ (D) and XPLODING PLASTIX (N)!

The exhibition HYBRIDS opens Friday the 17th of Oct. at Trøndelag Centre for Contemporary Art.

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