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OZeCulture Session: There's no Business Like e-Business Date: Wednesday 13 June Tech run: 8.30am - 9.00am Session Time: 11.15am - 12.25pm Good morning and thank-you Steven for your introduction. I will be presenting two online databases today, each of which serves a specific but different purpose and user base. Each of the databases was developed as a solution to an identified need and were realised through partnerships involving the government, art & technology, film, and experimental arts sectors. Screenarts Screenarts was instigated and financially supported by the Australian Film Commission in order to capitalise on the emergence of the Internet as both an exhibition and marketing environment for digital film, video and interactive works. As the peak networking and advocacy body for Australian artists working with technology, the Australian Network for Art and Technology - ANAT - was particularly well-placed to tender for the project. Since its inception in 1985, ANAT has been at the forefront of efforts to position artists as active participants in the digital age and, more specifically, to promote the ground-breaking efforts of Australian artists internationally. By partnering with the Adelaide-based Media Resource Centre and Sydney's dLux Media Arts, ANAT was able to extend the project's reach to include those allied with the national network of screen resource organisations and also with those organisations involved in the curation and exhibition of screen-based programs across the country. Screenarts provides a single entry point to the broad range of Australian screen-based work produced for the online environment. In addition, the site operates as an archive for conferences (and the papers presented therein) which contribute to informed and critical debate about Australian online artistic practice. Screenarts went live in 1997 and by last year the site was attracting a quarter of a million visits (not hits) per annum. A closer review of the user statistics indicate the continuing popularity of the site amongst Australian users as well as an ever-increasing percentage of visitors from countries other than Australia, evidence the site is now established as an international research resource. Recently, the Screenarts partners met to revisit the database guidelines and to set in place a timeline for the redesign of the site, a process which we expect to complete within the next six months. So, with some reservations as to the currency of the design, I think it is still worth having a look at the site as it currently exists and to give you an idea of how it works. www.screenarts.net.au select: Exhibitions - Future select: Future Suture select: website, then close window select: Derek Kreckler select: Mr White's Diary select: Space Invader's exhibition Back to search select: Artist - Rackham select: Melinda Rackham select: carrier select: carrier website Back to search select: Browse Conferences select: Decode select: McKenzie Wark select: conference paper Finally, there is a Browse function, which seems to be particularly popular with international visitors: select: Random work of art [Regardless of whether or not the URL works, outline the ongoing challenge of maintaining the integrity of the database links]. Screentour I would now like to talk about a very different resource - Screentour - which is an online tool for individuals and organisations involved in touring screen-based exhibitions throughout Australia. It is a comparatively new site developed by the Media Resource Centre - the MRC - with assistance from dLux Media Arts and with financial support provided by the Australian Film Commission. The MRC is a member of Screen Development Australia,a national network of organisations which support the development of a strong, innovative and diverse screen industry in Australia by providing entry-level to early-career film and digital media makers with access to production equipment, subsidy programs and advice in all aspects of development and production. In addition, the MRC manages Adelaide's Mercury Cinema, delivering a comprehensive exhibition program to build and diversify audiences for film, video and new media works. Screentour was developed under the auspices of this program and the MRC continues to administer the site, including a recently completed upgrade of the database's functionality to include a searchable calendar. As a planning resource for the independent exhibition sector, Screentour - unlike Screenarts - is not intended for use by the general public. Instead, it has been developed as a single-purpose tool with very little in the way of bells and whistles. This was primarily due to the number of potential users working outside of the major centres and also a result of those working with older hardware and limited bandwidth (a fairly common scenario in the not-for-profit sector). This is one example of Kim [Machan's] idea that good work doesn't necessarily need to employ elaborate technology. The database's size is limited at any one time through an automated monthly culling of out-of-date records. At the same time as the monthly culling, the database activates an automated email which sends a message to registered users informing them of the number of new records which have been added to the database in the intervening period. The automated email function is not limited, however, to keeping the size of the database manageable. A quick analysis of the two databases shows that Screenarts operates as an extension of the marketing activities already undertaken in the offline environment by the primary user groups - that is, artists and curators. Screentour, by comparison, is not a transference of offline activity into the online environment. Instead, the database is challenging people to work in a different way, to use the capacity of the Internet to effect a change in their work practice. And it has become clear that this is providing the major challenge for Screentour - how do we encourage people to use the database in their tour planning and to continue using it into the future? Now is perhaps a good time to have a look at the site as it will quickly become apparent that it's value lies in it's consistent use. www.screentour.net.au Intro: Three different sections of the database select: Touring Programs available select: last month select: full view select: return to main menu select: Upcoming Collaborative Opportunities explain: Unlikely for this section of the database to really get going until the user-base has increased and is using the resource regularly. select: Calendar search select: June 2001 VIC - Melbourne select: 14 June select: try a new search select: May 2001 VIC - other Okay, well those are two examples of small-medium sized cultural organisations utilising the Internet for program delivery. The challenges are there and I expect will remain so for some time. However, I am confident that with forethought and strategic nous, online business applications will continue to play a large role in the continuing development of the cultural sector. Thank you. |