Genealogies of digital light. The first interdisciplinary account of practice in light technologies, this project will look in detail at the innovation process in the techniques and technologies used in depicting, recording and projecting light. It will explore how contemporary digital media imitate, advance or retreat from the achievements of older techniques and devices; how accidental artefacts of specific media become desirable outcomes in others; and how these past processes impact on desig ....Genealogies of digital light. The first interdisciplinary account of practice in light technologies, this project will look in detail at the innovation process in the techniques and technologies used in depicting, recording and projecting light. It will explore how contemporary digital media imitate, advance or retreat from the achievements of older techniques and devices; how accidental artefacts of specific media become desirable outcomes in others; and how these past processes impact on design and innovation of new tools. Outcomes will include print and online publications, a conference and collaboration between three universities.Read moreRead less
The University of Melbourne Book Industry Study. This project represents a university-industry partnership to document the state of play in Australian book publishing, an industry of central importance in Australian intellectual and cultural life. The data gathered will help to identify opportunities and risks for the industry at a time when it is undergoing rapid technological change and reorienting itself towards global markets. The project will be designed to facilitate comparison with studie ....The University of Melbourne Book Industry Study. This project represents a university-industry partnership to document the state of play in Australian book publishing, an industry of central importance in Australian intellectual and cultural life. The data gathered will help to identify opportunities and risks for the industry at a time when it is undergoing rapid technological change and reorienting itself towards global markets. The project will be designed to facilitate comparison with studies in other countries, identify the local impact of global trends and foster forward-looking industry responses. The information gathered will be invaluable for researchers, industry personnel and policy-making bodies, and will establish the groundwork for targeted research into key industry issues.Read moreRead less
Internationalising Creative Industries: China, the WTO and the Knowledge-based Economy. This project investigates the challenges facing the creative industries internationally as the rationales for government support and industry development are seen variously as cultural, as part of the burgeoning services sector, and/or as contributing to the knowledge-based economy. To place the creative industries in an international frame, comparing developed countries? policy and industry strategies with t ....Internationalising Creative Industries: China, the WTO and the Knowledge-based Economy. This project investigates the challenges facing the creative industries internationally as the rationales for government support and industry development are seen variously as cultural, as part of the burgeoning services sector, and/or as contributing to the knowledge-based economy. To place the creative industries in an international frame, comparing developed countries? policy and industry strategies with those of China, the most important developing country, after its admission to the WTO, is a significant conceptual advance and innovation not attempted before. Australia will benefit from international comparisons of industry strategy and growth and from strategic knowledge of China's creative economy dynamics.Read moreRead less
Aboriginal Femininity and Modern Identity: Gender and Race in the Late Colonial Visual Scene. The project is the first sustained cultural history of Aboriginal femininity in Australian from 1870-1967. It will draw on diverse forms of modern visual culture: painting, black and white drawing, mass commodity spectacle, film and photography, to investigate six modes of production of Aboriginal feminine visibility: the 'primitive' woman in Western exhibiting practices such as colonial museums: the pe ....Aboriginal Femininity and Modern Identity: Gender and Race in the Late Colonial Visual Scene. The project is the first sustained cultural history of Aboriginal femininity in Australian from 1870-1967. It will draw on diverse forms of modern visual culture: painting, black and white drawing, mass commodity spectacle, film and photography, to investigate six modes of production of Aboriginal feminine visibility: the 'primitive' woman in Western exhibiting practices such as colonial museums: the perceived failure of 'Mission Mary' to appear modern; the relation of Aboriginal femininity to imported forms of exoticism; the fetishism of Indigenous women; girl piccaninny kitsch in domestic and tourist ornaments; and the entrance of public Aboriginal women and celebrities into modernity.
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The new services industry model: Implications for audio-visual media. This project examines important current changes in the understanding of audio-visual media. Governments, academics, industry players and international organisations have developed a new 'services industry model' to map future directions and policies for audio-visual industries. However little attention has been given to how this model may apply to the complex cultural and social role of audio-visual media. This project aims to ....The new services industry model: Implications for audio-visual media. This project examines important current changes in the understanding of audio-visual media. Governments, academics, industry players and international organisations have developed a new 'services industry model' to map future directions and policies for audio-visual industries. However little attention has been given to how this model may apply to the complex cultural and social role of audio-visual media. This project aims to fill this gap through a series of substantial publications on four key problems: the conversion to digital transmission platforms; public broadcasting and its future role; international policy dynamics, and the re-evaluation of longstanding domestic social and cultural policy objectives.Read moreRead less
The Future of Television: Australian Legal Protection of Digital Broadcast Content. Free-to-air broadcasting performs central democratic, economic and cultural functions, with a key place in Australia's media. But technological changes pose fundamental and urgent challenges for broadcasters. By investigating mechanisms to protect digital content, the project will advance understanding of a crucial issue in the digital economy. The project will increase understanding of options for protecting bro ....The Future of Television: Australian Legal Protection of Digital Broadcast Content. Free-to-air broadcasting performs central democratic, economic and cultural functions, with a key place in Australia's media. But technological changes pose fundamental and urgent challenges for broadcasters. By investigating mechanisms to protect digital content, the project will advance understanding of a crucial issue in the digital economy. The project will increase understanding of options for protecting broadcast content to promote innovation in content production and distribution, while not restraining reasonable content uses nor hindering innovative consumer electronics. Australian policies should foster an innovative and diverse broadcasting sector to serve Australian public interests. The project promotes this vital objective.Read moreRead less
The Spatial Impact of Digital Technology on Contemporary Art and New Art Institutions. Our aim is to explore the impact of digital technology on the production and display of contemporary art. Our focus is the spatial formation of the art institution at a time of historic transition, as object based collections are joined by new forms of technological imagery. We propose a distinct interdisciplinary methodology using spatial analysis derived from theories of contemporary art, new media theory an ....The Spatial Impact of Digital Technology on Contemporary Art and New Art Institutions. Our aim is to explore the impact of digital technology on the production and display of contemporary art. Our focus is the spatial formation of the art institution at a time of historic transition, as object based collections are joined by new forms of technological imagery. We propose a distinct interdisciplinary methodology using spatial analysis derived from theories of contemporary art, new media theory and critical social theory. The project's significance lies in developing insights into the new parameters of cultural production and cultural exchange. This will have strategic relevance for analysing the cultural impact of the emergent information society.Read moreRead less
Public screens and their transformation of social interactions in public spaces. This project will provide the first Australian analysis of public interaction with large electronic screens. The installation of large screens in public spaces is rapidly expanding in cities around the world. Our project will explore the potential for these screens to support new cultural practices and generate new social interactions. The research involves a cross-cultural comparison of screens in Europe, Asia ....Public screens and their transformation of social interactions in public spaces. This project will provide the first Australian analysis of public interaction with large electronic screens. The installation of large screens in public spaces is rapidly expanding in cities around the world. Our project will explore the potential for these screens to support new cultural practices and generate new social interactions. The research involves a cross-cultural comparison of screens in Europe, Asia and North America, along with the 'Big Screen' in Federation Square, Melbourne. The strategic value of the project is its capacity to inform public policy, and to improve understanding of the dynamics of public culture in mediated societies.Read moreRead less
Contemporary Australian Photography 1980 to the present. Contemporary Australian art photography has burgeoned over the last 25 years but there is no dedicated book length study in the field. This project will fill this gap by putting Australian photography on an international scholarly agenda, which will generate more scholarship on Australian work. It will have enormous national and community benefit for Australian artists, curators and dealers and the general public who are keenly interested ....Contemporary Australian Photography 1980 to the present. Contemporary Australian art photography has burgeoned over the last 25 years but there is no dedicated book length study in the field. This project will fill this gap by putting Australian photography on an international scholarly agenda, which will generate more scholarship on Australian work. It will have enormous national and community benefit for Australian artists, curators and dealers and the general public who are keenly interested in photography. Read moreRead less
Spiritual and cross-cultural elements in contemporary Australian art. This project will benefit the Australian community through new research on Australian art as an arena for the expression of spirituality. Its exploration of the spiritual and cross-cultural aspects of seven outstanding contemporary Australian artists, especially in relation to Aboriginal Art and Asian Art, will provide a strong basis for further comparative research on the history of the relationship between art and spirituali ....Spiritual and cross-cultural elements in contemporary Australian art. This project will benefit the Australian community through new research on Australian art as an arena for the expression of spirituality. Its exploration of the spiritual and cross-cultural aspects of seven outstanding contemporary Australian artists, especially in relation to Aboriginal Art and Asian Art, will provide a strong basis for further comparative research on the history of the relationship between art and spirituality in contemporary Australian art. The resulting book and conference papers will make the fruits of this research widely known in the community.Read moreRead less