NAMAC releases 2011 Regional Report: Media Arts Organizations in the Evolving Digital Landscape

As reliance on digital and broadband technologies intensifies, media experiences are increasingly at the forefront rather than the sidelines of our social, cultural, and economic lives. In a sea of media, independent media arts organizations are distinctive in that they actively contribute to our democracy, embodying core values such as community building, lifelong learning, social justice, creativity, risk taking and cultural bridging.

In 2010 and 2011, NAMAC set out to better understand the challenges, opportunities and emerging strategies for independent media arts organizations in the digital era. Through four regional gatherings, a total of 64 media arts leaders in Boston, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area and Texas shared their experiences. Following the gatherings, NAMAC commissioned a series of eight case studies to learn more. This Report from the Field synthesizes key findings from all four convenings and incorporates rich illustrations gleaned from the case studies.

Participants in NAMAC’s regional gatherings highlighted the following as key trends in the operating environment for media arts organizations: a diverse and crowded media marketplace; diminished funding with a few bright spots; a participatory media paradigm including networks, social media and transmedia; a broken education system; and heightened corporate influence.

Download the full report below.