Giving Compass' Take:

• The Knight Foundation's Chris Barr discusses the challenges new digital artists face when creating work and explains how the organization is working to improve such an ecosystem. 

• What can funders do to encourage more artists across different fields? It starts with getting out of the mindset that patronizing the arts is limited to traditional galleries.

• Read more about digital art and how the cultural sector is keeping up with society. 

Technology-based art is not new. For decades, artists have used technology as a tool and medium for expression. From Nam June Paik’s large-scale video sculptures to Complex Movement’s community-based installation and performances, artists have and are exploring the aesthetic possibilities of technology to captivate audiences.

Despite seminal technology-based works, new media artists still only have a few places to discover models for success, communities of practice and the building blocks for sustainable careers. Artists need clear pathways to audience, to revenue and to each other. This requires building support systems to help artists create their best work, learn from each other, and have more predictable income streams. For many digital artists, this might mean exploring career paths that diverge from the traditional gallery route, to integrate public art, pop-up experiences or ticketed performances. And as artists examine these avenues, they need better tools for launching new enterprises.

New media presents challenges to institutions that both collect and present art. Technology is inherently ephemeral and unstable. It requires special expertise to deploy and maintain. Because of this, the path through traditional galleries to the large audiences of contemporary art museums is often inaccessible for new media artists.

Read the full article about digital pathways for digital artists by Chris Barr at Knight Foundation, via Medium.