Digital Art Communities: Hubs, Nodes & Networks

Self-organised artistic communities, across online and physical spaces, have helped to shape the UK's digital art scene since the 1960s. Join curator Pita Arreola (Off Site Project) in conversation with curator Zaiba Jabbar (HERVISIONS), author Catherine Mason (Computer Arts Society) and designer James Stevens (Backspace) to hear how London artist-led spaces have created the conditions for experimentation. 

 

This conversation is part of the research project ‘Hubs, Nodes and Networks: A New History of British Digital Art’ supported by the V&A and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.  

 

Part of the V&A’s inaugural Digital Art Season which runs until 30 November 2024, and addresses questions of technology, creativity and digital culture. 

 

Speakers: 

Pita Arreola is a London based curator and co-founder of Off Site Project, a curatorial platform that through exhibitions, events and residencies promotes international new media talent. Through her independent practice, Pita has supported the work of over 200 artists from across the UK, Europe, Asia, Middle East, USA and Latin America. She was curator of Digital Art at the V&A, from 2021 to 2024 and is the co-editor of Digital Art:1960s-Now (V&A, Thames & Hudson: 2024). 

 

Zaiba Jabbar is an award-winning director, independent curator and the founder of HERVISIONS, a femme-focused curatorial agency that produces innovative commissions, exhibitions, and events with a strong focus on the intersection of art, technology, and culture. Jabbar was a curator in residence at LUX, London in 2018, is a board member of Abandon Normal Devices, and is currently an associate lecturer on the MA Computational Art course at Camberwell College.  

 
Catherine Mason is an independent art historian and author who has been researching the history of computer and digital art since 2002, when she joined an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded group at Birkbeck, University of London – The CACHe Project (Computer Arts, Contexts, Histories, etc). Her books include the solo authored A Computer in the Art Room: The Origins of British Computer Arts 1950-80 (JJG: 2008), the co-edited White Heat, Cold Logic: British Computer Art 1960-1980 (MIT: 2009) and most recently Creative Simulations: George Mallen and the Early Computer Arts Society (Springer: 2024). She also writes for Studio International and the Tickle arts magazine and is on the board of the Computer Arts Society. 

 

James Stevens is a founding member of the media lab SPC. In 1995, he directed the development of the web boutique Obsolete and subsequently launched the proto cybercafe Backspace (1996-1999) at London Bridge, which drew a community exploring the potential of critical media. Today, Stevens works between research development projects and network maintenance for artist studios, housing co-ops and rehearsal studios. As an advocate for social exchange, he has initiated multiple collaborative projects dedicated to promoting self-sustaining infrastructure, cultural stimulation and transformation including Consume, Deckspace, Bitspace, OWN and Uniform.