Cindi Drennan, Australia | ISBN: | Submitted: Jul 20, 1998

The Web as Art Space, Museum and Forum in Tumblong.

The paper will explore the value of the public interactivity and engagement on the web, using technologies for online communication in the website "Tumblong" http://www.tumblong.uts.edu.au, to make cultural artefacts and art work accessible to the public.

The rhetoric about the World Wide Web and democracy suggests that it can provide an opportunity for interaction, as a conference or even a virtual community, for anyone in the world who has online access. The internet is an information distribution medium, and also a place to express ideas, share experiences and participate in community activities through email and web forums.

These ideas form the starting points for Tumblong, a web site which is a joint production between artists and cultural institutions in Australia and the United Kingdom. We have set up Tumblong to give anyone, anywhere in the world, the opportunity to create and participate in an online art museum. The pilot project commenced in Early March and finished in June 98, and the final analysis of the project's success in achieving the objectives is now being made.

Tumblong has four commissioned artists (two in the UK, and two in Australia) producing art in reaction to the artefacts (which were provided by eleven different cultural institutions in Australia and the UK) and the community. They not only put their finished work on the site, but also their private thoughts, and their work in progress. In addition, the public were invited to contribute their own work to the site. Tumblong aimed to be a community museum, art studio, gallery, and exhibition, and this paper analyses:

* How successful is Tumblong as a virtual museum, considering the original objectives? * Do the artists contributions make the artefacts more accessible to the public? * How does public gaze affect the artists" processes and art works? * How do art contributions by the public challenge, deflect, or enhance the tumblong site, artists' processes and work? Is it a distraction or a value add?

The paper will present an analysis of these issues, which will have implications for museums and cultural institutions who are considering developing a web presence, and for artists or teams who are considering working collaboratively via the web. -------- this is how Tumblong was described to participants and the public:

Tumblong is a production site for new art on the World Wide Web. The art is about the connection between Australia and Britain in the past, present and future. The starting points for the new art are a series of cultural artefacts linking the two countries, which have been selected by participating cultural institutions.

Four Australian and British artists are exploring the artefacts provided on the site. Their art may be produced in any medium. We are making digital records of their work in progress, and putting it on the Website.

And you can participate, from anywhere in the world. If you have got something to say about this project or want to add your own artwork, why don't you join the artists and production team at the Tumblong Crossroads.

[more information]

[other authors]
Chris Nash, Paul Bonaventura

[keywords]
Art, Public Discussion Forum, Studio, Cultural, Australia,