Bring Your Own Beamer shines light on the digital arts at #SPARK17

Global arts initiative Bring Your Own Beamer features at this year’s Spark International Festival of Music, Media, Arts and Design, in a bid to raise awareness of the digital art event within the community and get more students involved.

Bring Your Own Beamer (BYOB) starts at 6pm on 17 August, in Wintec’s R Block Social Space on Collingwood Street as one of the wrap-up events of #SPARK17.

“This year we managed to time BYOB to coincide with Wintec’s second semester, and have it included in #SPARK17. My intention was to provide students with the time to develop their projects and hopefully premiere them at the show,” says Oliver Stewart, Bring Your Own Beamer Co-ordinator.

 “My expectation is it will bring different generations of artists together and develop a deeper bond with our artistic community, which to me is a constant driving force for organising these kinds of events.”

BYOB is an evening devoted to film, net and video art, and projection based artworks. The event provides a means of networking artists from the Waikato region and curates a range of digital media that wouldn’t normally share a physical space.

It also provides a starting platform for anyone interested in the digital arts, as people from a range of creative industries can showcase work as long as it falls within the digital media category.

“Last year’s exhibit showed a versatile range of work from a small mixed media piece utilising an old school over-head projector, to an entire room serving as a 3D video game. The great thing about the work was that most of it was interactive and child-friendly, so we had a lot of families coming through. This time around we are sure that the work on show will be as various and exciting.”

BYOB is the latest addition to a line-up of creative industry thought leaders sharing insights and tips and tricks of their trades, with an emphasis on practical learning through events and workshops.

“With the programme I always strive to make it a creative festival, rather than a conference,” says Megan Lyon, Spark Festival Director. “Having BYOB come on board as an awesome new event adds an interesting dynamic to #SPARK17.”

Organised by Wintec’s School of Media Arts, Spark International Festival unites industry leaders from around New Zealand and the globe, providing opportunities for attendees to hear from, and meet, specialists in the music, media, arts and design industries. Speakers will share cutting edge trends, insights about the industry and provide encouragement for students in the arts sector for a dynamic week of learning and networking.

To see a copy of the Spark Festival programme visit spark.net.nz.

For more information on #Spark17 contact Megan Lyon, Spark Festival director.

For information on BYOB Hamilton contact Oliver Stewart, Bring Your Own Beamer co-ordinator.

Homepage image: Video Art, Dan Inglis at BYOB Hamilton 2016 and as part of the 2016 PLUNGE exhibition at Ramp Gallery, Hamilton, New Zealand.