LATEST CONFERENCE NEWS: ARCHIVES

25 May 2008
Wireless at the Conference
Access to the internet via WSUV's wireless system will be available to all conference registrants. When you pick up your registration packet, you will receive a username and password to use while on the WSUV campus for the duration of the conference.

Conference Presentations
Each conference session lasts 1 hour and 15 minutes. This means that each presenter has 20 minutes for her or his presentation. The remaining 15 minutes can be used at the end for questions and answers.

Tech Support during Conference Presentations
We will have people from WSUV's IT department available before each session to assist you with any tech needs. Keep in mind that each of the two rooms we will be using offers a PC, LCD projector, and a sound system, but you can use your own laptop easily by simply plugging into the system. ***If you plan to use your Mac laptop, please do not forget to bring the attachment (dongle) that connects you to the LCD projector. We will not have any available for you to use.***

Hotel Check Out on Sunday and Other Issues
Check out time for the Hilton Hotel is 4 pm. Those participating at the conference on Sunday are invited by the Hilton to check out before you leave for the conference that day and check your bags at the front desk for safekeeping.

Also, if you are paying more than $124 for rooms booked from Wednesday to Sunday nights, let me know. I am asking the Hilton to make good on the prices we have contracted with them to offer. If you have booked elsewhere because you were quoted a higher price on the evenings of the conference, let me know this information, too. I am collecting data on this problem.

Registration Locations
Registration opens on Thursday morning at 8 am in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel. It will move to the WSUV campus in the Firstenberg Student Commons on the WSUV campus on Friday morning and remain at that location for the duration of the conference.

Wednesday Arrivals
Those of you arriving on Wednesday are invited to get together at Tommy O's Pacific Rim Bistro at about 7:30 pm for dinner. We will gather in the bar. The menu features several vegetarian dishes, as well as local seafood, all blended with the flavors of the Pacific Islands. Tommy's is located very near the Hilton at 801 Washington (8th and Washington; the hotel is at 6th and Columbia). The hotel staff can help you with directions. The walk from the hotel to Tommy O's is just two blocks. Please join us. It will be a fun way to start the conference and media art show. Tommy O's website is available HERE

Anyone interested in going to yoga at 5:30 is welcome to join Dene Grigar and Helen Devinney at Vancouver Yoga at 5:30. It is an intermediate class in the Anusara tradition. The cost of "drop in" is $13. The studio is walking distance from the hotel. Again, the hotel staff can help you with directions.

 

19 May 2008
On the WSUV Campus
All conference presentations and workshops take place on the WSUV campus in the Multimedia Classroom Building. Breaks between sessions, breakfasts, and other events are scheduled in the Firstenberg Student Commons (FSC), just a quick walk from the Multimedia Classroom Building. In the FSC students from the spring 2008 "Electronic Literature" course have created a special exhibit entitled "Early Authors of Electronic Literature." The exhibit features work by M.D. Coverley, J. Yellowlees Douglas, Edward Falco, William Gillespie, Frank Marquardt, Scott Rettberg, and Dirk Stratton, Richard Holeton, Shelley Jackson, Michael Joyce, Rob Kendall, David Kolb, George Landow, Deena Larsen, Judy Malloy, John McDaid, Monica Moran, Stuart Moulthrop, James Petrillo, and Jim Rosenberg.

Transportation / Parking on Campus
We have arranged for shuttle service to run from the Hilton Hotel to the WSUV campus and back each day during the conference. The conference schedule lists the times. Additionally, we will have signage in the hotel for you so that you will know when and where to meet each day. Those wanting to drive cars need to know that the drive from the Hilton to campus is about 15 minutes. We will have signage around campus leading you to visitor's parking. Parking costs $3.00 for an all day pass. Directions from Mapquest

Food
During the conference we are providing all breakfasts, one lunch, and the banquet dinner. We will also serve snacks during the day.

Continental breakfast will be available Friday-Sunday in the Firstenberg Student commons on the WSUV campus prior to the first session from 7:45-8:30 a.m. for all participants. Those who want coffee before that time will be happy to know that a Starbucks is located a quick walk across Ester Short Park from the Vancouver Hilton. The university also has a decent coffee bar.

Conference Banquet
If you plan to bring a guest to the conference banquet, please let us know. The cost of the banquet is included in your conference registration but the cost of the conference banquet dinner is $40.00 for those not registered as conference participants.

Registration and Packets
Registration opens on Thursday, May 29 in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel and runs from 8 AM-6 PM. Those already registered will be able to pick up badges and conference materials during the day. Registration moves to the Firstenberg Student Commons at the WSUV campus beginning Friday.

Airport Transportation
The Portland airport (PDX) is located across the river from downtown Vancouver. Cab service is availabe to the Hilton from the airport. Once you arrive at the hotel, you will find that you can walk to restaurants, bars, and most venues associated with the conference. Since we are providing shuttle service to the university for you, you should not need to rent a car. This will save you quite a bit of money in car rental and gasoline.

Weather in Vancouver, WA
The weather in late May is generally delightful: warm in the day, cool at night. But it has been known to rain a bit in the Pacific Northwest:) and when it does, the temperatures can seem downright chilly. So, pack a raincoat, umbrella, and jacket. Layering your clothing is a smart approach so that when it does warm up, you are ready.

 

10 May 2008
Authoring Software Blogbase
Judy Malloy asks, "What authoring tools are you using to create your work?" and wants to include your answer in a developing Authoring Tools Blogbase she is developing as part of her contribution to the 2008 Electronic Literature Organization conference.

"I'm looking specifically at what authoring tools/software you used to create your work," says Malloy, "and, if you are interested in discussing this, the relationship between the interface and/or content in your work and the authoring tools you used. It would also be of interest to know why you use certain software or computer platforms and/or how your innovative uses of authoring tools or your creation of your own authoring tools have expanded new media practice."

This Authoring Software resource is a somewhat more formally compiled and structured than a traditional Blog. The plan is to bring together ideas and resources about the tools for writing electronic literature, in a virtual space where writers and artists can both set forth how they create their own work and explore other approaches, and students can see what tools are available and how they are being used.

The content is being gathered by email and posted as soon as possible. Content will be displayed and/or indexed by category of authoring software as the resource grows.

An alphabetical index of contributors and links to authoring software tools will change and augment as new entries appear, so that the resource is both useful and dynamic. In the future, an opportunity for live discussion may also be provided.

Visit Malloy's Authoring Software Blogbase HERE

 

31 March 2008
Reminders and Updates
1. Conference Registration

Early registration ends on April 7th. Online registration will continue until May 1. Keep in mind that after April 7, registration will cost $180. Participants need to be registered by May 1 to ensure their name in the conference program. All participants except the ten artists who have received bursaries and the three keynoters are expected to pay registration fees. Payment must be made with your registration.

2. Updated Conference Website

John Barber has been hard at work updating the conference website. To date, he has created an information page for all Media Artists who have accepted invitations to the conference and have provided information to us. He will begin work on providing similar information for all Presenters. If you have not sent in the information requested for the conference, please make sure you do so. We will also use this information for the printed materials (i.e. conference program, promotions).

3. Logistical and Technical Information

Conference Presentations
All presentation rooms for the conference are equipped with a PC, LCD projector, sound system, VCRs, etc. Additionally, presenters who would like to use their own computers are welcome to. You can easily connect your PC to the system. Those of you who wish to use Mac laptops know to bring the dongle that connects your Mac to the LCD projector. We will not be able to supply dongles for you since they vary so widely. Tech support will be provided daily by the University IT Department.

Each individual conference presentation should be no more than 20 minutes in length in order to allow time at the end for questions and discussions.

Media Art Show
There are two main venues for the Media Art Show: Northbank Artists Gallery and Clark College. We have organized the show so that elit works will be exhibited at Northbank, and net art, video screenings, sound art will be exhibited at Clark College. We have arranged the schedule so that during the conference each venue has a special evening and events devoted to it.

Friday night, for example, is dedicated to the Clark College exhibit and will feature screenings, artist talks, and interactive exhibits. Saturday night is dedicated to the Northbank Artists Gallery exhibit and will feature interactive exhibits, artist talks, and a multimedia performance.

Both venues will feature the work on 20" and 24" iMacs donated to the conference by the Apple Corporation. To facilitate the set up of the exhibits, we are asking artists to make final versions of their work available by CD/DVD. This will allow us to load the computers in advance to the conference and be guaranteed that during the Media Art Show that the work will run smoothly. We are discouraging showing works via the web. We will be posting times for artists to check their work before the two Media Art evenings.

The deadline for the CD/DVDs is May 1. CD/DVDs can be mailed to Dr. John Barber, Digital Technology and Culture Program, Washington State University Vancouver, 14204 NE Salmon Drive, Vancouver, WA 98686.

A third exhibit will take place during the three days of the conference at the Firstenburg Student Commons on the Washington State University Vancouver campus. This exhibit features early elit work from N. Katherine Hayles' personal electronic literature collection. Pioneering works by Michael Joyce, Stuart Moulthrop, M.D. Coverley, Deena Larsen, Judy Malloy and others will be featured.

4. Hilton Hotel

The Hilton Hotel is the official conference hotel. It is a short walking distance from Northbank Artists Gallery and a short cab ride to Clark College. Keep in mind that we will provide shuttle service to the university (where conference sessions will be held) each morning and back to the hotel each afternoon. We will also provide shuttle service to Clark College on Friday night. Please make your reservations quickly. A few other hotels are available but none so close to the various venues associated with the conference and none as comfortable as the Hilton.

5. Conference Banquet

There is a special conference banquet on Saturday night at the Hilton Hotel. The Hilton is the home of Gray's Restaurant, one of the top restaurants in town, specializing in Pacific Northwest cuisine. We are working with the chef to offer a terrific dinner featuring vegetarian dishes and seafood. The cost of the food is included in your registration fee; however, we will offer a cash bar for those who would like wine with their meal. If you are bringing a guest not registered for the conference, the price of the dinner will be $40. During the event keynoter Mark Amerika will speak, and the ELO will highlight the artists awarded bursaries. If for some reason you are not able to attend the banquet, please let Dene Grigar know. Contact her at grigarATvancouver.wsu.edu.

 

13 March 2008
Media Art Show Venues Announced
The three venues for different aspects of the Visionary Landscapes Media Art have been announced. Artists and their work have been placed at each venue based on general categories of the work featured in the show.

Additional information can be found on the "Media Arts Show" page, HERE.

Technical Details
Here are some details regarding the technical details associated with conference paper presentations.

Paper presentations will take place in rooms that seat close to 50 people each. These rooms are equipped for multimedia presentations and contain an instructor's podium controlling a PC, an internet connection, a mounted LCD projector, and a sound system. All can handle CDs and DVDs. The PCs run most major software, but if there is something special you need, let us know by May 1, 2008.

As for technical support during the conference, we will have folks from the IT Department helping out, as well as students from the Digital Technology and Culture program available to give you a hand.

 

7 March 2008
Bursaries
Announcements regarding the award of bursaries have been made to the individual artists chosen to receive these awards.

A total of 10 bursaries were awarded, based on the scoring from three rounds of judging. The judging for these bursaries was intense. Over 151 entries were submited for the Media Arts Show. A total of 44 artists were invited to participate in the show. From this number, 10 artists were selected to receive bursaries based on the merits of their work. Artists receiving bursaries will also have their conference registration fees waived. Congratulations to each artist chosen to receive a bursary!

Please note that the bursaries will be paid at the conclusion of the conference, not before. No other payment for any other expenses is included with these bursaries. Additional information about bursaries and expenses can be found on the "Media Arts Show" page, HERE.

 

28 February 2008
Registration
Conference registration is now open. For more information, look HERE.

 

20 February 2008
Invitations: Media Arts Show
Invitations to participate in the Visionary Landscapes Media Art Show, to be held in conjunction with the ELO 2008 Conference have been sent to individual artists. For more information, look HERE.

 

11 February 2008
Sponsor: Clark College
The ELO welcomes Vancouver's Clark College as a sponsor of Visionary Landscapes: The ELO 2008 Conference. Clark College will sponsor a breakfast during the conference for attendees and is hosting conference media art on its campus. For more information about Clark College, look HERE.

 

23 January 2008
Invitations: Conference
Letters of invitation have been sent regarding speaking positions on the ELO 2008 Conference program. To view this list, look HERE.

 

15 August 2007
Call for Submissions: Media Arts Show
The call for submissions for the juried Media Arts Show, to be held in conjunction with the conference, is now available. For more information select the "Media Arts Show" link in the menu to the left.

 

8 August 2007
Featured Speakers
John Cayley (Brown University) and Sue Thomas (De Montfort University, UK) will be Featured Speakers at the ELO 08. Mark Amerika (UC-Boulder) will Keynote the Saturday evening dinner and give a workshop prior to the conference start.

 

1 August 2007
Call for Proposals: Conference
The Call for Proposals for the conference has gone out. Thank you to all of you who have announced the conference information on your blogs, listservs, and websites.

 

29 July 2007
Website Design
The new conference website was designed by Jeannette Altman. Thanks, Jeannette, for your wonderful work!

 

Original Conference Call for Proposals

Visionary Landscapes: Electronic Literature Organization 2008 Conference

Thursday, May 29-Sunday, June 1, 2008
Vancouver, Washington

Sponsored by Washington State University Vancouver
and
The Electronic Literature Organization

Drs. Dene Grigar and John Barber, Co-Chairs



Producing a work of electronic literature entails not only practice in the literary arts but sometimes also the visual, sonic, and the performative arts; knowledge of computing devices and software programs; and experience in collaboration, interdisciplinarity, and hybridity. In short, electronic literature requires its artists to see beyond traditional approaches and sensibilities into what best can be described as visionary landscapes where, as Mark Amerika puts it, artists "celebrate an interdisciplinary practice from a literary and writerly perspective that allows for other kinds of practice-based art-research and knowledge sharing."

To forward the thinking about new approaches and sensibilities in the media arts, The Electronic Literature Organization and Washington State University Vancouver's Digital Technology and Culture program are inviting submissions to the Electronic Literature Organization 2008 Conference to be held from May 29 to June 1, 2008 in Vancouver, Washington.

"Visionary Landscapes: Electronic Literature Organization 2008 Conference" is interested in papers that explore forms of digital media that utilize images, sound, movement, and user interaction as well as—or in lieu of—words and that explore how we read, curate, and critique such works. Topics may include: In conjunction with the three-day conference, there will be a juried Media Arts Show. Along with prizes for the most notable work, selected artists will be awarded bursaries to attend the conference featured at the show. Submission guidelines will be posted beginning August 15, 2007 on the conference website.

The keynote speaker is internationally renown new media artist and writer, Mark Amerika, named a "Time Magazine 100 Innovator." His artwork has been exhibited at the Whitney Biennial, the ICA in London, the Walker Art Center, and the Denver Art Museum and has been the topic of four retrospectives. Amerika is also the author of many books, including his recently published collection of artist writings entitled META/DATA: A Digital Poetics (The MIT Press), founder of the Alt-X Network, and publisher of the electronic book review. He currently holds the position of Professor of Art and Art History at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Deadline for Submissions for Presentations: 30 November 2007
Notification of Acceptance: 30 December 2007

Vancouver, Washington, located in the Pacific Northwest just across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon, is about a six hour drive south of Vancouver, Canada and three hours south of Seattle, Washington. The conference day events will take place at Washington State University Vancouver, a Tier One research Institution built in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains with views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Saint Helens. The official conference hotel is the Hilton Vancouver located in downtown Vancouver, Washington, with easy access to restaurants, bars, and evening conference events. Special rates have been negotiated for conference attendees. A conference shuttle will take attendees to and from the campus daily. The recommended airport is Portland International Airport (PDX) at Portland, Oregon, which is about a seven minute drive to downtown Vancouver, Washington.

The cost of the conference is $US 150; graduate students and non-affiliated artists pay only $US 100. Conference registration covers access to all events, the reception, some meals, and shuttle transportation.

For more information, contact Dene Grigar at grigar<AT>vancouver<DOT>wsu<DOT>edu.

 

Original Media Art Show Call for Proposals

Visionary Landscapes: Electronic Literature Organization 2008 Conference

Thursday, May 29-Sunday, June 1, 2008
Vancouver, Washington

Sponsored by Washington State University Vancouver
and
The Electronic Literature Organization

Drs. Dene Grigar and John Barber, Co-Curators

Call for Media Art



NOTE: Announcements to individual artists choosen to receive bursaries have been made. A total of 10 bursaries were awarded, based on the scoring from three rounds of judging. The judging for these bursaries was intense. Over 151 entries were submitted for the Media Arts Show. A total of 44 artists were invited to participate in the show. From this number, 10 artists were selected to receive bursaries based on the merits of their work.

Description
In conjunction with the ELO 2008 Conference, there will be a juried Media Arts Show, held from Wednesday, May 28-June 2, 2008 at Northbank Artists Gallery in downtown Vancouver, Washington, just a short walk from the conference hotel, at Clark College, also near downtown Vancouver, on the campus of Washington State University Vancouver, and other venues. In particular, we are looking for works such as:
  1. Electronic literary works, such as hypertext poetry and fiction, interactive fiction, flash poetry and fiction, as well as other forms of elit
  2. Net art pieces
  3. Video
  4. Animations
  5. Sonic art
  6. Experimental or conceptual multimedia works
The length of works should not exceed 20 minutes per entry. Because of the limitation of space, all works must be able to be exhibited via the computer screen. We will not be able to accommodate live performances or installations.

Bursaries
A limited number of artists selected for the media arts show will be awarded US$500 bursaries and have their conference registration fees waived. Bursaries will be dispersed at the Saturday night conference dinner, at the end of the conference. Artists receiving bursaries will be honored at that event and so are expected to attend the conference and Media Arts Show. Unfortunately, bursaries cannot be disperesed prior to the conference, nor can the conference/media art show organizers apply bursaries toward individual artists' expenses prior to the conference and media art show.

Expenses
Unfortunately, no funds are available to cover artist expenses. All travel, lodging, food, shipping, conference, and other expenses must be paid by the individual artist unless that artist is awarded a bursary, in which case conference registration fees are waived.

Exhibition of Work(s)
In order to have their work exhibited, each invited artist must attend and participate in the conference and Media Art show. If conference registration fees are not paid by the deadline (to be announced soon) art work will not be included in the exhibit.

Guidelines for Submissions
Submissions will be taken beginning October 1 and are due by November 30, 2007. Notification of awards will begin 15 January 2008.

There are two methods of submissions:
  1. CDs or DVDs should be mailed to:
    Dr. John Barber
    Digital Technology and Culture Program
    Washington State University Vancouver
    14204 NE Salmon Creek Ave.
    Vancouver, WA 98686
    USA

  2. URLs for websites should be emailed to Dr. John Barber at the address below
    jfbarber<AT>vancouver<DOT>wsu<DOT>edu
Please do not email work samples. No work will be considered if it arrives via email.

For more information, contact
Dr. Dene Grigar
grigar<AT>vancouver<DOT>wsu<DOT>edu
360-546-9487