Investigating the Process of Collaboration in the Context of the e-MobiLArt Project

Symposium:


Session Title:
  • Networked Collaborations

Presentation Title:
  • Investigating the Process of Collaboration in the Context of the e-MobiLArt Project

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Abstract:

  • The e-MobiLArt (European Mobile Lab for Interactive media Artists) project was tailored around the process of collaboratively creating interactive installations. The main objective of this project was to provide its participants with a multicultural, interdisciplinary context, so as to aid their collaboration in order to create interactive installations. Moreover it aimed at supporting the exhibition of the artworks they produced and the mobility of both artists and their works within Europe. The collaborative process took place during three workshops (in Athens, Rovaniemi and  Vienna) as well as on-line. The artworks created were exhibited in two exhibitions that took place in the Biennale of Thessaloniki and in Katowice. Thirty three experienced artists, coming from the areas of visual, electronic, interactive art, architecture, performance, video and sonic art were selected to participate in e-MobiLArt. These participants formed 14 groups and worked together in order to develop their projects.

    e-MobiLArt was an experimental project and as such, it cannot be evaluated by focusing on the artistic result alone, as presented in the two exhibitions, but mainly by investigating the processes that it entailed and the impact of these processes on all parties and individuals involved. This paper presents and discusses the results of an evaluation, which was conducted via questionnaires and interviews and attempted to document and analyse the collaborative process from the perspectives of all participants.

    Collaboration occurred at various levels between the groups of participants (artists’ groups, organizers, curatorial advisors, etc.) as well as within each group. The outcome of this research reflects on certain important aspects of collaboration, focusing on specific group structures, roles, hierarchy, group formation and organization methodologies for communication and mediation as well as investigating how creative ideas and collaborative strategies can emerge within a group formation. The study showed that interaction amongst participants was determined by a series of: objective factors (technology utilized, constraints of the fixed timetable of the project, technical and financial constraints of the production, artists’ background and skills) as well as subjective factors (interpersonal relations, personality of individuals involved and behavior within groups, degree of involvement of members of each group).

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