CYNETart has been showing new trends of cultural developments in the media arts since 1997. The consequences of the prevailing progress of civilisation and the introduction of new information technologies in all fields of social life lead to the disembodiment of perception triggering the examination of a new sensitivity for physical experience and for the perception of one’s own body. The international festival focuses on the broaching the issue of this change of the perception of the body by new information technologies. Herein, the performance of the new technology is less important, it is rather about their cultural potential for mediation. This applies f.i. to linkages between existential questions of humankind and how they are perceived. It also applies to the sensual approach to scientific methods of research and the interconnections between the arts.
The festival will present projects which stand out because of their integrated tie-in of art, science and media technology. The art processes are based on modern computer technology and last but not least a work resulting from media operations. They are essentially seeking a cross-link to scientific and artistic forms of art.
TMA Hellerau hosts this international competition of CYNETart, inviting artists and art groups to present their projects every two years. They can apply with projects that fully utilise digital technologies in their conceptual, creative and performing processes, thereby opening up opportunities for digital performance and their relationship to factors such as time, space, physical presence and social encounters. An international jury with representatives from well-established media culture institutions and experienced scientists with a background in media art history will decide about the winner of the CYNETart-award and the sponsorship award. It will also decide on the award of the artist-in-residence-scholarship funded by the ministry of culture.
Apart from the awards ceremony and presentation of CYNETart-award-winning projects the Dresden House of Arts will exhibit the entries of the CYNETart-contest 2008 and the festival theatre Hellerau will stage topical performances and performance installations of the international scene. Well-known and popular activities of the festival include the integration of projects from the Dresden Innovations Fund for Art and Media Technology, the nationwide multi-media contest MB21 as well as on-stage acting at further physical and virtual locations.