BrowserAs

Contact: Katie Duffy (kduffy@mica.edu)
Email: info@browseras.com
Website: browseras.com
Open Hours: We are always open!

How is the project operated?
BrowserAs is operated on a project-to-project basis. Because we exist online, we don’t have to follow the normal gallery conventions of exhibition duration and install/deinstall times.

The projects initially resemble a client/designer relationship, with agreed upon meeting times and measurable goals within the larger goal of finishing the collaboration. However, what differs within these processes is the blending of the various roles. No one person is the “client” “artists” and “designer,” and the only real goal is to come up with an interactive web installation that all at stake parties can feel excited about and inspired by.

There is usually an initial brainstorming meeting with the collaborator/s in which we flesh out ideas and determine what is feasible. After this meeting I like to give the collaborator/s some time to let the ideas germinate. At the second meeting we start to come up with solid sketches and mockups of what the end result will look like. We then divvy up tasks and start to divide and conquer. At this stage in the project we set a flexible deadline for the release of the installations. I find that the flexible deadlines are very important to the quality of the final installation because the collaborations need to have the space to evolve and change. I have found that it is important to allows projects get off track a bit and evolve into directions that no collaborators saw coming. This more open ended process creates not only really interesting works, but also collaborations venturing into new territory where artists are practicing/ learning new skills sets/ performing new roles that they otherwise would have not had the opportunity to step into.

I am interested in working with artists whose practice falls outside of what would normally be described as a digital practice. I choose the artists that I want to collaborate with based on in person, or “real,” experiences that I have had with their work . For instance I was interested in working with Cici Wu for the the current featured exhibition, The Phone Rang, So it Suddenly Started to Snow, because elements in one her physical installations of the same name had elements of a “user experience” within it, but in the gallery setting. To turn on the original installation the viewer had to call the installation, which would trigger the videos to play. So when I saw her piece I just started to think of all the ways the experience that Cici was offering the viewer could be further expanded within a space that had no spatial or time limitations, aka, the internet.

Other times the collaborations are spawned from ongoing conversations about the nature of “real” artwork when experienced digitally. The first collaboration on the site, Time & Place, was the result of such conversations that I had been having with artist and curator Katherine Gagnon (who now serves as the contributing curator for BrowserAs)

How long has it been in existence?
4 months.

What was your motivation?
The first thing I did after graduation was a collaborative public art installation. I had never had the opportunity to work collaboratively on this scale and I was just totally blown away at what three people with three totally different practices could accomplish and learn from each other through the process. I wanted to start to cultivate this collaborative network in my own practice because I found working in this way to be really exciting and allowed me and my collaborators to come up with really surprising and interesting projects.

I started working as a designer and creative director at an app company called Wham City Lights right out of grad school. At this time I started to get really interested in working on expanding my web skills and started to fold more development into my practice.

Around this time I was also started to really think about how to practically apply my interested in women’s advancement in technology and the arts. I started to realize that I could combine my interest in collaboration with my new web skills to create a platform that would foster collaboration with an emphasis on creating dialogue between creatives identifying as female.

How are programs funded?
From my full time job. 🙂 One of the other main influences of the project was to rethink the idea of space and to embrace the fact that people are looking at art online way more than they are looking at art in gallery. Not having a physical space keeps our overhead really low. Which also lowers the access barrier to viewing art.

Hopefully getting some grant funding at some point in the near future.

Who is responsible for the programming?
The project is an ongoing project of artist-designer Katie Duffy. Katherine Gagnon is the contributing curator. All projects are collaborations initiated by Katie Duffy and Katherine Gagnon, with a revolving cast of artists, designers, engineers and other creates. The collaborations result in installations that are featured on the site in time frames that vary depending on the projects. Past projects can be live accessed through the archives link.

Number and average duration of exhibitions/events per year.
Projects all have varying time lengths depending on the type of project.

What kind of events are usually organized?
For each featured project some type of loosely defined opening will take place. We had an opening party in February at Platform Gallery where we featured all of our live projects on ipads and projected onto the walls. Our next two opening will be a google hangout where people are invited to video chat the artists and attendees of an open studio.

How is your programming determined?
Programing is determined on a rolling basis. We have about 7 projects on the horizon and are looking for more development support. We are currently procuring funding to pay developers and provide artists stipends.

Do you accept proposals/submissions?
Absolutely!

What is your artistic/curatorial approach?
I am interested in initiating collaborations that use design and technology for the purpose of art making. I want the project to facilitate collaborations between creatives that are underrepresented in technology and the arts.

What’s working? What’s not working?
Right now, it’s just me writing the code and doing the design and the project has grown really fast, so in order to move faster and make better end products I need to find more developers that are interested in working on an art installation for no money. 🙂 I also feel that the projects are limited to the expertise of the collaborators, so I am hoping to get funding for artists to hire more web professionals to further the reach and scope of the installations.

What kind of role do you hope to play in your local art scene or community?
I want the project to be organized and used as a conduit to artists who are underrepresented in technology. I want to open up a new medium, that has a lot of barriers to get into, to artists from diverse backgrounds and levels of their careers. I have weird feelings about the delineations between design and fine art. I don’t feel that they are the same, but I also don’t feel like they are different. So I think the site is me exploring that crossover.

My vision is to use design as an applied tool to continue to facilitate collaboration. Initiating projects which stress the importance of collaboration among female artists is something that I think is really important and totally worth my time.

What idea are you most excited about for the future?
Currently I am working on a Pay Per View Performance Interface with Labbobies, which we will launch in April. I am really excited to see that come together and also where it can go. You can see a little preview and read about the project here.

I just did a huge overhaul of our site, so now you can more easily navigate to projects. I am currently working on getting all projects more mobile and tablet compatible, and I have had some more skilled developers than I sign onto a few scheduled collaborations.

I am also soon launching two other sections of the site, an artist gif gallery and a studio visit blog. The gif gallery is a digital collection of curated artist images that exist in gif form with themed shows by artists. The Blog will be a round robin of artist visiting other artists studios.

Images courtesy of BrowserAs.