9e26

9e26: Ten Years Later is a series of six roundtable discussion sessions open to PNW Arts & Tech Symposium attendees Oct 24-25 at xispa (325 Westlake Ave N, Seattle). Learn more about the 9e26 sessions below, and see the 9e26 program page for more detailed session descriptions including guest bios.

9e26 Producer and Host: John Boylan, Seattle writer and producer

The 9e26 Sessions

In 1966, artist Robert Rauschenberg got together with Bell Laboratories engineer Billy Klüver to produce “9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering.” Working with a group of artists, performers, choreographers, engineers, and technicians, they produced nine nights of performance driven by the high tech of the time. Some of the technologies they employed were very new, while others had never been used as elements of performance: infrared video, Doppler sonar, biofeedback, projected television, FM transmitters. The event was remarkable and became a landmark in the history of the interaction between art and technology. It also spawned a series of projects that became known as E.A.T: Experiments in Art & Technology.

2016 saw a number of 9 Evenings 50th anniversary events around the world, including events in London, Istanbul, New York, San Francisco, and elsewhere. In Seattle, a group of artists, scientists, technologists, and producers came together to produce “9e2: Art, Science, and Technology” upstairs in King Street Station, before the space became the home of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture.

9e2 featured nine days and nights of exhibits, installations, performances, lectures, and discussions. The event included explorations of data-driven art, virtual reality, augmented reality, accessibility, surveillance, neuroscience, machine learning, the use of depth sensors in art, and more. Artists included Tamiko and Midori Thiel, pioneering eco-artist Newton Harrison, Ginny Ruffner, Gary Hill, DJ Spooky, Thomas Deuel, Reilly Donovan, a group of artists brought together by Ellen Ziegler, and many others. Schools participated, including Cornish College for the Arts, Pilchuck Glass School, the University of Washington’s DXARTS program, and the Technical Access Foundation Academy.

In short, it was amazing.

Now, 10 years after 9e2 and 60 years after 9 Evenings, we’ve created 9e26. We’ve brought together a group of artists, scientists, engineers, and writers as an element of the PNW Arts & Tech Symposium. They’ll engage in roundtable discussions looking at the interplay between art, science, technology, and society: where we are, where we’ve been over the years, and where we’re going. We hope you’ll join us.

To learn more:

• Rachael Green’s short video gives a sense of what 9e2 was like.
• The 9e2 website has been down for some time, but the Wayback Machine has faithfully rescued the dead site. Some images are gone, but most of the site is still available.
• Genevieve Tremblay put together a good overview of 9e2.
• To learn more about 9 Evenings, this page is a good introduction, with links to great resources.

Please join us for the Six 9e26 Conversations, October 24 & 25 at Xispa

See the 9e26 program page for more date, time, and detailed session descriptions.

Be sure to register for the Arts and Tech Symposium.