A collaboration of artists Paul Wong, Winston Xin. Mo-Ling Chui and others as a continuation of the works started with cyberartsite. com and Asians in Space. We are a group of emerging and established media artists, curators, programmers, cultural activists and critical thinkers who have come together out of commonality. Many of us have been involved with the artist-run scene for many years and many of us have worked together in various formations and capacities. In recent years we have come together supporting each other grappling with integrating digital practises in our work. With the advent of low-cost and high quality digital technology many of use have set up home studios. For the first time average artists and consumers can create quality work independently outside the dominant structures: commercial studios, artist-run organisations and schools.
We have discovered that there is a desperate need for collaboration and dialogue, both theoretical discussions and practical sharing of information and resources. The aim of The Digital Sweatshop is to provide contexts for examining new digital culture.
To date, we have been doing this formally and informally. We have collaborated together on projects such as: Notes From The Lab and Re-Act, two events for Live At The End of The Century Performance Festival; Centrifugal Vision: Video Circle an international exhibition , On Edge’s millennium project www.Cyberartsite.com, Asian Heritage Month Festival programs, Video In Studio workshops, and assisting on personal productions and an on line network.
By commonality, we happen to be primarily but not exclusively Asian-Canadians. The Digital Sweatshop is interested in interdisciplinary and cross cultural issues and its potential intersection with new media technologies and issues of globalisation.