Biography

Professor David Garcia is Dean – Graduate School and Enterprise Development at CCW and was previously Professor of Design for Digital Cultures, a research programme based at Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, Utrecht and the University of Portsmouth.

In 1983, he co-founded Time Based Arts, which went on to become one of the premier venues for international media arts in the Netherlands. From this basis, he went on to develop a series of high profile international media arts events – the most significant being The Next 5 Minutes (1994–2003) a series of international conferences and exhibitions on electronic communications and political culture. Recently (since 2006, as part of the Digital Cultures programme) he initiated (Un)common Ground, a research programme consisting of structured expert meetings and publications, investigating the new role of art and design as a catalyst for collaboration across sectors and disciplines. In 2007, he edited and contributed to the book (Un)common Ground, Creative Encounters Across Sectors and Disciplines, which was launched in spring 2007 at the Enter Festival, Cambridge.

In 2010 at Chelsea, with Eric Kluitenburg of De Balie in Amsterdam, he launched the Tactical Media Files, an online web-based archive of Tactical Media content. This archive forms the basis of the first centralized information resource for Tactical Media art scholarship and action. It will form the basis of a two-year public research programme into the Tactical Media legacies and futures.

In 2011, we have greatly increased the range of sources and content of the Tactical Media Files Repository in all areas, including the moving image. We have also upgraded the site infrastructure and have included a search function and the blog being linked from the site. The blog and the RSS feeds and share tools should all help create greater visibility of the resource over time. The blog has been launched with a new essay co-written for the blog, which reframes tactical media for today. As well as its home on the blog, we are already disseminating and publishing the text beyond the site. Additionally, the Tactical Media Files video blog can be found at TMF featuring a number of high profile contributions, including also an interview with Camille Otrakji.

Research statement 

The focus of my work is what I call tactical media – the impact of the rise of small-scale DIY media, tools and networks in art, social and political activism, and the rise of new social movements. The research involves making personal installations, videotapes and TV programmes, and curating exhibitions along with an extensive output of published theoretical writing on critical media and internet culture. In June 2010, we launched a centralized web archive of Tactical Media content. This will form the basic reference point for a two-year programme of public research in the form of events, exhibitions and conferences.

Selected outputs and achievements

Selected publications

• 2010 CAT 2010: Ideas Before Their Time, CAT symposium procceedings.
• 2009 ‘Proud to be Flesh’, essay selected for Mute Anthology.
• 2008 ‘(Un)realtime Media’, in: Lovink, G. & Niederer, S. (eds), Video Vortex Reader: Responses to YouTube, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures.
• 2008 ‘Alternative TV Platforms and Breakout Section on Tactical Media’, in: Alternative Media Handbook, Routledge.

Selected curatorial projects

• 2010 ElectroSmog, established Chelsea College as a node in an experimental communications experiment.

Selected screenings

• 2010 Screening and performance (with Kevin Atherton), Glasgow International Art Festival.
• 2009 Screenings and cable TV transmission, Nederlands Instituut voor Media Kunst.

Selected awards

• 2007 Arts Council UK + Virtuel Platform: funding for (Un)common Ground.

Selected papers and presentations

• 2010 Keynote Paper, Duncan of Jordonstone College of Art Annual Research Symposium.
• 2010 ‘CAT 2010: Ideas before their time’, paper delivered at CAT symposium.
• 2009 Keynote Art and Science conference, Leuven.
• 2009 Keynote Speaker, LCASE Conference for English Arts Council Officers.