Meetups
Concept Null intermittently run meetups across the island of Ireland, bringing together practitioners, researchers and enthusiasts of new media and digital art. The idea of hosting a meetup was somewhat of an experiment and since, has led to one of the most important aspects of what we do. To be able to meet all the wonderful people engaging with art and technology has brought such a profound sense of responsibility and motivation to our mission. The meetups highlight further the need for these types of activities to be supported across the island of Ireland and only scratch the very surface in addressing the many issues we face as practitioners in this country.
They provide a platform to be seen and acknowledged within the community. The audience can become aware of who is currently practicing in the country and what level they are at. In turn, this also provides an essential context of our own practices on this island. Itâs really important that there are third spaces in Ireland to be able to share, learn, connect and create together. Engaging in healthy discourse is vital to the lifeblood of growing as a community and it really helps us, as a collective, foster the shape of this community. Our meetups engage with high levels of critique while also being as welcoming as possible.
All levels of practice are encouraged to present and attend these events. Sharing feels in many ways like a dissolution of capitalistic chains that we operate within, to make the choice not to gatekeep but instead to show others, what you work on, how you do it, why you do it and what youâve learned from that is a beautiful act of self.
Due to limited resources and our current funding situation we can only run these every few months. For anyone that cannot make it in person there is an option to watch and/or present your work to us online during the meetup.
The next meetup will be âŚ..
MEETUP_03
Date: 24th February, 2024 Location: Digital Art Studios, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
At Beta Festival we got to meet Richard Davis of Digital Art Studios. This led to us hosting a meetup in Belfast which, in regard to new media art, is another one of these forgotten counties on the island of Ireland. Making attempts to bridge connections to such places is at the top of our list. This was the first meetup that we also streamed live. We were pretty blown away by the presenters and were once again reminded of just how important physical interaction is within our community.
The presenters were: Aiden Brady Cameron Clarke Kharis Beggs John Dam Crothers Caileann Finn
MEETUP_04
Date: 18th May, 2024
Location: The Guesthouse, Cork, Ireland.
We hosted our fourth meetup at The Guesthouse in the heart of Cork City thanks to one of their core members Billy Kemp who helps develop the event and residency programs there. This was the first event that we took virtual presenters and the response was so positive that weâll now do this for each meetup going forward. Those two presenters were: Crash Stop Mother Woolf
The in-person presenters were: Armen Gulesserian Mark Horgan Daniel