Guide A6 Independent notes
New media art museums: where to see video, net and digital art
Media art lives in specialised centres and in the media departments of general museums. This overview names institutions that have a long record, with notes on how to use them.
Specialised media art centres
Some institutions were founded for the field. The ZKM Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany, opened its museum in 1997 in a former munitions factory and combines exhibitions, a research institute and collections. Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria, runs a festival and a permanent centre. The ICC in Tokyo, the NTT InterCommunication Center, opened in 1997 as a place for art and technology. The Nam June Paik Art Center in Yongin, South Korea, is dedicated to the video pioneer and to media art.
Museums with media departments
Many general museums collect time-based media. The SFMoMA has a media arts department. The Tate collects and conserves video, film and net art and publishes online explainers. The Whitney Museum of American Art runs artport, an online portal for internet and digital art. The Smithsonian American Art Museum has a time-based media programme. The New Museum in New York is affiliated with Rhizome, an organisation that archives born-digital art.
The Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York, covers film, television and digital media, including games and interactive work.
New media art museum or immersive attraction?
Search results for new media art museums also bring up immersive digital attractions, which show projections and animation on a large scale. They can be spectacular, but their mission is usually entertainment rather than collecting, research and conservation. Neither kind is better in general. They simply answer different questions.
If you want to see historical works and thoughtful programming, look for a collecting institution with curators and a published exhibition programme.
How to plan a visit
Works rotate, and media works are often shown only in certain galleries or on certain days. Check the current exhibition page, and ask whether a time-based work has a screening schedule. Allow time to watch complete works. Headphones, a dark room and a quiet hour change the experience.
Read the label: it should list the year, the medium, the duration and sometimes the edition. The edition note tells you that other copies of the work exist.
Online collections and archives
You can see a lot without travelling. Several museums publish online essays, interviews and recorded talks, and some host browser based works that you can open yourself. Archives such as Rhizome's ArtBase store net art with documentation. Searching a museum's collection by medium, for example video or internet art, is a quick way to find media works.
For events rather than permanent collections, see our guide to media art festivals. For what happens behind the scenes, read how to collect and preserve new media art.