About the Vernacular Terrain

IDAprojects and QUT Creative Industries have developed an extroadinary national and international exhibition program building strong academic connections as well as presenting major exhibitions in China, Japan  and throughout Australia.

To quickly highlight some of our  outcomes from 2007,  we received two major grants from the Australia China Council and  Australia International Cultural Council where we were listed as the number one arts-cultural project for 2007.

In January we had an incredible opportunity to work with Mr Li Xian Ting in China. Mr Li is considered to be China's most important art historian and critic where we presented the Vernacular Terrain exhibition at his new Museum in the Songzhuang Art  District China.

It should also be noted that not only were we the first western exhibition to be invited Mr Li but we were the first non chinese exhibition and first new media exhibition presented at Songzhuang.

We have published four major catalogues. Beijing Film Academy 2006, 798 Art Festival Beijing 2007,  Yokohama New Media Festival Japan 2007 and the current The Vernacular Terrain catalogue featuring a comprehensive history of the project from 2000 to 2008 as well several major essays.

This year, The Vernacular Terrain was the first new media exhibition to feature at Federation Square in Melbourne Australia on their outdoor screens. We will continue to develop screening opportunities at Federation Square. This will include academic projects from QUT as well as local and international artists as an ongoing program.

We have also been invited to present a major video exhibition at the Tokyo International Film festival, in October 2008, with our partner the Yokohama Art Project Japan.

IDAprojects impressive list of accomplishments relates directly to our partnership with QUT. They have provided invaluable resources that have made such an important contribution to our programming which includes public and educational programs.

This year we continue with part two of the Vernacular Terrain at QUT. This exhibition continues to explore how artists engage with culture, language and local dialects, environment and  technology.

We have included several acclaimed artists from China such as Lu Chunsheng whose recent solo show at Red Mansion Foundation London was curated by Hans Urlich Orbist from the Serpentine Gallery.

We are also delighted to have five established Indigenous Australian artists to reflect upon the Vernacular Terrain through aboriginal new media as it relates specifically to the socio-political and dialectical landscape.

IDAprojects - short profile:

Founded by Stephen Danzig in 1999, IDAprojects was the first nexus of its kind providing a platform for academia, research technologies and professional art practices in building a new discourse.  The past seven years the IDAprogram has grown to feature a national and international touring exhibition with an aim to present leading artists from around the world who engage in new media arts and research technologies. Major institutions and museums support IDAprojects as an important voice in new media and contemporary arts.

IDAprojects is developing a strategic partnership with the Beijing Film Academy and Queensland University of Technology - Creative Industries Precinct to further develop it's curatorial directive over the next 3 years.

Important contacts have been put in place in New York, Japan and 798 district in Beijing to provide further support to the IDAprojects program.

The IDAprogram reflects a continuing commitment to our cultural identities, research education, new technologies and professional arts practices.

Importantly this will nurture the next generation of digital and new media artists by providing a venue which builds on the substantial cultural and trading links that Australia, China, and Japan already share.
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