Jaime Austin

Looking for Examples of Innovation Outside the Arts

Posted by Jaime Austin, Jul 28, 2011 0 comments


Jaime Austin

Jaime Austin

ZER01 is an arts organization based in Silicon Valley, a place renowned globally as a hub of entrepreneurship and innovation. So lately I’ve been pondering the questions: How can the arts more visibly contribute to this culture of innovation? And how can we as an arts organization better reflect the area where we are based?

One of the main projects I work on is organizing the ZER01 Biennial. The fourth iteration of the biennial will take place in September 2012. Any organization that plans a biennial should always ask the question “why another biennial?” each time they embark on another planning cycle.

Recently, biennials are a dime a dozen. There are the longstanding biennials like Venice and Sao Paulo, and then there are a growing number of new biennials that are often used as vehicles to put non art centers on the map.

In my mind, one key to a successful biennial is that it reflects the location and history of where it is based. For example, the ZER01 Biennial in San Jose is a relatively new biennial. San Jose isn’t Venice or Istanbul or Sao Paulo. It’s the capital of Silicon Valley. Being situated here has inspired me, as the curator/organizer, to experiment with models outside of the arts so that the structure of the biennial more closely reflects the modes of operation that thrive here.

I wish I had more specifics to share—it’s a process that I’m still working on, so I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Not every model used in Silicon Valley would work in the biennial context, nor should it. But there is value in looking at models that work in other fields and industries and think how they would apply to the arts.

So, the real question is, what role can a biennial play within the greater context of Silicon Valley? And how could innovative business models that flourish here in Silicon Valley apply to the arts?

It is very important to me to connect to the culture of risk-taking, creativity, entrepreneurship, and technological innovation that thrives in this location. If we do, then the biennial has the opportunity to become a catalyst in a larger conversation related to how the work of artists is contributing to a culture of innovation that is changing the world.

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