Bring Your Own Beamer to shine light on the digital arts at Spark Festival
Hamilton, New Zealand – August 4, 2017 – Global arts initiative Bring Your Own Beamer will run for the fourth time in Hamilton in conjunction with this year’s
Spark International Festival of Music, Media, Arts and Design, in a bid to raise awareness of the digital art event
within the community and get more students involved.
“This year we managed to time BYOB to coincide with Wintec’s second semester, and have it included in this year’s Spark
Festival. My intention was to provide students with the time to develop their projects and hopefully premiere them at
the show,” says Oliver Stewart, Bring Your Own Beamer Co-ordinator.
“My expectation is that it will bring different generations of artists together and develop a deeper bond with our
artistic community, which to me is a constant driving force for organising these kinds of events.”
Bring Your Own Beamer (BYOB) is an evening devoted to film, net and video art, and projection based artworks. The event
provides a means of networking artists from the Waikato region and curates a range of digital media that wouldn’t
normally share a physical space.
It also provides a starting platform for anyone interested in the digital arts, as people from a range of creative
industries can showcase work as long as it falls within the digital media category.
“Last year’s exhibit showed a versatile range of work from a small mixed media piece utilising an old school over-head
projector, to an entire room serving as a 3D video game. The great thing about the work was that most of it was
interactive and child-friendly, so we had a lot of families coming through. This time around we are sure that the work
on show will be as various and exciting.”
BYOB is the latest addition to a line-up of creative industry thought leaders sharing insights and tips and tricks of
their trades, with an emphasis on practical learning through events and workshops.
“With the programme I always strive to make it a creative festival, rather than a conference,” says Megan Lyon, Spark
Festival Director. “Having BYOB come on board as an awesome new event adds an interesting dynamic to #SPARK17.”
BYOB runs on 17 August starting at 6pm, in Wintec’s R Block Social Space on Collingwood Street.
Organised by Wintec’s School of Media Arts, Spark Festival unites industry leaders from around New Zealand and the
globe, providing opportunities for attendees to hear from, and meet, specialists in the music, media, arts and design
industries. Speakers will share cutting edge trends, insights about the industry and provide encouragement for students
in the arts sector for a dynamic week of learning and networking.
To see a copy of the Spark Festival programme visit spark.net.nz, and register your interest in participating in BYOB
Hamilton on their Facebook page.
ENDS