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The new media projects of Kunst NRW.NL
- a cultural co-operation project of Nordrhein-Westfalia and The Netherlands

Under the title "Kunst NRW.NL", The Netherlands will host a cultural exchange and co-operation project with Nordrhein-Westfalia during themonths October and November of this year. In the framework of this program a series of cultural and art projects in the field of new media will be realised. These projects have emerged from a unique co-operation betweenartists, institutions and cultural initiatives from both countries. The co-ordination of this project is carried out by De Balie, centre for culture and politics in Amsterdam, and the Academy of Media Arts, Cologne.

This co-operation project underlines the close ties that exist between both countries, and stresses the great importance this co-operation already has today, and which it increasingly will have in the context of the further European integration in the future. Culturally as well as in the field of media and new media, both The Netherlands and Nordrhein-Westfalia in many
ways take a leading role in Europe. Especially in these two countries attempts are made to establish a relationship between the new media development as such, and its social and cultural impact that transcends its economic and technological significance. Both countries, moreover, have a rich cultural tradition and history, as well as a very lively contemporary cultural live that informs this program.


* reBoot - a floating media art experiment & telematic club event

For a week, from October the eight till the fifteenth, a boat will descend the Rhine, the archetypal symbol of connection between both countries, as a floating media-laboratory, from Cologne on its way to Rotterdam and Amsterdam. During the journey non-stop live programs will be sent out via the Internet, realised by artists, musicians and media collectives from both NRW & NL. While descending the river the boat will dock in various cities along the Rhine for special performances and art projects on location.

On Friday October 15th the reBoot journey is concluded with a large scale telematic club event. Club spaces in Amsterdam, Düsseldorf, Rotterdam and
Cologne will be connected with each other and the boat. A host of new media technologies will be utilised in the process, resulting in a practical research into the virtual club stage of the future. Through the contributions from the various locations a new kind of audiovisual space emerges, a new ambience for dance and techno-culture, that is no longer tied to any one specific location but rather is the result of their interconnection.

(re)Boat journey: Start in Cologne, Friday October 8th

Ending in Amsterdam om October 15th
En-route: Various docking locations along the Rhine

Club-event: Club spaces in Amsterdam, Cologne, Düsseldorf, and
Rotterdam - evening & night of Friday October 15th