Avatartist 2.0
Exeter (UK) and Second Life®, 2008.
Supported as part of DIY 5, a Live Art Development Agency initiative developed in collaboration with Arnolfini and Theatre Bristol; Artsadmin; Colchester Arts Centre; Fierce Earth, North East; New Work Network and China Plate; and Nuffield Theatre and LANWest.
Avatartist 2.0 was an intensive introduction to the Second Life world, one of eleven projects that comprised the 2008 DIY programme, an opportunity for artists working in Live Art to conceive and run professional development projects for other artists. Through a series of in-world practical exercises, exploratory journeys, encounters with existing artist-avatars, realisations of impossible architectures, and artist-specific experiments, this three-day workshop aimed to: familiarise participants with some of the skills needed to kick-start a Second Life; demonstrate how Real Life and Second Life practices may support each other; and facilitate dialogue and artistic exchange between participants.
Images: Stephen Hodge, Holly Bodmer, Matt Fletcher, Ilana Mitchell, Paul Grimmer, Tekla Wozniak.