Search History: a virtual art exhibition (online)
Kunstpunt Groningen
Trompsingel 27a, 9724 DA GroningenSearch History
Search History is an interactive art exhibition organized by Stichting WILLOW Online Art Space, Groningen. The virtual exhibition explores the challenges we face in archiving our personal and collective history in the digital world.
How can we capture and preserve our digital world when digital technologies have disrupted our ideas of a permanent and structured archive? And more importantly, can we? Our lives are becoming increasingly hybrid: the memories we create with friends and family turn into photos that we synchronize in the cloud; everything we see and store online becomes part of our digital life. What we share online has become just as much a part of our culture as the famous paintings in museums. However, are these online storage spaces as permanent as we think they are? Digital information is nomadic: it escapes when we try to capture it in a permanent archive. Once the backup is made, the drive is already old. Sometimes we search for a URL in our search history and find: ‘not found,’ but also not disappeared. How can we reshape our digital archive?
During a three-month residency, WILLOW invited five emerging artists—Michiel Teeuw, Fadi Houmani, Ster Borgman, Sojung Lee, Siem de Boer—to engage with these questions. Their research and artworks debuted in the virtual exhibition Search History on July 6, 2024, with an event at WEP Groningen. The exhibition, originally scheduled for three months, has now been extended until November 6! Search History is free to visit in our online 3D space with just a click on your laptop or computer.
From Our Visitors:
- “WILLOW illustrates an exciting new approach to creating and presenting art in the 21st century.”
- “Search History is a game-like art experience on the Internet. You can navigate through a 3D art gallery from your own laptop or computer.”
- “An indispensable and incredible experience, created by emerging artists and people who love what they do!”
- “A complete online art exhibition that is freely accessible!”
Search History is funded by Kunstraad Groningen, Stimuleringsfonds, Mondriaan Fonds, Cultuurloket DigitALL, and Het Cultuurfonds.
