Emeritus Professor of New Media Art
I retired from full-time employment with the University in 2022, and I'm now Emeritus Professor of New Media Art. I am co-founder and editor of CRUMB, the resource for curators of new media art.
I curated the international exhibition Serious Games for the Laing and Barbican art galleries, and have also worked with The Exploratorium, San Francisco, and San Francisco Camerawork. I have been an invited speaker at conferences including Navigating Intelligence (Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada), Decoding the Digital (Victoria and Albert Museum), and Cultural Value and the Digital (Tate Modern).
Teaching and supervision
My past employment by the University has included the Art and Design Research Training programme, MA Curating programme leader, being Principal Investigator for AHRC Research Grants, and supervising research students:
PhD supervisions have included:- Carole Baker (2000) Imaging the animal: Visual media representation within creative practice.
- Sarah Cook (2004) The search for a third way of curating new media art: Balancing content and context in and out of the institution.
- Ele Carpenter (2008) Politicized socially engaged art and new media art.
- Dominic Smith (2011) Models of Open Source Production Compared To Participative Systems In New Media Art. AHRC-funded.
- Graham Harwood (2014) Database machinery as cultural object - art as enquiry.
- Victoria Bradbury (2015) The Performativity of Code in Participatory New Media Artworks.
- Marialaura Ghidini (2015) Curating Web-based Art exhibitions: Mapping their Integration with Offline Formats of Display. AHRC-funded.
- Suzy O’Hara (2016) Collaborations between Arts and Commercial Digital Industry Sectors: A Curatorial Practice-led Investigation of Modes of Production. AHRC-funded.
- Ed Carter (2019) Rhythm, Scale, and Liminality: Sonic composition and interdisciplinary artwork developed in response to architectural contexts. AHRC-funded.
- Dani Admiss (2019) How Could the Tactical Affects of ‘World-building’ in Art and Design Inform Critical Curatorial Practice? AHRC-funded.
- Dawn Bothwell, (2019) Regional Intermedia: A Study of the Intermedia Approaches to Curating (1964 -1990) in North East England. AHRC-funded.
- Jo Joelson (2020) Library of Light: An Artistic Framework To Explore Light, Material Culture And Social Experience. AHRC-funded.
- Rene Cepeda (2020) Curation and Display of Interactive New Media Art: Making a Manual.
- Liam Jefferies (2020) When Space Becomes Interface: Mobile Augmented Reality, Audiences and Engagement in Cultural Institutions. AHRC-funded.
- Bruce Gilchrist (2022) Poetics of Artificial Intelligence in Art Practice: (Mis)apprehended Bodies Remixed as Language. AHRC/NPIF-funded.
- Stamatis Schizakis, Plugged In: The Introduction of New Media Practices in Greece.
- Catrina Ure, Audience evaluation of digital art experiences; lightening the load for smaller cultural organisations. AHRC/NPIF-funded.
- Ben Evans James, Parafactual Artist Film: Extending the Curatorial through Filmic Processes. AHRC-funded.
- Matthew Olaseni Gansallo, Digital and Traditional Art Curatorial Practice: Connectivity and Distribution in Post Colonial Museums/Art Galleries in West Africa and Europe. AHRC-funded.
- Georgia Smithson, New Collecting and Distribution Models for Contemporary Media Art. AHRC/NPIF-funded.
- Janine Sykes, Rethinking Curation as Blended Practice. AHRC-funded.
Research
I am Professor of New Media Art at the University of Sunderland, and co-founder of CRUMB resource for curators of new media art. I curated the international exhibition Serious Games for the Laing and Barbican art galleries. My books include Digital Media Art (Heinemann 2003), Rethinking Curating: Art After New Media (MIT Press 2010 with Sarah Cook), and New Collecting: Exhibiting and Audiences (Ashgate 2014 edition) I have written for periodicals including Art Monthly, Leonardo, and the Journal of Curatorial Studies. I have been an invited speaker at conferences including Navigating Intelligence (Banff Centre for the Arts), Decoding the Digital (Victoria and Albert Museum), and Cultural Value and the Digital (Tate Modern).
My major areas of research interest are: Curating new media art, with a particular interest in interactive and participatory art, and concepts of audience. Recently, my research has concentrated on systems of collecting new media art.
I have particular experience in supervising art and design practice-led research, and my own PhD concerned audience relationships with interactive art in gallery settings.
Leading the MA Curating course, the Professional Development Course in London means that my research feeds into academic and professional education at all levels.
I have raised over £1million from AHRC for research grants where I was Principal Investigator, and been involved in successful applications for 2 AHRC studentship collaborations worth over £2million.
I was involved in the Creative FUSE NE bid and I am a named Investigator, and line manager of Post-Doctoral worker and AHRC student alumna, Suzy O’Hara.
Publications
Article
Graham, Beryl (2013) Interview with Beryl Graham by Crystal Sanchez and James Smith. Report on the Status and Need for Technical Standards in the Care of Time-Based Media and Digital Art..
Graham, Beryl (2013) Exhibition Histories and New Media Behaviours. Graham, Beryl (2013) “Exhibition Histories and New Media Behaviours.” Journal of Curatorial Studies, 2 (2 (summer)). ., 2 (2). pp. 242-262. ISSN 2045-5836
Graham, Beryl (2012) Self-Institutionalisation: Who, in what kind of system? On-Curating. Institution as Medium. Curating as Institutional Critique? Part II (13). pp. 8-10. ISSN 0803-0391
Graham, Beryl and Cook, Sarah (2009) New Media and Digital Art Overview. China-UK: Connections Through Culture. Arts Overview. British Council.
Graham, Beryl and Gfader, Verina (2008) Curator as editor, translator or god? Edited CRUMB discussion list theme. Vagueterrain (11).
Book Section
Graham, Beryl (2021) The Cheapness of Writing Paper, and Code: Materiality, Exhibiting and Audiences after New Media Art. In: Object—Event—Performance: Art, Materiality, and Continuity since the 1960s. Cultural Histories of the Material World . Bard Graduate Center, New York, pp. 235-258. ISBN 9781941792223
Graham, Beryl (2019) Foreword: Rethinking Art Hacks for the Future. In: Art Hack Practice: Sites for Artistic Co-Production. Routledge, New York, xviii-xix. ISBN 9780815374916
Graham, Beryl (2016) Exhibition Histories and Futures: The Importance of Participation and Audiences. In: A Companion to Digital Art. Blackwell Companions to Art History . Wiley-Blackwell, New York, pp. 575-596. ISBN 9781118475201
Graham, Beryl (2016) Collecting New Media Art: The importance of audiences and exhibiting. In: Post-Screen: Intermittence + Interference. Edicoes Universitarias Lusofonas, Lisbon, pp. 20-27. ISBN 9789898771568
Graham, Beryl (2016) Ken Goldberg. In: Grove Dictionary of Art Online. Oxford University Press, New York. ISBN 9780195170689
Graham, Beryl (2015) Open and closed systems: new media art in museums and galleries. In: Museum Media. The International Handbooks of Museum Studies, 4 Volume Set, V3 . Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken and Oxford, pp. 499-472. ISBN 9781118829059
Graham, Beryl (2015) Right Where, Right When? In: Right Here, Right Now. Salford: The Lowry, pp. 39-46.
Graham, Beryl (2014) Modes of Collection. In: New Collecting: Exhibiting and Audiences after New Media Art. Ashgate, London. ISBN 9781472406439
Graham, Beryl (2014) Histories of Interaction and Participation: Critical Systems from New Media Art. In: Performativity in the Gallery: Staging Interactive Encounters. Peter Lang, Oxford, pp. 65-83. ISBN 978-3-0343-0966-0
Graham, Beryl (2011) Museums, New Media Art, Documentation and Collection. In: EVA London 2011: Electronic Visualisation and the Arts. BCS, London, pp. 109-110. ISBN 9781906124885
Graham, Beryl (2011) Amplification: Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. In: Singapore Bienniale 2011 Catalogue. Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, pp. 244-245. ISBN 978-981-08-8050-7
Graham, Beryl (2010) Delicate Controls. In: Recorders: Rafael Lozano Hemmer. Manchester Art Gallery, pp. 15-19. ISBN 978-0-901673-78-7
Graham, Beryl (2010) Tools, Methods, Practice, Process … and Curation. In: Art Practice in a Digital Culture. Digital Research in the Arts and Humanities . Ashgate, Aldershot, pp. 165-174. ISBN 978-0-7546-7623-2
Graham, Beryl (2010) Fabulous un-live post-hype behaviours. In: The future isn't what it used to be. Postmasters and Centrum Sztuki, pp. 31-34.
Graham, Beryl (2009) The ironic heirs to serendipity: British new media art 1980s to now. In: White Heat and Cold Logic: British computer arts 1960-1980. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., pp. 401-420. ISBN 9780262026536
Graham, Beryl (2008) Serious Games - case study. In: New Media in the White Cube and Beyond: Curatorial Models for Digital Art. University of California Press, Los Angeles, pp. 191-206. ISBN 0520255976
Graham, Beryl (2007) Redefining digital art: Disrupting borders. In: Theorizing digital cultural heritage: A critical discourse. MIT Press, pp. 93-112. ISBN 0262033534
Cook, Sarah and Graham, Beryl (2004) Curating new media art: Models and challenges. In: New media art: Practice and context in the UK 1994-2004. Arts Council of England, pp. 84-91. ISBN 0948797886
Graham, Beryl (2004) A dialogue with an idiot? Some interactive computer-based art. In: Bakhtinian Perspectives on Language and Culture: Meaning in Language, Art and New Media. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 217-232. ISBN 140391690X
Reports, briefing/ working papers
Graham, Beryl (2016) Art Institutions of the 21st Century. Project Report. Montabonel Foundation, London.
Conference or Workshop Item
Graham, Beryl (2021) What is the shape of a PhD research process? In: Research Student Training Seminars, 28 January 2021, Glasgow, Graduate School of the College of Arts, University of Glasgow.
Graham, Beryl (2020) Curating Art after New Media - Professional Development Course. In: Curating Art after New Media – Professional Development Course, Feb 2014 to Feb 2020 and ongoing, London, UK.
Graham, Beryl (2019) Promises and Realities of Digital Technologies. In: Credit — a discussion about monetisation and value in the art world, 30 November 2019, London, UK (Central St. Martins).
Graham, Beryl (2019) Curating and Collecting Interaction. In: Sentient Circuitries: Digital Media Art Symposium, 16 Nov 2019, Vancouver, Canada.
Graham, Beryl (2019) CRUMB Radio Hour. In: Unfinished List radio streams, a project by ShuLea Chang for Ars Electronica, 8 September 2019, Online, hosted from Austria.
Graham, Beryl (2019) An Aesthetics of Interaction and Participation? New Media Art, and Histories of Exhibitions. In: The Age of Art. Aesthetics and grammar of contemporary artistic languages, 16 Nov 2019, Italy, Florence, University of Florence.
Graham, Beryl (2019) Histories of Interactive New Media Art Exhibitions. In: Art Y Nuevos Medios: Reflectiones, Practicas, Desafios, Conference of Departamento de Historia y Teoría del Arte, 26 April 2019, Spain, Madrid, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
Graham, Beryl (2018) New Materialities and New Collecting: Future Exhibiting and Audiences After New Media Art (conference presentation). In: International Symposium: What do Museums Collect?, 29 Nov-1 Dec 2018, Seoul, Korea, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA).
Graham, Beryl (2017) Peking Seminar: New Media Art. In: Peking University seminar series: Prof. Laozhu, staff and PhD researchers of Media Lab (National Committee of Experimental Art), Annual of Contemporary Art of China, 26 November 2017, Beijing.
Graham, Beryl (2017) Collection-ish. In: Beyond GRAMMATRON: 20 Years into the Future, 15 Sep 2017, London, UK (British Computer Society).
Graham, Beryl (2017) Exhibiting New Media and Digital Art: Educating Curators. In: EAST–International Conference on Education, Art, Science and Technology, 23–24 November 2017, China, Beijing: China Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) and Beijing Visual Art Innovation Institute (BVAII).
Graham, Beryl (2017) IRL to URL: Image Objects. Bloomberg New Contemporaries. 2-day Symposium. In: IRL to URL: Image Objects. Bloomberg New Contemporaries, 24 Nov 2017, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead.
Graham, Beryl (2017) In conversation: Gary Zhexi Zhang 'Erotics of the Interface'. In: Iniva Research Network Event. London: Iniva, 28 June, Iniva, London.
Graham, Beryl (2017) Curating New Media Art Between Institutional and Commercial Pressures. In: Contemporary Art // An Unknown. Series of events curated by Ebru Yetiskin, 13 Dec 2019, Turkey, Istanbul, Akbank Cultural Centre.
Graham, Beryl (2017) Technostalgia Panel Conversation. In: Anthologies Launch Event, 23 March 2017, London, UK (Carroll Fletcher Gallery).
Graham, Beryl (2016) Digital Dark Ages Artists’ Panel. In: AND Festival, 10 May 2016, Castleton.
Graham, Beryl (2016) Chair’s Introduction - Equal Collaborations? In: Thinking Digital in the Arts: Unusual Collaborations, 10 May 2016, Gateshead, Sage.
Graham, Beryl (2015) Collecting After New Media panel. In: ISEA 2015 Symposium, 16-19 August, Vancouver.
Graham, Beryl (2015) Equal Partnerships. In: Policy Priorities for the Creative Industries - A Manifesto for the New Government, 9 July, London.
Graham, Beryl (2014) Art, Media, and Museums: The Word Art. In: Cultural Value and the Digital, 7 July, Tate Modern, London.
Graham, Beryl (2014) Catalogues and Exhibitions. In: Curating the Digital: Spaces for Art and Interaction, 26th- 27th April, Toronto. (Unpublished)
Graham, Beryl (2014) Exhibition Histories of Critical Participatory Systems”. In: AAH 2014, 10th -12th April 2014, Royal College of Art, London. (Unpublished)
Graham, Beryl (2012) Curating Participation. In: Vrije Universitieit Brussel/ IBBT Masterclass, 1 Mar 2012, Vrije Universitieit Brussel/ IBB, Brussels. (Unpublished)
Graham, Beryl (2012) Histories of Participation and New Media Art. In: Association of Art Historians Conference 2012, 29 - 31 March 2012, Milton Keynes.
Graham, Beryl (2012) Exhibiting new media and digital art. In: Dongguk University, Arts Administration course, 23 Oct 2012, Dongguk University, Seoul, Korea.
Graham, Beryl (2012) New Media and Digital Art: Interactive Audiences. In: CAFA Art Museum, Guest Lecture, 12 June 2012., CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, China..
Graham, Beryl (2011) Curating Participatory Art. In: Curating Masters, HGDK University Zurich, May 2011, HGDK University Zurich. (Unpublished)
Graham, Beryl (2011) Current: Collecting Digital Art. In: 2011 May Collecting Digital Art,, May 2011, UCLAN, The Harris Museum & Art Gallery and folly, Preston. (Unpublished)
Graham, Beryl (2011) Immaterial Portraits: Across Borders. In: Digital Portraits of Transculturalism, 25 Feb 2011, Centre for Creative Collaboration, Goldsmith’s College, London.. (Unpublished)
Graham, Beryl (2010) Curating New Media Art and Participation. In: 3rd Conference on Innovation and Cultural Dissemination, 29 October 2010, CCCB - Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona. (Unpublished)
Graham, Beryl (2010) Distributing Ourselves: New Media, Curating, Networks, and Collaborations. In: College Art Association (CAA) Conference., 7-10 Feb 2010, Chicago. (Unpublished)
Graham, Beryl (2010) New Media Art. In: Museums Association Conference. Manchester, October 2010, Manchester. (Unpublished)
Graham, Beryl (2005) Taxonomies of new media art: Real world namings. In: Museums and the Web 2005: Proceedings. Toronto: Archives & Museum Informatics..
Graham, Beryl (2004) Interaction and Audience. In: ISEA 2004 (International Symposium on Electronic Art). Helsinki.
Book
O'Hara, Suzy and Bradbury, Victoria (2019) Art Hack Practice: Critical Intersections of Art, Innovation and the Maker Movement. CRC Press, UK. ISBN 9780815374916
Graham, Beryl and Cook, Sarah (2016) Rethinking Curating: Art After New Media [Chinese edition, in Chinese]. Tsinghua University Press, Beijing. ISBN 9780262013888
Graham, Beryl (2014) New Collecting: Exhibiting and Audiences after New Media Art. Routledge. ISBN 9780815399810
Cook, Sarah (2012) Journal of Curatorial Studies: special issue. Intellect Press, UK. ISBN 2045-5836 (Submitted)
Graham, Beryl and Cook, Sarah (2010) A Brief History of Curating New Media Art: Conversations with Curators. Green Box, Berlin. ISBN 978-3-941644-20-5
Graham, Beryl and Cook, Sarah (2010) A Brief History of Working With New Media Art: Conversations with Artists. Green Box, Berlin. ISBN 978-3-941644-21-2
Graham, Beryl (2003) Directions in art: Digital media. Directions in Art . Heinemann, Oxford. ISBN 978-0431176567
Thesis
Joelson, Jo (2020) Library of Light: An artistic framework to explore light, material culture and social experience. Doctoral thesis, University of Sunderland.
Carter, Ed (2019) Rhythm, Scale, and Liminality: Sonic composition and interdisciplinary artwork developed in response to architectural contexts. Doctoral thesis, University of Sunderland.
Show/Exhibition
Graham, Beryl (2011) DEmaterial: Electronic Village Galleries. 2011, Online and in rural locations in Cornwall.
Other
Graham, Beryl (2021) Startup meets Artist programme, MediaFutures.eu. UNSPECIFIED.
- Curating new media art
- Interactive and participatory art
- Collecting new media art
- Digital art
- Creative industries
- Net art
- Software art
I have acted as External Examiner for over 12 PhDs, including in Sweden and Australia.
Selected Membership of professional bodies award and review panels:- AHRC Peer Review College
- Austrian Science Fund (Arts) research council reviewer
- International Centre for Photography: Infinity Awards. New York. Invited Jury member
- University of Salford Art Collection Peer Review Invited panel member
- Arts Council England creative industries policy Invited to advise by Neil Harris Senior Relationship Manager at Arts Council England
- Montabonel Foundation Media in the Expanded Field: Curators and museum professionals’ Think Tank. Puerto Escondido, Mexico. Invited
- European Union project PERICLES (FP7), Tate. Project Advisory Board
- Database of Virtual Art (Berlin Humboldt Univ.) International Advisory Board
Leonardo Electronic Almanac Editorial Board (USA)
Selected External Scrutineer of Proposed New Courses:
- 2017 Slade School of Art, UCL, London (Masters)
- 2017 University of the West of England, Bristol (Masters)
Selected External Assessor of Courses:
- 2014-17 University of the West of England, Bristol (MA Curating)