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As a tribute to the life and legacy of Jack Burnham, who passed away in 2019, this panel will focus on the proposals found in Burnham's theory that are currently exercised and expanded upon by contemporary new media artists and curators. Originally proposed in 1968, the Burnham's concept of "systems esthetics" remains a highly instructive model for technology-enabled artwork that considers the cybernetic relationship between objects and their viewer/users, as well as a widely applicable framework for understanding late-capitalist techno-culture more generally. Currently, practitioners of interactive, digital art and artists engaging in video game production as a part of their studio practice function as a 21st Century illustration of Burnham's theory of systems esthetics. In addition, Burnham's radical, systems-based curatorial practices find parallels in the current mainstreaming of incorporating interactive art and video games into gallery contexts; whether it is established cultural intuitions who are experimenting with collecting video games or new organizations built around the idea of supporting video game art specifically, the notion of exhibiting in a way that attends to a system dynamically relating viewer and artwork is becoming more commonplace across gallery practices. The comparison between new curatorial proposals centered around video game art and Burnham’s notorious, yet landmark 1970 Software exhibition at the Jewish Museum in New York is clarifying to determine what challenges have been solved in fitting interactive artwork into gallery spaces, and what challenges remain intact fifty years after.