Walled Gardens and Wild Artists

As the internet continues to become compartmentalized both into contained spaces such as TikTok, Instagram and other apps, companies such as Meta, Alphabet and Apple to name a few continue erect and enforce walled gardens in order to further extract value from the apps distributed within as well as control their content. These gardens do however offer benefits to artists in the form of increased exposure, some degree of confidence as to the safety of the software vs other forms of distribution, and improved reach.

The consequences of these platforms in the artistic practices of artists and the costs of entry have not been fully explored but include self-censorship to meet app store restrictions, licenses, development costs, approval processes, upkeep, risks of obsolescence, archival challenges, possible brigading and review bombing by malicious users, takedown requests by different countries in specific regions, and more.

For this reason, we are proposing to hold a roundtable and invite artists in the field of new media art to discuss the ways these platforms enable and/or hinder their workflow, how they navigate these obstacles, and possible workflows and approaches that minimize the risks inherent in their implementation. Through this, we aim to educate both artists and curators on the challenges and possible methods of navigating through this complex environment.