MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, SAN DIEGO LAUNCHES
BILINGUAL SITE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB -- APRIL 5, 1998
Site Features Interactive Collection and Exhibitions, Virtual Tours of Museum,
Online Bookstore, Electronic Postcards
For more information, call Jessica O'Dwyer, Public Relations Officer, (619)
454-3541 x116, E-mail: [log in to unmask]
"Our reality is now virtual," said Hugh M. Davies, Director of the Museum of
Contemporary Art, San Diego (MCA), as he announced today the April 5th launch
of MCA's new World Wide Web site at www.mcasandiego.org. The English/Spanish
site utilizes the most up-to-date technologies to give users around the world
an intriguing, interactive experience of the Museum, its collections,
exhibitions, programs, services, and products. The Web site provides a
comprehensive overview of the Museum, allowing visitors to navigate around
seven different areas: General Information, Exhibitions, Permanent Collection,
Public Programs, News and Events, Museum Bookstores and Museum Cafe, and
Membership.
The Web site, designed by the Australian company, Spike, was nominated as a
semi-finalist in the 1998 Global Information Infrastructure Awards (considered
by many to be the "Oscars" of Web sites) just two weeks after it came online.
The development process of the MCA online environment was a first for a U.S.
museum: a trans-Pacific collaboration using the Internet itself as a virtual
workshop. Over a period of six months, using e-mail and a purpose-built
Intranet, the Museum's staff in San Diego worked with half a dozen of Spike's
personnel based in Sydney, Australia to complete the project.
With a work-force whose average age is 24, and offices in Sydney, Melbourne,
and Los Angeles, Spike is recognized as an innovative world leader in the
convergence of art and technology, creating not only award-winning Web sites
for major cultural institutions and festivals around the world, but also
applications for arts management.
Future projects made possible by MCA's presence on the Web include development
of MCA's internal information systems to better manage its resources, and
integration with collection management systems, including the Museum's
participation in AMICO (the Art Museum Image Consortium). AMICO is a major
cooperative venture among 23 museums in the U.S. and Canada, to share
digitized visual resources with universities and educational institutions
worldwide; MCA is a founding member of the consortium. Other future projects
that will benefit from the Museum's Web presence include interactive programs
with local schools that will link them with schools around the world; the
development of artworks or online exhibitions in collaboration with some of
today's leading artists and curators; and a system of online publishing and
merchandising in collaboration with other arts organizations.
SPECIAL WEB LAUNCH ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN & FAMILIES
The public Web launch of www.mcasandiego.org will coincide with the Museum's
Free For All First Sundays program on Sunday, April 5, 1998. Launch
activities extend from 12 noon to 2 p.m. at MCA in La Jolla, 700 Prospect
Street, with free admission to the Museum throughout the day. Dignitaries and
special guests will be present to kick-off the celebration at 12:30 p.m.
Complimentary refreshments will be served.
Family-oriented activities will be offered in conjunction with the
contemporary photography exhibition on view, Sarah Charlesworth: A
Retrospective. The Museum has developed a special custom-designed "Mystery
Treasure Hunt" based on the popular interactive computer game and PBS
television program, Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? ®. The first 200
children who come to the Museum that day will receive a special gift from
Carmen Sandiego ™, courtesy of Brøderbund Software, Inc. All children who
complete the Mystery Treasure Hunt can participate in a free drawing for
Carmen Sandiego software, also courtesy of Brøderbund Software, Inc.
Computers, courtesy of EKM Computer, Inc. and On-Site Techs, will be available
in the MCA Coast Room for the public to log on, explore the Web site, and send
a free Virtual Electronic Postcard to friends anywhere in the world. Online
access will be via Road Runner's high-speed, broadband cable, recently
installed at MCA. At 2 p.m., Assistant Curator Toby Kamps will conduct a "Get
ArtSmart" tour of the Charlesworth exhibition for adults, while children's
activities continue in the Coast Room and Oceanview Terraces.
ABOUT SPIKE
Described as the "Malcolm Maclaren of the Net" (a reference to punk rock's
best-known entrepreneur), C. Chris O'Hanlon founded Spike in October 1995,
together with his Oklahoma-born wife Given Rozell, his long-time design
partner Ruby Blessing, and an English sales executive, Stephen Murphy.
Recently named by The Australian newspaper as being among the country's
"Digital Elite," the Spike team of "information architects" has since grown to
54, working for approximately 60 current corporate and institutional clients
from offices in Sydney, Melbourne, and Los Angeles. It is now the largest and
best-known Web development group in the Asia/Pacific region.
In 1996, Spike set up Spike Arts, a consultancy specializing in the
convergence of arts and technology. Spike Arts is now one of the world's
largest suppliers of museum and arts festival Web sites and intranets, with
clients such as the Museums of Contemporary Art in Sydney, Chicago, and San
Diego; The Art Gallery of New South Wales; and the Sydney Biennale.
Spike sponsored the hugely successful Keith Haring exhibition at the Museum of
Contemporary Art, Sydney, and was a major sponsor of the 1998 Sydney Festival.
It was recently appointed, with The Getty Information Institute, to manage the
ambitious California Culture Net project, which aims to connect California's
diverse and widely distributed cultural resources via the Internet.
Spike's CEO, C. Chris O'Hanlon, was recently appointed to the Governor of
California's Advisory Committee on Technology and the Arts. Together with
Ruby Blessing, Spike's Creative Director, he has also just been awarded
Publishing Essentials' Impact Award as Australia's Designer of the Year.
CALIFORNIA CULTURE NET
It is the vision of the California Culture Net Arts and Technology Initiative
to make the great power of California's cultural resources more available to
all the citizens of the state. This ambitious goal, which has been discussed
and debated for decades, is only now truly within the realm of possibility
thanks to the advent of the telecommunications revolution.
The heart of the initiative will be the establishment of the California
Culture Net (CCN), an online network for the arts to provide the technical
capacity for this major redistribution in our cultural balance of power. CCN
will connect artists and arts organizations to each other and to the public
through an interactive, online World Wide Web presence for California culture,
"CaliforniaCulture.Net." This gateway to the arts and culture of California
will use digital technology to promote increased communication and
collaboration between artists and arts organizations, provide resources for
improving arts education, and promote creativity in California communities.
The Guiding Mission of California Culture Net is: "Promoting creativity and
access to the arts through technology." The Museum of Contemporary Art, San
Diego, will be one of three statewide "hubs" for the California Culture Net,
and its new Web site, www.mcasandiego.org, will be integral to the new
network.
The California Culture Net network will serve as a virtual town hall where the
general public, schools, businesses, government, and a broad spectrum of arts
organizations and artists will meet to develop community-oriented cultural
activities. It will provide the vehicle for developing new content for
content-starved media and promote participation in the arts. In conjunction
with the CCN, the online network for the arts, a variety of training programs
for artists and arts organizations in using digital technology will also be
provided as part of the initiative. The initiative will promote the use of
technology by artists to create and market new work, operate organizations
more effectively, and promote the arts as integral to the digital revolution.
The California Arts Council has taken the lead in developing the California
Culture Net, along with The Getty Information Institute and the California
Assembly of Local Arts Agencies. The AT&T Foundation has generously provided
funding for the initial planning. In addition, the private sector Web
development company, Spike, has agreed to provide the technological and
creative services necessary to developing Phase I of the CCN project.
# # #
MCA Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 12 noon-5 p.m.
Evening hours: MCA in La Jolla, Wednesday until 8 p.m. Closed Monday.
Admission: La Jolla: $4 adults; $2 students, seniors, and military; free to
MCA members and children under 12. Downtown: $2 adults; $1 students,
seniors, and military; free to MCA members and children under 12. Admission
is free to the public on the first Sunday and first Tuesday of every month.
"Free for All First Sundays" are made possible by a major grant from
Foodmaker/Jack in the Box and support from the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest
Fund. San Diego Gas & Electric, An Enova Company, sponsors MCA's free
Tuesdays.
Docent Tours at MCA in La Jolla are offered Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2
p.m.; and Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. Docent tours at MCA Downtown are
available on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.
24-hour information: (619) 454-3541 Museum Cafe: (619) 454-3945 FAX: (619)
454-6985
EXPLORING WWW.MCASANDIEGO.ORG
The Web site provides a comprehensive overview of the Museum of Contemporary
Art, San Diego, giving visitors a chance to navigate around seven different
areas: General Information, Exhibitions, Permanent Collection, Public
Programs, News and Events, Museum Bookstores and Museum Cafe, and Membership.
General Information
This section contains hours, locations, and maps to MCA's dual facilities in
La Jolla and Downtown, as well as MCA's mission statement, purpose, and a list
of the Board of Trustees. The user can also learn about opportunities to
volunteer or participate in the Museum's docent program.
Exhibitions
In this section, the user can read about and view artwork from current,
upcoming, and past exhibitions at both locations of MCA. Also included is
information on catalogues that accompany the Museum's exhibitions and
ancillary programs, such as film series or lectures.
Permanent Collection
A user may view details on selected works from MCA's permanent collection, or
access information on a particular artist. Among the artists whose work can
be studied: John Baldessari, Vija Celmins, Vernon Fisher, Robert Ginder, Ann
Hamilton, Ellsworth Kelly, and Doris Salcedo.
Public Programs
MCA's many education, outreach, and interpretive programs are described here,
including school tours for children, artist lectures, workshops, and symposia.
Also described are artist-residencies and performance programs, such as
Artists on the Cutting Edge: Cross Fertilizations, a nationally recognized
literary and music series organized by poet and professor Quincy Troupe.
Schedules of activities are listed, including Free For All First Sundays, the
very popular free-admission program geared toward families.
News and Events
Users from around the world will feel like "MCA insiders" when they access the
section titled "News/Events." Here is the latest news on MCA: exhibition
tours, recent publications and awards, members' events, art tours, and Museum-
sponsored trips. The user is provided with information on renting the
oceanfront La Jolla facility or the dramatic space of MCA Downtown. This
section also includes a comprehensive, three-month calendar of events.
Museum Bookstores and Museum Cafe
A wide cross-section of books, jewelry, contemporary housewares, cards,
posters, and children's toys and products from both MCA Bookstores are
highlighted in this electronic bookstore "catalogue." Visitors may order
goods via e-mail, fax, or telephone with a credit card number. Visitors can
also make their lunch plans by referring to menus and prices from the Museum
Cafe, which specializes in California and Pacific Rim cuisine.
Membership
MCA's different levels of individual and family memberships, designed to
accommodate a range of needs and interests, are detailed here with their
corresponding benefits. Corporate memberships and their benefits are
outlined, including facilities use, donor recognition, guest passes, and
private tours. A unique "moving billboard" lists major patrons and corporate
sponsors. Visitors are invited to join MCA by completing a convenient and
secure form, returnable by e-mail.
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