Beyond the Black Box: The Professionalisation of Awe
In November 2015, I stood in the massive halls of the ACT Festival in Gwangju, South Korea, watching Ryoji Ikeda’s Test Pattern [n.8]. It was a masterpiece of precision—strobe-lit barcodes scanning across the floor, synchronising sound and light in a way that felt alien and sublime.
But as a Business Director (STRP), I wasn't just looking at the pixels. I was looking at the spreadsheet that made them possible.
Visionary projects like Ikeda’s often appear to audiences as magic. In reality, they are the product of extreme infrastructure. They require a shift that the media arts sector—historically rooted in hacker culture and "passion projects"—has struggled to make: the shift from Artistic Experiment to Professional Industry.
The "Passion Trap"
In 2015, the sector was at a breaking point. Public funding in Europe was contracting, yet the ambition of the work (and the technology required to run it) was exploding.
During the festival, I convened with colleagues like Ana Ascencio (Mapping Festival, Geneva), Ellen Pau (Microwave Festival, Hong Kong), and Cedric Huchet (Stereolux, Nantes) to dissect our survival strategies. The consensus was stark:
The "Special Status" Fallacy: For too long, we treated media art as a "special" field that needed protection, often at the cost of professional standards. By treating it as a "labour of love," we inadvertently devalued the labor.
The Precarious Middle: Artists were stuck between "DIY" (creative but broke) and "Commercial" (funded but compromised).
The Solution: The Networked Commission
The most sustainable model wasn't finding one rich donor; it was distributed ownership.
We looked at the case of producer Juliette Bibasse and artist Joanie Lemercier. Their piece, Blueprint, wasn't just "booked" by festivals; it was co-commissioned by a network including STRP (Eindhoven), Sonar (Barcelona), and Nemo (Paris).
This is the "Full Stack" approach to culture:
Standardisation: The work is built to travel (modular code, standard hardware).
Co-Production: No single festival bears the full R&D risk.
Longevity: The piece evolves with each venue, extending its lifecycle and revenue tail.
2026 Reflection: Why This Matters Today
Looking back from 2026, the discussions in Gwangju were prophetic. The "Fair Practice Code" we now take for granted in the Netherlands began with these uncomfortable conversations about money, contracts, and sustainability.
We learned that professionalisation is not selling out. It is the only way to build a stage sturdy enough to hold the weight of the sublime. If we want "Awe" (the Ikeda moment), we need the "Admin" to back it up.
