Mapping the (Hi)Stories of Net Art
The Research Project
My doctoral research focuses on net art, a highly relevant media art practice with a rich history and significant political implications. Using the Internet as both an artistic medium and a place of production and distribution, net art can be observed from the late 80s until the early 00s. Despite its significance, net art has received little analysis to date, often being dismissed as an anti-museum niche art form. Although there is a certain body of texts on net art, these often come from the artists and actors themselves. So, there is an urgent need to revisit these early writings from an academic perspective. Therefore, I want to focus on a persistent yet ambivalent narrative that continues to shape the net art discourse: the internet as a placeless space and the detachment of net art from physical locality. I will confront this narrative with the importance of specific localities, also in terms of different political systems and regional characteristics.
Unfortunately, important net artworks are being lost at an alarming rate due to insufficient preservation and archiving programmes. This research project aims to shed light on this disappearing digital heritage, with a particular focus on artists who have received little attention in the emerging net art canon.
What I need the IRB for
Since its inception, net art has evolved through international collaborations and informal networks of artists. These networks continue to shape independent archival projects and initiatives to this day. IRB funding will support my visit to these initiatives, where I will collect materials such as screenshots of net art, catalogues and information on local internet. I will compile the primary sources that are essential for my thesis and for achieving broader academic visibility. The budget will also allow me to connect with pioneering scholars who have shaped net art research thus far and present my work at international symposia.
IRB funded activities
Conference participation: Li-MA's annual international Transformation Digital Art symposium (Amsterdam, 26 - 27 March 2026)
I was pleased to be invited to speak at Li-MA's annual international Transformation Digital Art symposium in Amsterdam. Li-Ma is one of the few archives specialising in collecting and maintaining media and digital art. I was delighted to participate in a panel discussion on the care and trust involved in the historicisation and preservation of net art and its stories. The symposium brought together institutional representatives from organisations such as Haus der Elektronische Künste in Basel, Hamburger Bahnhof Museum in Berlin and Tate Modern in London, as well as collectives such as Transfer Data Trust, who are critically rethinking long-term digital preservation strategies. I am very grateful to the IRB for funding my trip to Amsterdam, which gave me the opportunity to exchange ideas with researchers and practitioners during both the moderated discussions and the informal gatherings.
Research Stay at the Central European Research Institute for Art History (KEMKI), 14-16 April 2026
To begin my field research into net art, I wanted to connect with Flóra Barkóczi, who conducts research on Hungarian net art at the Central European Research Institute for Art History (KEMKI). It was great to discuss the methodological challenges of analysing lost or partially functioning net artworks, and to learn more about the Hungarian net art scene and its links to the country's avant-garde movements. I am very grateful to the KEMKI researchers in Budapest for allowing me to consult the literature and CD-ROMs, as well as the other archival material in the KEMKI and Artpool archives. I appreciate their warm support. I was also pleased to visit the remains of the C3 Institute and speak with its director, Miklós Paternak, who used to work at the Soros Centre in Budapest. This centre made a significant contribution to providing the public with internet access for the first time and hosted important web residencies in the mid-1990s.