Experimental Media and Performing Arts: The Integration of Physical Space and Digital Technology in Multimodal Production, Research and Experience at EMPAC

The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy New York is a state-of- the-arts facility that commissions, produces, and presents new time-based arts. EMPAC’s aim is to bridge digital technologies, human senses, and different modes of human interaction and experience, all at “human scale.”

We are excited to introduce Johannes Goebel, professor in the Arts Department and the School of Architecture at Rensselaer, who is the founding director of EMPAC. From the very beginning of the design process of EMPAC, Goebel was on-site to ensure that architects and consultants would meet the vision of the building as an optimal bridge between the physical world of human experience and interaction and the potential of the digital domain. Alongside the building of the facility, he formed the technical, curatorial, and operational teams, and initializing the artistic and research productions, residencies, and events. His talk will illuminate the underlying concepts that drive the work of EMPAC.

Presented by the Arts, Science and Culture Initiative at the University of Chicago.