The third MAAP festival, held in September 2000, extended past festivals’ experimentation with online exchange, content and presentation.
The theme of ‘Presence and Place’ rejected the previous festival’s ideologies of geographical dissolution. Instead, the festival bolstered the role of site and local context in interpreting new media art.
The ‘Presence and Place’ forum was an amalgam of web-linked discussions, facilitated by new media theorist Geert Lovink, and panels scattered throughout the Asia Pacific region with participation from academics, curators and artists.
An extensive screening program spanning Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China and Australia, was highlighted with some significant emerging new video. An important showcase was Pi Li’s program “Presence and Place – China”, from one of the most informed curators to specialise in Chinese contemporary video art. The program featured:
* Cui Xiuwen, Lady’s 2000
* Jiang Zhi, Fly Fly 1997
* Yang Fudong, City Light 2000 (later purchased by the Queensland Art Gallery in 2003)
* Qiu Zhijie, Pin Pang 2000
* Feng Xiaoying, Ma Gen Ma 2000
* Hu Jieming, Related to the Situations 1999
* Wu Ershan, Body 2000
A MAAP curated screening program featured two new video works from Chinese artist Wang GongXin – Kara Oke, and Fly.
For a second year, Missile Web Launch presented 17 new online art projects in as many days, which including works from Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Vietnam, India, Japan and Cairns. Highlights of this program included MYeMAIL by Shilpa Gupta (India), Heavy Industries by Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries (Korea), SIT COM by Candy Factory (Japan), and MAP Office by Laurent Gutierrez + Valerie Portefaix (Hong Kong).
Events were held predominately at the Brisbane Powerhouse, with partnered program at the Institute of Modern Art.