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Saturday 05/18/19 1PM-5PM
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Performances · Exhibition-Related

Trail Blazers #9: A Live Web-Surfing Competition

Cover Image:

Participants at Trail Blazers #1 at Merz Akademie, Stuttgart, Germany, April 14, 2010. Courtesy Olia Lialina

“Surf the Classic Way, From Amazon to Pirate Bay”

The Trail Blazers web-surfing competition pits contestants against one another to navigate a trail from one website to another only by clicking links—no logging in, no searches, and no back button. Developed at Merz Akademie in Stuttgart by artist Olia Lialina and her study group Beautiful Zeroes and Ugly Ones with Dragan Espenschied, the competition challenges users to find pathways through the walled gardens of the contemporary web.

In conjunction with the ongoing exhibition “The Art Happens Here: Net Art’s Archival Poetics,” Rhizome and journalist Katie Notopoulos will host the ninth edition of Trail Blazers as part of a day-long celebration of web surfing, with DJ Molly Soda providing the soundtrack. This program is presented alongside Arcangel Surfware @ Rhizome x New Museum, which includes a pop-up installation by Arcangel Surfware and a talk with artist Cory Arcangel, critic and curator Ed Halter, and Rebecca Cleman of Electronic Arts Intermix—all free with paid Museum admission.

To apply to be a contestant, please fill out this online form. A limited number of standby slots will also be available on the day of the event.

Prizes for Trail Blazers #9 will be offered by Arcangel Surfware.

Sponsors

This event is made possible by the Norwegian Consulate General New York

New Museum and Rhizome public programs are made possible, in part, through the support of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Support for “The Art Happens Here: Net Art’s Archival Poetics” can be viewed here.

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