Ada X: Feminist digital art for everyone
Artists learn to do video mapping during training at Ada X. Photo credit: Stéphanie Lagueux, 2022
Media arts should be accessible to everyone. This is the conviction of the Ada X Bilingual Feminist Artist Center which is aimed at all women, trans, non-binary and queer people, in order to rebalance this traditionally more masculine environment.
Founded as Studio XX in 1996 then renamed Ada X in 2020, this artist-run center is unlike any other. It is an organization created by and for artists, which specifically reflects on gender inequalities in the field of media arts by promoting intersectional feminism.
Over the years, the organization has been a gateway for many artists from diverse backgrounds in the rather niche field of media arts, explains communications coordinator Roxane Halary.
< p>“We want to encourage all the people who feel like they don't belong in this technological world and who don't really know where to start,” she continues.
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Multiple front-doors
There are several ways to join the organization.
First, there is the possibility of doing residencies by participating in a call for projects. Otherwise, various activities, such as workshops or discussions, are regularly organised.
It is also possible to become a member. The cost is $30 per year for students and $50 for artists. This membership gives access to technological material, to the premises of the center and to the loan of equipment.
The organization then supports artists in the production and dissemination of their work, which can take the form of videos, websites, robots, in short “all sorts of things”.
“It's not always easy for artists to have access to this kind of equipment , especially for budgetary reasons. Our goal is to make it affordable. »
With all these options, the center actively participates in the development of a digital democracy imbued with feminism 2.0.
