Société des arts technologiques (SAT)

Founded in 1996, the Society for Arts and Technology [SAT] is an interdisciplinary centre dedicated to the creation, dissemination and conservation of digital culture. It brings together creators who work with digital technologies, fostering collaboration among diverse artistic and scientific disciplines, establishing partnerships with industry and educational institutions and promoting its members at home and abroad.

The SAT's activities facilitate access to human and technical resources and encourage reflection on issues related to the use of technology. With a unique mandate in Canada, the SAT connects its membership to an international network of centres and organisations with similar or complementary objectives. Now settled in its new space of 36,000 square feet since June 2003, in the heart of Montreal's cultural corridor, the SAT has generated over two hundred and fifty events since October 2000 and produced nearly twenty creations through its artists-in-residence program. Since its inception, these SAT-sponsored productions have been presented in more than twenty countries and fifty cities.

The SAT includes several distinct elements that serve its programs of digital art creation, dissemination and conservation:

SAT[a+s+i], Art, Science and Industry Liaison Office;

SAT[ellite], international programs and projects as well as promotion and dissemination of artwork, representing more than 30 artists;

SAT[e_space], a 10,000-square-foot multipurpose presentation space;

SAT[expo], a future permanent technological exhibition and conservation space as well as a resource centre equipped with a wireless (WiFi) network;

SAT[meta_lab], a program for event-oriented network-building among academic and scientific communities;

SAT[mix_sessions], a collective for the promotion and the development of the local VJ community (video jockeys create and manipulate digital images as accompaniment for DJs and musicians);

SAT[prod], a studio for research, production and commission of artwork that also serves as workspace for artists in residence and houses SAT[stream], a streaming media service for events presented at the SAT;

SAT[aRt&D], supports the development of open-source software, broadband-network IP applications, and digital production tools for a variety of immersive multimedia environments;

SAT [digital_scenes], live electronic music and video events by national and international artists.

The SAT currently has more than 350 active members (artists and researchers) listed in the media arts repertory on its website, and a subscriber base of 3,700 for its mailing list. The events organized or co-produced by SAT have attracted more than 100,000 people since October 2000.