Abertay exhibition to explore alternative game concepts

Published

7th September 2016

“Blank Arcade” brings together an international selection of works by game developers, artists, and researchers, exploring innovation and expression at the frontiers of play.

Now in its third year, the annual Blank Arcade is taking over the Hannah Maclure Centre from 16 September until 28 October 2016. 

Eight unique games have been chosen for the exhibition, out of 57 submissions from all over the world.

The exhibition is co-curated by regular curator Lindsay Grace, working with Abertay PhD student Emilie Reed, who is researching the curation and exhibition of games. 

Emilie said:  “This year\'s selection of works spans digital games, table games, and even interactive sculptures, and showcases local Scottish artists alongside international creators.

“We selected the games for their high quality and fun, but also because they work together thematically to show new ways in which humans can interact with digital games.“

Blank Arcade will be officially opened on Friday 16 September at 6.00pm. Visitors will be able to explore the exhibition and chat with featured artists, including Kirsty Keatch and Jack King-Spooner. The event will also feature the performance-game \'Pathfinder\' by Christos Michalakos.

Emilie added:  “Abertay is the ideal venue for this, not only because it has the Hannah Maclure Centre to house the exhibition, but because the School of Arts, Media and Computer Games brings together people with arts, humanities and technical backgrounds in a uniquely effective mix.

“Curating the show with Lindsay has been great for my dissertation, as a case study and practical experience.  I’m looking forward to further opportunities to curate shows in the future.”

Blank Arcade traditionally follows the annual Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) conference, taking place in a different city each year.

This year, Abertay hosted the DiGRA conference jointly with the Foundations of Digital Games (FDG) conference – the first time these two events have been run together.

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