Media artist Gene Gort and composer/sound artist Ken Steen initiated NewMediaNewMusicNewEngland ten years ago. The effort was a way to organize/curate/promote artists in the six New England states who are working in these genres and to connect them with venues, develop projects, and mostly enjoy the rich work being produced in the region. Gort and Steen have been collaborating professionally since 2006 on multi-media performance projects that have been presented internationally. “NMNMNE is a loose affiliation of producers which we hope will continue to develop as a network of like-minded folks who share our sensibilities and will likewise promote the dissemination of work in this field. “THEN, WHAT IF?” is a new iteration of “What If?”, a project that grew out of a collaborative teaching experiment we tried in 2007. Students from the “Music Technology” and “Sound/Image/Text”, classes in the Hartt School and the Hartford Art School respectively, generated a number of sixty-second works that we had students combine variously. Then they selected works and intentionally responded to them specifically, by creating either video or sound accompaniments. We noticed that the results of those randomly paired, created much more open and imaginative connections than those selected to “illustrate”, and the group embraced this strategy. “What If?” drew from this approach, curating 60 video clips and 60 sound compositions that are 60 seconds in duration each and paired them randomly using a Cageian model of indeterminacy with 3600 potential variations. The pieces were chosen from an open call from the six New England States and ranged from young producers, to seasoned professionals, to graduate, and undergraduate students. Originally, we drew our inspiration from "60x60" from VoxNovus in New York City a project directed by Robert Voisey. "60x60" was a yearly call for 60-second sound compositions selected to create a 60-minute fixed media program of sound works that traveled to venues in the US and was published as an annual CD compilation. Our take on this project was to add video to the mix and the random functionality and focus on producers residing in New England. The "60x60" project has also worked with experimental and underground filmmakers, choreographers, experimental photographers, and video improvisers.” “THEN, WHAT IF?”, like “What If?”, has three iterations; a video screening event, an installation for gallery presentation and a website. For the screening event, to engage in the random activity, audience members select one number each from a video- and audio-designated list as they enter the venue. These numbers determine the evening's program of 60 works resulting in a 60-minute screening. For the gallery installation, a computer with media projection and stereo sound is loaded with all the files and the user selects random pairings or specific pairings for playback. The website, designed and programmed by Tim Lawless, similarly has a random generator scripted into the site and visitors can randomize the pairings or determine the pairings specifically as well. The project has been curated from an international call for entries and includes seasoned veterans with young producers.

This exhibition contains 60 videos and 60 sound pieces representing The United States of America, Germany, Israel, Japan, France, Brazil, Scotland, Sweden, South Korea, England and Ireland. Artists: Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn Braxton Hood Noah Marconi Kyle Grimm Paul Turano Kofi Oduro aka Illest PREACHA Aric Attas Daniel Maldonado Lys Guillorn Aaron Wyanski Ben Stevenson Landing Collective Joshua Hummel Penumbra Carter Nir Jacob Younessi David Borawski Alan Taylor Gabrielle Zimmermann Mike Lunoe Caleb Portfolio Joungbum Lee Ben Skea Catherine Vanaria George Hakkila Erika Suderburg Joshua Gates ​ ​Robert Scheuering Raza Kazmi Joe Saphire Jason Livingston Ted Efremoff Joseph Hayes Adam Lenz Terrance Regan Claire Barwell Mark Saunders Moran Been-noon Gwendolyn Audrey Foster Lief Ellis James Scaramuzzino Michael Scaramuzzino Chatori Shimizu Caleb Hammond Jake Bell Bob Chaplin Nebulosus Severine Hildegard von Bangin Patrick Kennedy Jamie Wolf Pedro Latas Maria Mykolenko Katt Hernandez Lindsay McIntyre Sarah Rushford ​ ​Sue Berg Cyril Sancereau Brian Heller Algor Jean-Marie Guyaux Ying Ye Kristoffer Raasted Rodrigo Guinski Daryl Jamieson Neely Bruce Jeremy J. Quinn Gaylen Kozikis John Knecht Gregg Biermann Charles Woodman Carmel Barnea Brezner Jonas Nate Schoettle Greene Crawl Space Maximilien Luc Proctor Su Friedrich Sarah Winterbottom Derek Taylor Michele Jaquis Tim Wolf Ron Crowcroft Mark Savoia Laurel Beckman Dani ReStack Sheila ReStack