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This morning the last 2010 digital encounters forum took place.

Considering the new capabilities that digital resources offer, the means of artistic expression are exploding and the creations demand constant updating. Today Polynesia must find itself a means of existing on the network. Yes, but how? The objective of this meeting was to provide some answers.

Viri Taimana, Director of the Centre for Art Professions, Moana Brotherson for OPT, Claire Schwob, co-founder and Artistic Director of Tahiti.tv, Manea Castet, video games concept designer, Emmanuel Kasarhéou, Director of the Agency for the Development of Kanak Culture at the Tjibaou Cultural Centre, and René Barsalo, for the Society of Arts and Technology, took part by videoconference from Montreal. Heremoana Maamaatuaiahutapu, Director of the Maison de la Culture, and Eric Bourgeois, Director of the Institute of Audiovisual Communication, developed the subject in general.

The question is really to know what digital can bring to creation and in what form (musical, visual…).Cable is coming, 99,99%  of what we receive will be from outside Polynesia, the question is what will we send back in return. So we began by examining what already existed and we then questioned the means and the fields that can be developed to create multimedia content in Polynesia.

We thought that it would be limited but in fact there are many things in the making. Digital can undoubtedly be a basis for creation and some of our guests showed us by presenting their work to us. We invited artists (creators of video games, computer graphic designers, 3D animators, Web TV directors…) to encourage young people to get involved in this area, for in fact the jobs are nothing new but very few Polynesians are doing them.

The advantage of the internet is that a multitude of things can be done with very little. It is today’s big lesson: contrary to what we hear “I work in culture so I need a lot of money,” a huge cultural content can be produced with very little means. There is no need to have millions, digital allows creativity with little cost: hosting an internet site will cost for example $6 per month; today there is free access to practically all the software to make music on the computer…

Digital creation needs to move forward in Polynesia, which will allow a response to the imminent invasion, without being subjected to it. The more people that do things, whether small or big, the better it will be. What is important is to exist and to give something in exchange for what is received.

And now, the word needs to be spread to make people aware that everything is possible.

Get straight to your computers!

Manon Hericher