CURRENTS New Media fosters new media arts and presents artists creating innovative work. Our annual festival, educational programs, and exhibition space give the public year-round access to immersive and expansive art experiences.
Parallel Studios (a 501(c)(3) non-profit) has been producing, curating and designing small and large scale exhibitions in Santa Fe since 2002. In 2010, we launched CURRENTS New Media as an annual, citywide event. The festival brings together the work of established and emerging new media artists from New Mexico, the US and around the world.
Our exhibition showcases interactive and non-interactive installations, multimedia performances, VR and AR environments, single channel video, animation, experimental documentary, robotics, wearables and 3D printing. Parallel Studios reaches out to local high school students through the CURRENTS youth internship program during the festival. We also host 5-7 adult interns from around the globe for the duration of the festival.
CURRENTS NEW MEDIA provides the community with opportunities to experience new media arts in traditional venues, public and outdoor spaces. Over 9,000 visitors attended festival events in 2019, and over 6500 visited our first online festival in 2020. CURRENTS is enjoyed by a broad demographic. In addition to the locals of all ages and backgrounds who attend the festival every year, the festival is also enjoyed by the many travelers to Santa Fe who visit every summer. Our 2020 online festival was accessible around the globe and was accessed by users in 95 countries.
The festival is the result of a collaboration between Parallel Studios, its partners throughout the city and the many volunteers who invest their time to support this project. It is truly a community endeavor.
