Chicago New Media 1973–1992 at the Arts Electronica Festival illuminates the history of Chicago artists and organizations that contributed to digital art and technology in the latter half of the twentieth century. Through video game artifacts, new media technologies, game stills, game consoles, virtual reality modules, and other ephemera, the exhibition chronicles the under-recognized story of Chicago’s contributions to new media art by artists working at local institutions such as the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Electronic Visualization Laboratory, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Midway Games, and more. Overall, Chicago New Media highlights the rich exchange between industry and academia during this heady time.

The exhibition is curated by Jon Cates, Associate Professor of Film, Video, New Media and Animation, Art History, Theory and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and organized by Video Game Art Gallery. It was previously on view at Gallery 400 at the University of Illinois at Chicago from November 1–December 15, 2018.