International exhibition and conference about the visual arts and videogames opens November 21st in the Fries (Friesian) Museum in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

Beginning November 21st the Next-Gen Art Event (NGAE), a unique (annual) event about the visual design and art of games and the relationship between contemporary art and videogames, will be held in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands with participation of studios like Naughty Dog, BioWare, thatgamecompany, Treasure, ArenaNet, Guerrilla Games, Sucker Punch Productions and Ubisoft.

The inaugural event consists of an exhibition in the Fries (Friesian) Museum for visual arts, shows at multiple locations in the city of Leeuwarden and a conference for game artists, students and creatives from all over the world.

The Fries Museum’s exhibition New Horizons is a big part of the Next-Gen Art Event (NGAE) exploring the interplay between art and the visual design of games. Game artists stand – sometimes unconsciously - in the traditions of art history and art movements like symbolism, Romanticism and surrealism. The impossible mazes of M.C. Escher for instance have found their way in games like Echocrome and Monument Valley. In turn, contemporary artists like Farocki, Studer en Van den Berg, Cory Archangel and Jennifer Steinkamp are influenced by videogames. These cross-overs lead to exciting art and games. Over thirty projections, prints, installations, games and films take the visitor in another dimension. The New Horizons exhibition travels from a game like Pacman (now also featured in the Museum of Modern Art in New York) that consists completely in the 2D plane, to the photorealistic imagery of games like Battlefield 4 and to the artistic experiments of indie games.

Conference

The conference part of the Next-Gen Art Event (NGAE) consists of a 5-day program running from November 22th until the 26th and consists of master classes and workshops for (starting) game-makers, artists, students and creatives from various disciplines. Speakers from studios like Naughty Dog (The Last of Us, Uncharted), BioWare (Mass Effect, Dragon Age), Guerrilla Games (Killzone), NCSoft (Guild Wars), Sucker Punch (Infamous) and thatgamecompany (Journey, Flower) will tackle the subject of the visual languages of games and the visual design of games. Programme details here can be found at nextgenartevent.com

Leading game studios’ and internationally renowned games

Many international game studios and game makers have contributed to this first Next-Gen Art Event (NGAE) and the New Horizons exhibition. Some highlights:

· Swedish studio DICE: Mirror’s Edge and special Battlefield 4 images from the Frostbite Engine illustrating the development of the first person perspective and the state of real-time photorealistic graphics. Figureheads from the games-as-art discussion, Journey and Flower, are shown and a special artwork made from Treasure’s bullet hell shooters.

· The design of virtual cities and landscapes in games is visualized by games like Minecraft, Guild Wars, Assassin’s Creed and Dear Esther among others.

· Art collections including “Naughty Dog 30th Anniversary Show” and “Killzone: 10th Anniversary” will be shown at various locations.

Next-Gen Art Event (NGAE)

The Next-Gen Art Event starts November 21st in game city Leeuwarden with the official opening of New Horizons in the Fries Museum. The exhibition will be shown until February 15th 2015. The conference starts November 22nd with a Gamejam and runs until Wednesday the 26th. The Next-Gen Art Event is an initiative by the (g)Ameland Foundation, art dealership Cook & Becker, Grendel Games and Game Academy and supported by various local partners and the Fries Museum.

More information and tickets: