Participation, art and digital culture : introduction

Participatory art has become an umbrella term for a broad range of artistic practices that focus on the importance of participation, interaction, social networks and processes as a crucial part of art projects and that move away from an exclusive focus on clearly defined and delineated art products. At the same time, the notion of participation in the arts is inevitably influenced by the increasing ubiquity of digital culture in which participation is a central feature. In this special issue of Critical Arts we aim to explore art practices that specifically engage with participation, interaction, technology and digital media. We have sourced papers from researchers, theorists and artists to engage critically with how technology, media and networks open up new avenues to develop practices that examine space and locality, community and communication, interaction and intimacy, proximity and distance, creation and co-creation