Influenced by the media-landscape

Developments in media and modern art, including the performing arts, deeply influence how the visitors will perceive and experience the place. I worked in Paradiso for 11 years. In those years the media landscape of most people in Amsterdam changed a great deal. TV now has dozens of channels and the Internet has entered the media landscape. In 1988 when I started working in Paradiso, there were only some national and commercial TV channels, there was a local TV station in the non-profit sector, CNN had not yet established its reputation, there was no satellite TV (therefore no Turkish or Arab channels could be seen in Amsterdam), and apart from a few individuals, most people had no internet at home and there were no mobile phones. In my early days in Paradiso an audience would be willing to listen to speakers for several hours. We would have nights with talks from 19.30 to 23.00 hours. That would be unheard of today. We need breaks, intermezzos and a variety of experiences. Many conferences today offer 'choice tracks' (break out sessions, poster presentations, parallel programming, etc.). I agreed with other colleagues at Paradiso that Paradiso functioned as a medium, and this insight influenced how we took responsibility for the programme. Every medium has to interact and adapt to the media landscape that surrounds it. Paradiso also has to do this. The fact that a certain show took place in Paradiso was also a statement by Paradiso, as a medium itself.

CN