-empyre- soft-skinned space is a global community of new media artists, curators, theorists, producers, and others who participate in monthly thematic discussions via an e-mail listserv.
-empyre- facilitates online discussion encouraging critical perspectives on contemporary cross-disciplinary issues, practices, and events in networked media. Renate Ferro acts as the curatorial moderator in collaboration with moderator Tim Murray. Both Ferro and Murray have been involved with -empyre- since 2007. The -empyre- community welcomed the help of an international advisory editorial board in 2018.
-empyre- has traced the emergence of new media theory, practice, and networked culture since 2002, originated by Melinda Rackham of Australia. -empyre’s- community includes pioneering and new emerging artists, researchers, and technologists. To find out more information about -empyre’s- history click here.
-empyre- welcomes guest moderators who organize discussions for one month. Since its beginnings, -empyre- has been a platform dedicated to the plurality of global perspectives reaching out beyond Australia and the Northern Hemisphere to greater Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Africa.
-empyre- website is generously hosted by the Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art, Cornell Library, a repository of emergent ideas amongst those working at the leading edge of contemporary artistic practice. All discussions are currently archived by Pandora, a project of the National Library of Australia. Both of these institutions are dedicated to preserving online publications of national significance for future generations.