Notam’s strategy

General
Notam is a national centre for technology, art and music. Notam aims to further develop its position as the Nordic region’s leading technology centre for the development of experimental art.

Art is an exploratory and innovative part of society. Notam’s role is to expand the opportunities available to artists who wish to use technology in their creative process or in the final result.

To support artists working in the independent sector, Notam will develop cutting-edge expertise in the fields of technology and the arts.

Notam’s core tasks are to support creative work, education, outreach, and research and development. During the two years covered by this strategy, Notam will refine its operations and profile by focusing on support for creative work, knowledge development, research and development. These are tasks that no other institutions in the independent arts sector undertake. Our reasoning is that there are many organisations that present art in the form of concerts and exhibitions; consequently, Notam can scale this back somewhat and focus on outreach as an extension of its other tasks.

Notam’s facilities are open 24 hours a day to professional artists working in the independent arts sector. Notam is also a loosely governed, free and trust-based institution. The strategy aims to use this freedom to the best advantage of artists, technologists and staff. 

This strategy will come into effect from 2025 and will be reviewed every six months by staff and the board, starting in June 2025. This document sets out the overall framework; in addition, annual plans and schedules will be drawn up for communication, social activities, professional content and skills development.

The strategy is based on the key areas of academic core, sustainable organisational development and networking. Under these, there are specific measures that are to be in place by the end of 2026. 

Core academic areas
Notam has a responsibility to serve as a professional community for technologists and artists working in the independent sector. The programme is designed to cater for everyone from beginners to highly skilled practitioners. Activities that address this are grouped under research and development, support for creative work, and knowledge development.

Notam’s core areas of expertise are sound, music, art, signal processing, and the development of software and hardware. The staff are in constant dialogue with the fields of art and technology and keep abreast of rapidly evolving areas. As a general guiding principle, Notam prioritises tasks and solutions that artists cannot find elsewhere.

When this strategy refers to priority areas within our core professional remit, this does not exclude other activities; the priority areas should be understood as aspects of Notam’s professional expertise that we wish to strengthen further.  

During the two years this strategy is in force, Notam will focus particularly on music and hardware, and continue its work on 3D sound. Notam’s focus on 3D sound has been ongoing for around 10 years and has become an important part of many artists’ professional practice; Notam has a particular responsibility in this field as we are the only organisation to offer facilities for the development of works. Within the field of 3D sound, we will continue to offer courses, studio space, expertise and concerts. 

This focus on music and hardware forms part of our efforts to support the maker culture that has flourished in recent years. We see that it is popular to link code, sound and the physical world together, and that many projects are emerging along this axis. Examples include the use of contact speakers, the development of electronics to link sensors and motors, the programming of microcontrollers and instrument building. Notam’s initiative aims to respond to the interest in this field by strengthening our own expertise, our facilities and our course offering.

In the field of research and development, Notam will undertake its own internal projects and engage in external collaborations with major institutions. These activities are intended to contribute to the development of the field and strengthen our own expertise. They are also intended to be channelled into knowledge development amongst artists and technologists through workshops, courses and presentations. It is essential to share the knowledge that staff possess and continue to acquire.

Desired result:

• Notam is to have an annual programme of activities designed to ensure the predictable operation and use of Notam.
  
  
  • The Annual Programme is designed to make it easy for newcomers to Notam by providing an introduction to our facilities and basic training in key technologies. 
    
    
  • The annual programme is designed to make it worthwhile to stay involved in the community by offering advanced meet-ups and courses.
    
    
  • The academic calendar is to be communicated each semester in December and June.
    
    
• Notam aims to foster discussion within the arts. 
  
  
  • Notam is to organise one arts seminar a year, preferably in collaboration with festivals or other organisations.
    
    
  • The events are to be publicised on a quarterly basis.
    
    
• Notam is to undertake annual advanced technology projects. The scope of the projects is to be adapted to a financially sustainable framework. The results and process may be communicated through articles, or form the basis for content at professional seminars, meet-ups and courses.
  
  
• Staff in a 50% role or above must have an individual two-year plan for skills development in our priority areas of 3D audio, music and hardware. Staff may devote up to 20% of their working hours to this purpose.
  
  
• As part of the initiative focusing on music and hardware, a larger sum will be sought to further equip the workshop for mechanical work.
  
  
• All works to which Notam contributes in the creative process shall be documented in Notam’s project archive.
  
  

Networks
Notam aims to be part of national and international networks, as well as serving as a platform where individual artists can engage in networking. Over the next two years, we hope to see an increase in the number of artists and projects at Notam. Notam will work purposefully to forge relationships between people and institutions. Notam also has its own internal networks comprising staff, the board, artists and technologists.

Desired result:

• Notam may put forward proposals for collaboration with relevant organisations to offer Notam as a resource to their members, such as artist residencies.
  
  
• Every year, we will advertise residency programmes both internationally and nationally.
  
  
• Notam is working to become a partner in international projects.
  
  
• We have a national and Nordic annual programme featuring outreach activities to promote the opportunities offered by Notam.
  
  
• Notam will seek to recruit organisations that wish to use Notam’s facilities for concerts, workshops and presentations.
  
  
• Notam aims to serve as a forum for students and teachers from various educational institutions. We will offer an institutional membership scheme that opens up Notam to these groups.
  
  
• Ideally, Notam should be an interdisciplinary forum where professional artists, students and academics from various institutions come together.
  
  

Sustainable organisational development
Technology is today one of the main drivers of social development. Consequently, professional artists working with technology occupy an important position and have a particular artistic responsibility towards society. Notam is a significant professional and social arena for these artists. It is important that we make a conscious effort to be a place where a diverse range of artists and technologists can thrive and build strong relationships within their networks. Notam is committed to fostering a diverse arts scene in which a variety of voices are heard. This benefits the individual artist and is vital for a critical public sphere.

Running Notam is about striking a balance between capacity, finances and the professional aspirations of staff and artists. These elements must be in a sustainable balance. This must result in a strategy in which expectations of what Notam should be and what Notam can do are clear. 

Desired result:

• Notam is committed to promoting diversity among artists and technologists. The ways in which we do this include the selection of artists-in-residence, course leaders and meetup hosts; our own awareness; the commissioning of works; and our physical premises.
  
  
• In any three-year period, Notam shall maintain a 40-60% gender balance in the aforementioned roles.
  
  
• Notam shall strive to foster an open culture in which everyone feels welcome.
  
  
• Notam should be universally accessible, with an accessible toilet and wheelchair ramps.
  
  
• Notam carries out half-yearly reviews of its ‘art of balance’ initiatives and our ethical guidelines.
  
  
• Notam must have a clear communication strategy with set guidelines.