About

The Project

wikimoma.art is an experimental non-commercial community arts project that seeks to integrate game making and playing into the traditional community arts practices of incorporating story-telling with art making & sharing.

Ten Aims underpin the structure and direction of the project, they are listed in no particular order:

• to explore the intersections between reality, fantasy and the digital world
• to experiment with the integration of game playing into community arts practice
• to use online digital technologies to bring people together in real life communal spaces that are safe, playful & creative
• to downgrade the pre-eminence of war in the gaming world and instead explore alternatives to consumerism, oligarchy & colonialism through creative play, "world-building" and speculative fiction
• to use online digital technologies to facilitate the making of physical artifacts and enact real life cultural performance
• to develop and exploit the cinematic and dramatic potential of Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS), particularly in regard to non-liner story telling.
• to open up gameplay in the MSFS space to "non-virtual-pilots"
• to represent modding as a creative cultural activity by showcasing the work of modders as "valued cultural artifacts"
• to create a straight-friendly Queer space in the online flight simulation world and at MOMA live spaces
• to promote & represent peoples who are Queer and Neuro Divergent as ethnic groups, by highlighting ethnic cultural expressions and providing accessible ways of furthering the same.

What is MOMA?

In real life, the Museum of Moving Art (MOMA) is essentially the creative output of the wikimoma.art project. MOMA takes many forms (has several iterations), but also has strong ethereal characteristics as it exists as much in the imagination as it does in physical reality.

Materially MOMA is experienced as mobile sculptural forms and assemblages: for example as street art or pop-up miniature galleries in community spaces. It also takes physical shape within the MOMA Games as displays, artwork, catalogues, etc.

In the fantasy realm of MOMA's speculative fiction, the Museum exists in great architectural splendour as a prestigious world-class arts institution built into a cliff-side on the island of Fafifi in the South Pacific. The Story Garden is what we call the fantasy world generated in the project's role playing games - it is generated here in the wiki and also within the various iterations of the [MOMA Game]. MOMA the building on the island of Fafafi is to be represented as 3D digital art which can viewed as modded scenery within the MSFS simulator, aw well as other digital iterations such as Blender #3D models.

Philosophical underpinnings

The wikimoma.art project is grounded in the philosophies of Care Ethics and community arts participation.

"Due to its roots in social justice and collaborative, community-based nature, art for social change may be considered a form of cultural democracy... Often, the processes (or the works produced by these processes) intend to create or promote spaces for participatory public dialogue."

MOMA as a "work of art"

MOMA can also be understood to be an evolving composite artwork (a work of art that is made up of other works of art). Originally conceived as "street art with theatrical tendencies", it can be played as a game, or it can be approached more seriously - simply as a rather unique form of arts museum. However, playfulness is the key, for MOMA boldly experiments with the integration of gaming into community arts practice.

MOMA is an ambitious work inspired by flight simulation, buskers, street art and all of the great public art institutions in the world (but especially the Doncaster Museum & Gallery, Heide, and Buxton Contemporary).

Since its original conception, wikimoma.art is maturing into an expansive collaborative and interdisciplinary project. Though it is somewhat complex in nature, it's complexity is integrated by a sound conceptual framework (outlined in this wiki), along with a core fictional narrative that weaves its various elements together into a vibrant cohesive whole.

Foundation

The Museum of Moving Art (MOMA) was founded in the Australian winter of 2021 by therapeutic artist, David Freedom Rose. It had it's first public appearance in the context of a TAFE art course run at The Youthie in Nambucca Heads, NSW, Australia. However, the earliest evidence of MOMA's development can be found in David's art journals some 5 years previously.

MOMA is what you make It

As a game, MOMA is played face to face at pop-up galleries in public and community spaces, online here at wikimoma.art and also in computers as creative projects and video games (single + multi-player). Participants can play as themselves or as characters they have created - they may play roles such as curators, museum visitors, artists, benefactors, art scholars, bureaucrats, trustees and whatever else takes their fancy.

This role-play can be quite low-key: sometimes random participants visiting the Museum may not even realize that they are part of a game. It can even get quite theatrical as Cosplay. Another way of playing at MOMA is to actually to have fun helping to make the games themselves!

Non-profit by Nature

The wikimoma.art project is non-commercial in so far as it is not driven by financial gain, but rather the love of community and the desire to validate community cultural expression as "art". As such there is no formal legal structure or entity. MOMA is a collective of individuals who love it and use it.

That is not to say that money is not involved. Community arts brings together professional arts workers to work with hobbyists and participant makers who do not identify themselves as artists. Professionals may be paid for their services or they may volunteer unpaid. Much work is done by volunteers who make contributions for the fun or love of it. Materials can be donated but things that need to be bought are paid for by donations. Grants can be applied for.

If you would like to materially support the work at MOMA please visit the Donate and Gift page.

More about Community Arts

"Art helps us to explore and interpret our stories and, in turn, share discoveries and learn more about how other people see the world. Participation in arts activities expand our networks, strengthen our social bonds and bring our communities closer together – the foundations for mental wellbeing."

VicHealth have partnered with Arts Victoria and Castanet in the development of a practical step-by-step guide to inspire more creative community activities now and into the future. Please click on the image above if you want to download the PDF guide and get a more in depth view of community arts practice from an Australian perspective.

For a quicker look, check out The Tate's comments on the history of community arts (click here), and then have a gander at this excellent video by The Guardian about Ghost Nets - it will give you a sense of the power of community arts at the level of feeling & ground up social change.

Recent activity on the Wiki

This link will take you to a page showing you the most recent changes made to this website.