Eyebeam was one of the first organizations dedicated to supporting artists who create with technology. Since our founding more than 20 years ago, over 500 artists have received support through our flagship fellowship, with hundreds more having participated in our exhibitions and gatherings. We are building from an adventurous legacy and breaking new ground in the role technology can play in our lives by empowering artists concerned about injustice and inequity. Eyebeam.org is our new home, and as we operate as a digital-first organization, we are establishing deep relationships with brick-and-mortar friends to powerfully present and amplify the work of our artists

Eyebeam was established in 1998 by John S. Johnson as a resource for artists to engage creatively with technology in an experimental setting. Originally located in a warehouse in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, Eyebeam supported makers and thinkers who spearheaded game-changing projects like reBlog, the first-ever online “sharing” protocol, and Fundrace, the first geocoding of public campaign finance data.

Many more “firsts” were had at our studios over the years, including the C-based creative coding platform, OpenFrameworks, and the first comprehensive rap lyrics database, the Rap Research Lab by Tahir Hemphill. Eyebeam has committed to amplifying the voices of artists, inventors, designers, and engineers who show us the horizon of what is possible, creating space for them to imagine the future. Society’s ever-shifting relationship to technology can be charted through the work of those that have come through our doors over the past two decades.

Now more than ever, Eyebeam radically centers artists in the cultural conversation, giving them the support to both interrogate and re-imagine what technology can be and who it is for.

Eyebeam has been W.A.G.E. certified since 2015.