The Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society (AMAAS) serves media artists and organizations in Alberta. Founded in 1991, AMAAS provides communication, advocacy and educational networks to its members. AMAAS provides an annual conference, workshops, publishing, awards, sponsorship and artist commissions. Now, and since its inception, AMAAS is governed by a volunteer group of directors, all representatives of the media arts.

Our story begins with a handful of like-minded souls in like-minded film and video production organizations who thoughts up the Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society (AMAAS).  The society was created on March 20th, 1991.  Each founder brought their particular aspirations to these beginnings, and like so many human creations their intents wove themselves forward through time.

1991 was the formal beginning of the society, but AMAAS was gestating before that, as early as 1985.  The Calgary and Edmonton media arts communities in the early 80's did not think about each over overmuch.  Despite their relative proximity, the film & video co-ops were a new kind of cultural organization on the prairies, an only beginning to build the organizational foundations of what they would become.

A pivotal moment in the formation of AMAAS came in the form of the 1989 Hinton Independent Film & Video Festival.  Organized by Brent Spiess, the Festival was a showcase for Alberta film & video as well as a networking opportunity for administrators, artists and the general public, including the high-profile presence of then Alberta Minister of Culture & Multiculturalism, Doug Main.  As the festival came to a close, there was a meeting organized between representatives of the production co-ops present: FAVA, CSIF, EMMEDIA, and QAS.  The topic on their minds was the recently established Alberta Film and Video Arts Fund (AFVAF) as a lottery fund allocation.  The fund, which they had lobbied for, was now the agency supporting the co-ops, and it was thought that political action might be necessary for its continued existence.  The name "Alberta Media Arts Alliance" was conceived, and that September, Grant Poier penned the first of many lobbying letters to the Culture Minister in support of the AFVAF.

Three years later, with much time and dedication from the various personalities from the media-arts centres (including Liz Stobbe & Rick Gustavsen - FAVA, Brian Rusted, Ian Reid & Grant Poier - EMMEDIA, and Marcella Bienvenue - CSIF) the application for the Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society was filed and a new organization was born!

Since then, AMAAS has continued to grow and expand its scope.  It now advocates for media arts, creates connections between media arts centres and artists, rewards arts advocacy with the Spirit of Helen award, runs an annual conference and creates annual exhibitions including Prairie Tales: Alberta Film & Video on Tour and the Gallery of Alberta Media Arts (collaboration with the EPCOR Centre for Performing Arts in Calgary).  AMAAS celebrates its 20th Anniversary in 2011!

Media Art is a highly contested term throughout the arts world. How does one define something that is constantly changing with the emergence of new technology and practices? This genre of artistic endeavour is generally process dependent on technology with a time-based component. A critical art practice that embraces both technological history and the cutting edge, media art works can be either analog or digital and in some cases both.

Pushing boundaries, this area of practice can embrace video, film, digital art, audio, computer graphics, animation, internet, robotics, electronics, biotech and beyond.

Because of the scope of this genre and its inclusive nature, AMAAS defines Media Art as “Independent artist initiated and controlled use of film, video, new media, audio art and related media.”