Creating New Spaces: Interviews with artists redefining spaces through technology

About Creating New Spaces: Interviews with artists redefining spaces through technology

Explore the practice of creating media art installations with the Creating New Spaces podcast. In each episode, the host Robin Petterd brings you interviews with artists who are pushing the boundaries of art and technology. The podcast focuses on the intricacies of media installation and art, revealing the creative and technical processes behind the scenes. Perfect for artists, students, educators, and anyone interested in experimental art practice. Listen to hear conversations that illuminate the processes and challenges of new ways of working.

Publisher

Robin Petterd

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

4 Jul 2023

Latest episode

24 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

36 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   24 Oct 2026

   Moving from projection mapping to physical light with Kit Webster

   In this podcast you will learn how Kit Webster moves between digital visualisation, physical prototyping and audiovisual composition to create large-scale media art installations. Kit Webster is a Melbourne-based audiovisual artist whose practice combines projection, LED light, lasers, sound, sculpture and movement. His work has been presented internationally through galleries, festivals, concerts and commissioned projects. In this conversation, Kit traces his move from projection mapping towards programmable physical light. He discusses Symbiotica, a permanent geometric LED sculpture commissioned for Imperial Doncaster, and explains how its three-dimensional structure was developed through visualisation, fabrication, custom electronics and software. The conversation also moves into The Helix, a kinetic sculpture using rotating mirrors, projection, haze and sound, and Orbital, Kit’s current project centred on a large sphere suspended within a column of air. Orbital introduces new challenges around machine vision, low-latency projection mapping and tracking a surface that is constantly moving and deforming. Kit also reflects on the practical conditions surrounding this work. These include presenting concepts before they physically exist, balancing engineering with audiovisual choreography, designing installations that can travel between festivals, and deciding how much technical precision is actually necessary for an artwork to succeed. Listen to this podcast to learn about: How moving from projection mapping to LED changed Kit’s approach to physical space. Why Kit prototypes the most technically uncertain parts of an installation early. The difference between simulating an installation and experiencing light, sound and scale physically. How commissioning, transport and repeated exhibitions affect the development of media artworks. Chapters (00:01:56) Moving from projection mapping towards physical light (00:05:36) Developing Symbiotica as a geometric LED sculpture (00:07:49) Rapidly prototyping animation across physical light structures (00:11:08) Using 3D visualisation and simulation during development (00:16:33) Why physical installation cannot be fully represented on screen (00:18:55) Developing The Helix with mirrors, projection, movement and sound (00:25:49) Prototyping the levitating sphere for Orbital (00:29:05) Tracking a moving object with low-latency projection (00:35:10) Sharing unfinished work and opening up the creative process (00:39:48) Moving an ambitious idea into physical space About Kit Webster Kit Webster is a Melbourne-based audiovisual artist working across immersive installation, kinetic light, projection, lasers, sound and sculptural systems. His practice explores relationships between light, sound, geometry and physical space. Beginning with projection mapping and audiovisual performance, his work has increasingly incorporated programmable LEDs, kinetic structures and other forms of physical light. Kit’s work has been presented internationally through festivals, exhibitions and commissioned projects, including Vivid Sydney, Dark Mofo, White Night and SIGNAL Festival. His projects range from permanent architectural light works to temporary audiovisual installations and experimental prototypes Links from the podcast with Kit Webster Visit Kit Webster’s website (https://www.kitwebster.com/) Learn more about Symbiotica (https://www.kitwebster.com/symbiotica) Learn more about the Helix (https://www.kitwebster.com/helix) Explore the development of Orbital (https://www.kitwebster.com/orbital)

2. 

   26 Sept 2026

   Risk, Creativity, and Collaboration in Public Art with Emily O’Brien

   In this podcast you will learn how early risk planning can help you protect the creative objective, work through uncertainty, and deliver ambitious media art in public spaces. Emily O’Brien provides risk, safety, and crowd management services for cultural organisations, festivals, and arts projects. Before specialising in these areas, she worked for around 20 years as a production manager across arts festivals, contemporary dance, theatre, and unconventional creative projects. In this conversation, Emily explains why she believes risk management should begin with the first project discussions rather than becoming a document produced shortly before opening. She introduces structured what-if meetings as a way to identify unknowns, roadblocks, and resource requirements while there is still time to respond. The conversation also examines the specific conditions of media art in public spaces. Audience dwell, pedestrian movement, long operating periods, power, neighbours, and unexpected increases in visitation can all affect how an artwork operates. Emily explains why an installation that becomes popular through social media may need to respond to audience patterns very different from those originally expected. Drawing on projects including Melbourne's Flash Forward and festival installations involving fire, Emily discusses how artists, engineers, councils, and production teams can find practicable solutions together. Rather than treating risk as a reason to remove difficult elements, she argues that early collaboration can help protect both audiences and the creative intention. Listen to this episode to learn about: How to introduce risk planning during the earliest stages of creative development. Why public-space media art requires attention to audience dwell, pedestrian movement, and changing visitation. How artists, engineers, and other stakeholders can develop risk controls without losing the central creative objective. Highlights (00:02:13) Defining risk as uncertainty around project objectives (00:04:34) Treating the creative objective as part of risk planning (00:07:41) Starting with a structured what-if meeting (00:10:00) Why risk needs to be contextualised for every project (00:10:51) Balancing time, people, and money (00:12:51) Risk and audience dwell in public media art (00:17:46) How social media can change visitation (00:18:44) Using risk planning during Melbourne's Flash Forward project (00:22:40) Bringing different stakeholders into the process (00:26:57) Understanding actual and perceived risks around fire (00:28:55) Designing safety controls into the audience experience (00:31:51) Psychological hazards and changing safety practice (00:34:06) Using AI alongside standards and professional judgement (00:35:32) Using risk to build stakeholder support About Emily O’Brien Emily O’Brien is a risk, safety, and crowd management specialist working with cultural organisations, festivals, and arts projects. She previously spent around 20 years working as a production manager across arts festivals, contemporary dance, and theatre, including projects that required unconventional approaches to production. As her practice shifted towards risk and safety, Emily completed a master's degree in crowd science and risk analysis through Manchester Metropolitan University. Her experience includes public-realm projects and festivals such as Flash Forward, Dark Mofo, Rising and Mona Foma. Her work focuses on integrating risk thinking into project development, helping creative teams address uncertainty, crowd behaviour, safety, resourcing, and compliance while maintaining the central creative objectives of a project. Links from the podcast Visit Emily O’Brien's consultancy website (https://www.emobrien.com.au/about) Learn more about Melbourne's Flash Forward program (https://flash-fwd.com/) Visit the Dark Mofo website (https://darkmofo.net.au/) Visit the Rising website (https://rising.melbourne/) Learn more about PAC Australia (https://paca.org.au/) Learn more about Creative Workplaces (https://creativeworkplaces.gov.au/)

3. 

   8 Aug 2026

   Public art, permanence and decay with Nigel Helyer

   In this podcast, Nigel Helyer explains how public artworks are designed for specific lifespans, how media installations can be maintained as their technologies age, and why contracts are central to the long-term maintenance of art in public spaces. Nigel Helyer is an internationally acclaimed Australian sculptor and sound artist who creates public artworks, sound sculptures and interactive media installations. His interdisciplinary practice connects art, science and technology through projects involving environmental research, acoustic mapping, biological systems and spatial sound. In this conversation, Nigel draws on decades of public art practice to question the idea of permanence. He discusses Dual-Nature (Ebb and Flow), a large-scale sound sculpture installed at Woolloomooloo in Sydney in 1999. Positioned partly within the water, the work used mild steel forms designed to corrode over a calculated 25-year lifespan. He also reflects on other media artworks, including Wireless House and Silent Forest, to consider how changing technologies affect their maintenance and conservation. Listen to this podcast to learn about: Designing public artwork around an intended lifespan. Using corrosion and material decay as planned elements. Maintaining sound and interactive art as technology changes. Preparing maintenance manuals and service arrangements. Negotiating fees, production budgets and contractual risk. Chapters (00:00:09) Rethinking permanence in public art (00:02:46) A 100-year sculpture for the Seoul Olympics (00:03:00) Contracts and expected lifespans (00:04:02) The history behind Dual-Nature (Ebb and Flow) (00:06:00) Calculating corrosion and planned decay (00:07:14) Maintaining an early solar audio artwork (00:09:26) Documenting why the work should rust (00:09:36) Moving from video towards spatial sound (00:13:07) Temporary culture and public art (00:14:18) Turning spaces into places (00:15:24) Contested histories at Franklin Square (00:17:56) Maintaining Wireless House (00:21:36) Updating the technology in Silent Forest (00:23:57) Public artworks that were lost or neglected (00:27:41) Inherent vice in media art (00:28:00) Advice for working in public spaces (00:29:23) Contracts and financial risk (00:30:17) Separating artist fees from production costs About Nigel Helyer Nigel Helyer is an internationally acclaimed sculptor and sound artist based in Australia, known for creating immersive sound sculptures, environmental public artworks and interactive media installations that connect art, science and technology. Public art has been a significant part of Nigel’s practice for decades. He has created large-scale, site-responsive works for urban, architectural and environmental settings, often using sound to shape how audiences experience a place. His projects explore the practical and conceptual challenges of permanence, maintenance, material change and technological obsolescence. Links from the podcast with Nigel Helyer Visit Nigel Helyer’s website (https://www.sonicobjects.com/) Explore Dual-Nature (Ebb and Flow) on Nigel Helyer’s website (https://www.sonicobjects.com/projects/dual_nature1/) Learn more about Dual-Nature (Ebb and Flow) through the City of Sydney (https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/sculptures/dual-nature) Read aboutthe conservation ofDual-Nature (Ebb and Flow) (https://osullivanconservation.com.au/dual-nature-nigel-helyer-1999-the-council-for-the-city-of-sydney/) Learn more about Wireless House on Nigel Helyer’s website (https://www.sonicobjects.com/research-and-development-writing/the_wireless_house/) Explore Silent Forest on Nigel Helyer’s website (https://www.sonicobjects.com/2005/07/08/silent_forest/) Explore Two Islands, Nigel Helyer’s public artwork in Franklin Square (https://www.hobartcity.com.au/Things-To-Do/Arts-and-culture/Creative-Hobart-projects/Two-Islands-Franklin-Square)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 36 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

49

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

60