Creating New Spaces: Interviews with artists redefining spaces through technology

Robin Petterd
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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.

  1. 3d ago

    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 websiteLearn more about Melbourne's Flash Forward programVisit the Dark Mofo websiteVisit the Rising websiteLearn more about PAC AustraliaLearn more about Creative Workplaces

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

  2. Aug 8

    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 websiteExplore Dual-Nature (Ebb and Flow) on Nigel Helyer’s websiteLearn more about Dual-Nature (Ebb and Flow) through the City of SydneyRead aboutthe conservation ofDual-Nature (Ebb and Flow)Learn more about Wireless House on Nigel Helyer’s websiteExplore Silent Forest on Nigel Helyer’s websiteExplore Two Islands, Nigel Helyer’s public artwork in Franklin Square

    Public art, permanence and decay with Nigel Helyer

  3. Jul 4

    How Craig Walsh uses projection to transform trees into temporary public monuments

    In this interview, Craig Walsh explores the creative process behind Monuments. Monuments is a long-running outdoor projection project that uses projected portraits on trees to create temporary public monuments. The project began at Woodford Folk Festival in 1993, when Craig discovered how a projected portrait could align with the form of a tree and become a sculptural presence in public space. Craig Walsh is an Australian artist known for pioneering approaches to projection, installation, and site-responsive public art. Over more than 30 years, his work has animated trees, rivers, mountains, urban architecture, and live event environments across Australia and internationally with projections. In this conversation, Craig discusses how Monuments has evolved from early slide projections into a touring project shaped by each site and community. The structure of the work remains clear: projection, trees, night-time public space, portraiture, and temporary monument. What changes is the community, the selected people, the site, and the local meaning attached to each portrait. Listen to this podcast to learn about: How Craig thinks about projection as sculpture rather than screen-based video.Why subtle movement can be more powerful than direct interaction.What artists need to consider when making media art in public space. Chapters (00:00:00) Working outside the gallery (00:02:18) Projection as sculpture and installation (00:05:42) The origins of Monuments (00:15:18) Choosing who is represented in public space (00:19:10) Stillness, sound and subtle movement (00:20:31) Weather, trees and outdoor uncertainty (00:24:17) Projection, spectacle and light festivals (00:25:59) Touring Monuments and installation process (00:34:20) Trust, responsibility and representing people at scale (00:37:20) Advice for artists working with projection in public space About Craig Walsh Craig Walsh is an Australian artist known for pioneering approaches to projection, installation, and site-responsive public art. Over the last 30 years, his work has animated unconventional sites, including trees, rivers, mountains, urban architecture, and live event environments across Australia and internationally. His practice combines digital media, public space, and strong conceptual frameworks to create large-scale works that respond to the conditions and histories of each site. Craig has also developed major community-based projects, including Home Gwangju in South Korea, Traces—Blue in Setouchi, Japan, and FIVE with DADAA Inc. in Western Australia. Links from the podcast with Craig Walsh Learn more about MonumentsVisit Craig Walsh’s websiteFollow Craig Walsh on Instagram

    How Craig Walsh uses projection to transform trees into temporary public monuments

  4. May 16

    Using technology as a social instrument with Georgie Pinn

    In this podcast you will learn how Georgie Pinn designs interactive media artworks for public space. You’ll hear how Georgie builds participation, accessibility, and emotional impact. This interview is part of our series that focuses on media artworks in public space. In this interview, Georgie Pinn explores the creative process behind Echo, an interactive work that has evolved across multiple public-facing iterations, from an intimate one-on-one booth experience to a large-scale outdoor presentation. Georgie describes Echo as an "empathy engine." It is a guided encounter where a stranger’s story is experienced through a face transformation that gradually becomes your own. We discuss the changes when a deeply personal work is placed into public space. This includes designing for walk-up participation, making interaction intuitive across ages, and shaping narrative for unpredictable audiences. Listen to this podcast to learn how to: Design interactive work for public space that supports multiple entry points and non-linear viewing.Create walk-up engagement so audiences understand what to do within seconds.Prototype with unfamiliar participants to refine UI, affordances, and accessibility across ages.Build for touring, with portability and repeatable installation and operation.Chapters (00:00:00) Introduction (00:00:47) Public space origins (00:02:40) Echo empathy booth (00:04:47) Residency spark (00:06:44) Education role (00:07:35) Stories and archive (00:09:53) Consent and ethics (00:11:52) Breaking echo chambers (00:14:16) New iterations ahead (00:16:26) Prototyping process (00:18:50) Collaboration roles (00:20:53) Creative collective (00:22:26) Current projects (00:23:55) Advice for artists (00:26:54) Closing About Georgie Pinn Georgie Pinn is an interactive creative technologist who makes large-scale multi-sensory experiences using projection mapping and interactive, generative, and sound-responsive animation. She has over two decades of experience across public art, festivals, cultural institutions, AR and VR experiences, music videos, and stage-based work. Her practice is informed by an ongoing interest in how immersive technology and intimate storytelling can elicit empathy and connection. Her artwork has been presented internationally, including venues such as the Barbican in London, Drive in Berlin, the Powerhouse in Sydney, and Lusail in Qatar. Links from the podcast Learn more about Echo Visit Georgie Pinn’s websiteFollow Georgie Pinn on InstagramLearn more about Ars ElectronicaLearn more about the World Science Festival

    Using technology as a social instrument with Georgie Pinn

  5. Mar 28

    Listening, prototyping and delivering media art in public space with Betty Sargeant

    In this conversation, we hear how Betty Sargeant develops site-led installations through listening, prototyping, and stakeholder collaboration. We also discuss why delivery skills matter as much as ideas when working in public space. This interview is part of our series that focuses on media artworks in public space. Betty shares the creative process behind The Fauxrest and what it takes to make media art that can survive real-world conditions, including weather, public interpretation, and the layered expectations of councils, communities, and collaborators. AI sits in the background of this conversation as a conceptual provocation. Betty explains her “AI robot” persona, and how the claim of an “AI-created” installation sparked rumour, backlash, and debate. Those reactions provide a way into bigger questions about trust, authorship, and agency in public space. Listen to this podcast to learn about: How listening builds trust and reduces friction in public space projectsPrototyping site-led work through fast sketches, rough models, and material testsWhy visual mock-ups are essential for keeping stakeholders aligned over timeHow participation shifts when audiences have not opted inWhat it takes to take a public artwork from idea to install, and why project management protects your agencyChapter (00:00:00) Finding the site first (00:00:29) Podcast intro and acknowledgement (00:01:02) Meet Dr. Betty Sargeant (00:01:52) Inside the Fauxrest artwork (00:02:38) Why public art matters (00:04:19) The AI robot provocation (00:06:04) Public reactions and town halls (00:09:38) Fauxrest and Satire (00:10:33) Performing Betty Sargeant AI (00:12:22) Backlash and misunderstandings (00:16:52) Collaboration and stakeholders (00:20:33) Prototyping and models (00:26:11) Visual communication for projects (00:27:24) Three career essentials (00:28:23) Why project management matters (00:29:51) Wrap up and thanks About Betty Sargeant Betty Sargeant is a Melbourne-based media artist and researcher and co-creative director of the art-technology duo PluginHUMAN with Justin Dwyer. Her practice spans public art and immersive installation, using light, moving image, sound, and sculptural form to place audiences inside multi-sensory experiences. She has received Good Design Awards in 2018 and 2020, and a Victorian Premier’s Design Award in 2017. Her recent project, Betty Sargeant AI, uses satire and performance to question authorship, agency, and the stories we tell about automation. Links from the podcast with Betty Sargeant Visit Betty Sargeant’s website Follow Betty Sargeant on InstagramLearn more about The Fauxrest Learn more about Betty Sargeant AILearn more about PluginHUMAN

    Listening, prototyping and delivering media art in public space with Betty Sargeant

  6. Feb 21

    Designing public interactions through sound with Michael Baker

    In this podcast you will learn how sound-led public artworks can turn everyday places into shared, playable environments.  In this interview Michael Baker is the Sound Director at Daily tous les jours we explore some of the thinking behind Daily Tous Les Jours’ public artworks.  Daily tous les jours is known for large-scale participatory works such as Musical Swings, as well as their book Strangers Need Strange Moments Together, which reflects on designing interaction in public space. This interview is the first in a series that focuses on media art works in public space.     Listen to this podcast to learn about: Why music acts as “social glue” in public space and how it supports relationalityHow the Musical Swings series of works map movement and synchrony into musical structureDesigning interactions that are legible without instructionsLow-tech prototyping methods (before code) that test the real experienceThe differences between touring works and permanent outdoor installationsCommon failure points in public work: weather, wear, and mechanical/electronic overlapWhy the “artwork” is ultimately the people using the piece, togetherChapters (00:00:00) Finding the hidden rhythm: sound between chaos & musical order (00:00:24) Welcome + acknowledgement of country (00:00:48) Series kickoff: Media art in public spaces (meet Daily tous les jours) (00:01:40) Michael Baker’s role: Why audio is the perfect public-space interface (00:02:44) “Make sure it makes music”: Music as social glue & pre‑verbal play (00:05:24) Accidental encounters: The magic of unexpected public art (00:06:22) Case study: Musical swings—wonder, all ages, all walks of life (00:07:38) Sync & sway: How the swings create emergent harmony (tech + behavior) (00:09:56) From mirror neurons to intimacy: Why we copy each other (00:10:41) Interactive pavement: Grid rhythms, emergent rules & dancing together (00:11:48) No instructions needed: Designing clear, simple gestures (00:13:45) Prototyping at scale: Iteration, tape-on-the-ground tests & deadlines (00:16:13) Tweak vs deliver: Working with clients, museums & touring constraints (00:17:51) Testing with fresh eyes: First-time users as the real benchmark (00:19:25) Temporary vs permanent: Durability, public “hacks,” and extreme weather (00:21:41) Platforms & toolchains: MAX/MSP, TouchDesigner, and choosing what fits (00:23:50) What public media art really is: The artwork is the people (00:25:29) Wrap-up, thanks, and share the show About Daily tous les jours Daily tous les jours is a Montreal-based art and design studio that creates interactive installations in public spaces. Founded in 2010 by Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat, the studio is known for large-scale participatory works such as Musical Swings. Their projects use technology, music and movement to bring strangers together and transform everyday urban spaces into sites of collective experience. About Michael Baker Michael Baker is the Sound Director at Daily tous les jours, where he oversees the sonic landscape of the studio’s interactive installations. In his role, he develops sound palettes, generative compositional systems, and integrated audio environments that respond to movement and collective behaviour in public space. Michael holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in electroacoustics from Concordia University. An accomplished electroacoustic composer, his work has been presented at international festivals including the 60x60 Festival (Canada/US), the Livewire Festival (Maryland), and the Canadian Electroacoustic Community Symposium (Montreal). Links from the podcast: Learn more about Daily Tous Les JoursLearn more about 21 Balançoires (musical swings)Read Strangers Need Strange Moments Together

    Designing public interactions through sound with Michael Baker

  7. Jan 2

    Staying, Making, Connecting: The 2025 creative playbook

    In this podcast you will learn how media artists stay with uncertainty, make deliberate choices with technology, and build work through collaboration—with people, place, ecology, and time. This is a 2025 compilation episode, bringing together the advice I ask for at the end of every conversation on Creating New Spaces. Across the year, artists returned to a few shared concerns: how to keep going when meaning arrives slowly, how to test and refine work without being led by the tools, and how installation practice is shaped by teams, trust, and the systems around us. Listen to this podcast to learn about:How to stay with the work when it’s unclear, slow, or shiftingHow to make with machines through testing, revision, and refinementHow media work becomes shared — through collaboration, community, and ecologyGuests featured Johan F Karlsson, Ariana Gerstein, Monteith Mccollum, Matt Warren, Rita Eperjesi, Georgie Friedman, Matthew Ragan, Troy Merritt, Darryl Rogers, Alex Moss, Maggie Jeffries, and Keith Armstrong Chapters (00:00:00) Intro: staying, making, connecting (00:00:52) Staying with the work: pace, patience, resilience (Johan, Ariana, Matt, Rita) (00:05:51) Making with machines: testing, tools, refinement (Georgie Friedman, Matthew, Troy) (00:09:34) Making with others: teams, shared practice, impact (Darryl Rogers, Alex and Maggie, Keith) (00:14:17) Closing Links from the podcast Guests Johan F Karlsson— websiteAriana Gerstein — websiteMatt Warren— websiteRita Eperjesi — websiteGeorgie Friedman — websiteMatthew Ragan — websiteTroy Merritt / Soma Lumia — websiteDarryl Rogers — websiteAlex Moss — websiteMaggie Jeffries — websiteKeith Armstrong — websiteProjects and organisations mentioned The Weather at Midnight Moonah Arts CentreDissolution Lacuna

    Staying, Making, Connecting: The 2025 creative playbook

  8. 10/24/2025

    Creating a shared practice with Alex Moss & Maggie Jeffries

    In this podcast you will learn how artists Alex Moss and Maggie May Jeffries developed a shared creative process that bridges traditional painting and interactive media. In this interview, Alex Moss and Maggie Jeffries discuss the creative process behind The Weather at midnight. The exhibition combines painting, projection, and real-time interaction to create a shifting environment of light and movement. Through subtle digital overlays and live painting, static canvases become dynamic, evolving works that change with audience presence. The exhibition was presented at Moonah Arts Centre. Alex Moss is a Lutruwita/Tasmanian-based media artist whose work transforms spaces through projected light, sound design, and interactive elements. Maggie May Jeffries is a painter from Lutruwita/Tasmania whose practice explores memory, environment, and sensory experience through layered, detailed compositions.  Listen to this podcast to learn about: The role of experimentation, trust, and structure in cross-disciplinary collaboration, and how shared workshops shaped Alex and Maggie’s evolving process.How data, audience presence, and live performance intertwined during the exhibition.    What “slow noticing” reveals about time, attention, and the perception of creative work.Chapters (00:00:00) Introduction to artist collaboration (00:01:18) Meet Maggie and Alex (00:01:52) The weather at midnight project (00:04:17) Audience experience and interaction (00:05:51) Inspiration and process (00:09:11) Live painting and performance (00:18:06) Workshops and collaboration (00:23:26) Future directions and advice (00:25:13) Conclusion and farewell About Alex Moss Alex Moss is a media artist based in Lutruwita/Tasmania and a member of Second Echo Ensemble. With over ten years of experience, his work spans projection, sound design, and interactive installation, transforming spaces through light and sensory engagement. He has created work for the University of Tasmania, Hobart City Council, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and the Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival. Alex received the 2023 Best Sound Design Professional Theatre Award for Outside Boy with Second Echo Ensemble. About Maggie Jeffries Maggie May Jeffries is a painter based in Lutruwita/Tasmania and a member of Second Echo Ensemble. Her practice explores memory, place, and the natural environment through layered paintings that merge observation with imagination. She graduated with First Class Honours in Fine Art and Psychology from the University of Tasmania in 2022. Represented by Despard Gallery, she received the NEXT Award in 2018 and was a finalist in the 2024 Women’s Art Prize Tasmania. Links from this podcast with Alex Moss and Maggie Jeffries The weather at midnightVisit Moonah Arts CentreExplore Moonah Arts Centre’s exhibition page for The weather at midnightVisit Alex Moss’ websiteFollow Alex Moss on InstagramLearn more about Maggie May Jeffries at Despard GalleryFollow Maggie May Jeffries on Instagram

    Creating a shared practice with Alex Moss & Maggie Jeffries
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About

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.

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