An oversized Greenwich Village loft houses the computer labs, rotating exhibitions, and production workshops that are ITP -- the Interactive Telecommunications Program. Founded in 1979 as the first graduate education program in alternative media, ITP has grown into a living community of technologists, theorists, engineers, designers, and artists uniquely dedicated to pushing the boundaries of interactivity in the real and digital worlds. A hands-on approach to experimentation, production and risk-taking make this hi-tech fun house a creative home not only to its 230 students, but also to an extended network of the technology industry's most daring and prolific practitioners.
ITP is internationally recognized as a unique and vital contributor of new ideas and talented individuals to the professional world of multimedia and interactivity. The department takes a creative and professional approach to the challenges of the information age.
Experimentation is an essential element in understanding both the opportunities and responsibilities inherent in this evolving field. ITP's philosophy of a hands-on approach to learning relies on collaboration rather than competition, fostering a creative environment where exploration, analysis, risk-taking and experimentation can occur. The department provides an open and nurturing environment in which people are empowered to develop their own ideas, no matter how experimental. ITP emphasizes the user's creativity rather than the capability of the computer. The department challenges students to apply their creativity and imagination to the latest digital tools and techniques. The curriculum is devoted to teaching the practice and theory that emerge from the convergence of new media technologies.
The department, which began in 1979, grew out of the work of the Alternate Media Center which was founded in 1971. ITP and AMC have developed an international reputation for pioneering work in demonstration and research in the field of interactive media. 2004 marks the 25th anniversary of the Interactive Telecommunications Program.
HistoryThe story of ITP -- the Interactive Telecommunications Program -- is the story of people exploring new forms of communication and expression. It began in 1971 with the creation of the Alternate Media Center (AMC) by George Stoney and Red Burns.
ITP grew out of the work of the AMC, and set the stage for the experimentation which would follow as well as the informing spirit of collaboration, and the ongoing emphasis on crafting social applications and putting the needs of the user first. A pioneering center for application development and field trials, the AMC initially focused on exploring the then-new tool of portable video made possible by Sony's introduction of the Portapak and Apple II computers.
Red Burns and her colleagues at the AMC came from backgrounds in documentary film and traditional media -- they shared a vision for a freely accessible, grass-roots technology which would enable users to create their own documentaries and distribute them widely. Their efforts led to many significant developments in the field, including lobbying Congress for the creation of what is now public access cable television and significant field trials for two-way television in community settings, the use of teletext in major urban centers and communications technologies for the developmentally disabled.
Professor Burns believed that a graduate course of study was needed to train creative, forward thinking, ethical new media developers for what she saw would be a new and growing field. The first 20 graduate students entered the program in 1979 -- and it grew quickly from there. In 1983 Professor Burns turned her full attention from AMC to ITP and was appointed Chair of the department, a position she holds today. In 1996, she was awarded the Tokyo Broadcasting Systems Chair. Under her leadership the department has become an internationally renowned center for scholars and practitioners who are eager to engage the newest technologies and put them in the hands of media-makers.
Michael Mills, former full-time faculty member of ITP, went on to Apple Computer to develop what later became Quicktime. Current ITP professor Dan O'Sullivan, during his student years, served as an intern at Apple and created the prototype for the first navigable interactive movies. Professor O'Sullivan also introduced the first widely used interactive television application in NYC, produced and broadcast directly from ITP by way of Manhattan Cable Public Access.
Industry leaders, artists and visionaries who have lectured at ITP over the years include Academy-Award winner, Chairman and CEO of R/GA Digital Studios Robert M. Greenberg, musician and founder of immersive virtual reality Jaron Lanier, multimedia artist Vito Acconci, creator of the ethernet Bob Metcalf, CEO of New York Times Digital Martin Nisenholtz, artist Toshio Iwai, and Masamichi Udagawa and Sigi Moeslinger of Antenna Design, to name but a few.
Current ITP faculty members are known for their contributions to the new media field -- Daniel Rozin, Chrysler Design Award-Winning Artist in Residence, has had his work shown in major museums around the world, most recently at the Israel Museum; Dan O'Sullivan and Tom Igoe have just published the authoritative text on Physical Computing; Jean-Marc Gauthier is the author of several books on interactive 3D applications, and his art installations have been seen internationally; Douglas Rushkoff and Clay Shirky are widely published critics, authors and journalists; Marianne Petit is an artist well known for her interactive stories as well as her work in assistive technologies and social applications; Red Burns has served on many boards and is regularly an invited speaker at industry events -- she is also the recipient of a Chrysler Design Award, for "Design Champion," a leadership award from the NY Hall of Science, the educator award from the Art Directors Club, Crain's All Star Award, the NYC Mayor's Award for science and technology and was the first recipient of the Matrix Award.
