As the editor of Volume II, my focus was on ARTISTS AND PRACTICE in new media art. Topics range across robotics, multimedia installation and performance, time-based and interactive art, social engagement, and hacking. Written by artists, activists and practitioners, the articles are in themed sections: new media art in context; new media art forms and process; new media art entropy; emergent media; new media art practice; information and systems.

I was approached to be the ENMA in late  2018, based on my proposal for Volume II, which was accepted. I went about the hard task of inviting authors to write 7500 words about related themes that I had selected for no financial reward except a copy of the volume.

As the editor, I was keen to focus on the artist’s voice, seeking in-depth overviews of the area from the perspective of their own practice, but importantly in regard to the context of issues identified around their particular theme. Who were the artists, peers, theorists, technicians and facilities that were influencing their practice and the problems encountered with the ever-changing palette in the technological landscape?

Paul Thomas Editor

The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of New Media Art is available now online and in print from December 2025.