Blank Arcade: Exhibition of Games and Toys as Art

The Blank Arcade is a recurring exhibition of games, play art, and interactive media, organized by Lindsay Grace of American University in association with the Digital Games Research Association's annual conference. This extended abstract proposes a 2018 edition of the event, following earlier iterations in Salt Lake City (2014), Lüneburg, Germany (2015), and Dundee, Scotland (2016). Its central aim is to bring game art practice and game art history into the game studies community, positioning exhibition work as a scholarly and cultural contribution alongside academic presentations.

The exhibition's structure is designed to be sustainable for host conferences. Curation, outreach, and non-location expenses such as advertising and web hosting are handled by the organizers, while local hosts provide space, equipment, and logistics. Sponsorships have supported shipping and catering when needed. Documentation is extensive: each event produces a catalog distributed through commercial outlets, free PDF downloads, and on-site copies, along with video and local press coverage. Past participants have included artists and university game labs from the United States, Italy, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Singapore.

The abstract situates the proposed event within the organizer's broader exhibition experience, which includes eight events counting the Smithsonian American Art Museum's SAAM Arcade, reported to have drawn over 18,000 attendees. It also references a 2017 publication on the curatorial heuristics behind such events. The submission emphasizes practical continuity and the organizer's credentials, including academic appointments, board and liaison roles with DiGRA and the Global Game Jam, and a record of international showcases and invited talks.