Multimedia, mixed media, new media, non-traditional work, interdisciplinary art, emerging forms-an endless stream of words has come to characterize artwork made between and outside traditional genres. During the Twentieth Century, many artists turned away from traditions such as painting, ballet, and poetry, abandoning long standing historical practices to explore new media or to combine various media. After nearly a century of experimentation, this way of working has become accepted, perhaps even the norm.

It is common today that artists have difficulty responding to the question, "what kind of work do you make?" They often answer uncomfortably, saying something like, "I'm a dancer but my current production incorporates live interactive video," or "I'm an author but my writing appears on the Web as hypertext with linked images," or simply "I make installations." A tradition of "genrelessness" seems to have emerged in the arts, a new tradition that includes any and all types of artistic cross-pollination. Thanks to this new tradition, artists no longer feel bound by the conventions of any specific medium. At live performances and gallery exhibitions alike, they mix forms, moving easily between opera, dance, theater, poetry, painting, sculpture and electronics. Even if an artist works in a particular genre for one project, they feel free to use other media if the circumstances call for it.

To meet the needs of multimedia art, older institutions modified their programming and new spaces emerged. Previously, this work had been underground, at best an undercurrent to convention, performed in public parks or exhibited in artist's lofts. Multimedia has become institutionalized, supported by grant programs and University departments, appearing in opera houses and theaters across the country.

Like any other tradition, new multimedia artists have come along, reinventing its content. In this issue of FYI, we explore the new forms and formats of multimedia. Writer Jennifer Hickman discusses how issues of gender and race enter into the multiple mediums with artist Patty Chang and Prema Murthy. Writer and artist Eric Bakke offers portraits of multimedia artists who incorporate the public into their work. FYI Senior Editor William R. Kaizen explores how spaces, both old and new, present multimedia art.