"The Art of Video Games" exhibition at the Smithsonian‘s American Art Museum, one that examines and celebrate the world of video games, is just two weeks away, opening March 16 and running until Sept. 30. Marking its debut alongside it is a three-day long festival called "GameFest!"
In addition to highlighting 80 games that were nominated by the public (the response to the initial call for entries was so enthusiastic that it took down the Smithsonian’s servers almost immediately), is a variety of video game-related/inspired music and cinema. Chiptunes musicians 8 Bit Weapon and ComputeHer are scheduled to perform, along with screenings of "Tron" and "The King of Kong."
The cast of the aforementioned documentary will also be present, as will as various game industry luminaries, including Nolan Bushnell, creator of "Pong," and Hideo Kojima, creator of the "Metal Gear" series. For those who can't make it to D.C., or who couldn’t nab tickets for certain panels before they sold out, the entire event will be streamed live on the Internet.
And like most major art exhibitions, there’s a companion book, also titled "The Art of Video Games," which is available for pre-order:
Matthew Hawkins is an NYC-based game journalist who has also written for EGM, GameSetWatch, Gamasutra, Giant Robot, and numerous others. He also self-publishes his own game culture zine, is part of Attract Mode, and co-hosts The Fangamer Podcast. You can keep tabs on him via Twitter, or his personal home-base, FORT90.com.
