Upgrade! Boston is a monthly gathering of artists, curators and the public that fosters dialogue and creates opportunities for collaboration within the new media community. Each meeting consists of one or two hour-long presentations interspersed with questions and comments from the audience. The events are informal and free. Founded by www.turbulence.org in January 2005, Upgrade! Boston continues to grow as a local node within the global Upgrade! International (UI) network. It participated in the first UI gathering at Eyebeam, NYC in September 2005, and contributed artwork, workshops, public performances, and talks to the 2006 gathering in Oklahoma City.

Upgrade! International Mission Statement: Upgrade! is an international, emerging network of autonomous nodes united by art, technology, and a commitment to bridging cultural divides. Its decentralized, non-hierarchical structure ensures that Upgrade! (i) operates according to local interests and their available resources; and (ii) reflects current creative engagement with cutting edge technologies. While individual nodes present new media projects, engage in informal critique, and foster dialogue and collaboration between individual artists, Upgrade! International functions as an online, global network that gathers annually in different cities to meet one another, showcase local art, and work on the agenda for the following year.

Current Nodes: Current Nodes: Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Belgrade (Serbia and Montenegro), Berlin (Germany), Boston (United States), Chicago (United States), Lisbon (Portugal), Johannesburg (South Africa), Istanbul (Turkey), Montreal (Canada), Munich (Germany), New York (United States), Oklahoma City (United States), Paris (France), Salvador (Brazil), São Paulo (Brazil), Scotland (United Kingdom), Seattle (United States), (Second Life), Seoul (South Korea), Skopje (Macedonia), Sofia (Bulgaria), Jerusalem-Tel Aviv (Israel), Vancouver (Canada), and Wellington (New Zealand).

Future Nodes: Vienna, London, Toronto, Zagreb, Belgium.

Organizations: Eyebeam, Turbulence.org, New Media Scotland, Art Centre Nabi, The Western Front, The Society for Arts and Technology (SAT), InterSpace, i-camp, DCA, CCA, No-Org.net, Art Interactive, NOMAD/santralistanbul, program angels/lothringer13, Open-Node.com, t-u-b-e, C-M.TV, Lisboa 20, AT. joburg, University of the Witwatersrand, Ars Longa, 911 Media Arts Center, Ars Virtua / BitFactory (Second Life), New Media Developers, and i-People.

Upgrade! Background: Since April 1999, a group of new media artists and curators have gathered in New York City. The first meeting took place at a bar in the east village with Tim Whidden & Mark River [MTAA], Mark Napier and founder Yael Kanarek. Upgrade! New York partnered with Eyebeam in March 2000.

— Jo-Anne Green, March 2007