For the 2002-03 cycle, artists were invited to submit proposals in one of two tracks: alt.interface or Tactical Response. The alt.interface track asked artists to propose "alternative" user interfaces to access Rhizome's online archives of text and art. The Tactical Response track called for Net art projects addressing the current international political situation, particularly events relating to the attacks of September 11.

The members of the selection committee were Steve Dietz of the Walker Art Center, Alex Galloway of Rhizome, Ken Goldberg of U.C. Berkeley, Christiane Paul of the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Mark Tribe of Rhizome. The jurors chose the following five projects from a pool of 135 proposals submitted by members of the Rhizome community:

ada1852
by Christopher Fahey

iSee
by Institute for Applied Autonomy

Context Breeder
by John Klima

Telematic Surveillance
by Nungu

Troika
by Lisa Jevbratt

The New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City exhibited the Rhizome.org 2002-2003 Net Art Commissions from October 2 through November 3, 2002.

The Rhizome Commissioning Program is made possible with funding by the Jerome Foundation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Cultural Exchange Program, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional support was provided by the Rockefeller Foundation and by members of the Rhizome.org community.