I hope this call for papers is of interest to scholars and curators on
this list. Please feel free to contact myself or Gemma (email below) for
more information.
Best wishes,
MK
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Call for Papers: New Narratives of Art and Technology in Africa
The Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA) 17th
Triennial Symposium on African Art, hosted by the University of Ghana’s
Institute of African Studies (IAS) Triennial Symposium August 8 – 13,
2017 will be held on the University of Ghana, Legon campus.
http://www.acasaonline.org/call-for-papers-and-conference-participation/
Open panel: New Narratives of Art and Technology in Africa
From Arnold Rubin’s comparison of art to a “system of tools and
techniques by means of which people relate to their environment” (1991)
to Alfred Gell’s idea of art as “a technology of enchantment” (1998),
the study of African and non-Western art has proven fertile ground for
art historical approaches using technology as metaphor for art as a mode
of action in the world. The ideas of technology at play, however, most
closely resemble techné, a term deriving from Ancient Greece to refer to
the value-laden craft practice of pre-industrial societies, in which
specialists serve functional needs while also conforming to society’s
broader ethical and aesthetic values. Currently prevailing concepts of
technology, however, in Africa as elsewhere, differ sharply. Technology
as controlling, alienating, and disruptive coexists with notions of
technology as liberator, economic salve, or ‘start-up innovation’;
digital sound, 3D printing, cheap electronics and the Internet have
opened up new semantic and aesthetic possibilities; while pioneering
African technologies, such as M-Pesa and Frontline SMS, have transformed
the terms of ordinary, everyday commercial and community engagement.
What are the politics and poetics of new technological appropriations in
African art (and art history)? How are artists responding to, or
shaping, new socio-technical imaginaries? How do the discourses of
Afrofuturism, speculative design, and ‘critical making’ (among others)
inform artistic practice relating to Africa? Can technology be
decolonized? How might we theorize anew relations among art, technology,
and cultures of creativity? We invite submissions probing these and all
related questions.
To submit a paper proposal, please send the following to Gemma Rodrigues
(gemma.rodrigues at m-iti.org) by February 7, 2017:
- Paper Title
- An abstract of 250 words describing the theme and scope of your paper
- A short abstract of 100 words for online dissemination
- Contact name, affiliation, address, phone, e-mail
For further information, please email the panel co-chairs:
Gemma Rodrigues
Research Fellow
Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute
E-mail: gemma.rodrigues at m-iti.org
Michelle Kasprzak
Doctoral student
Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute
Email: michelle.kasprzak at m-iti.org
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Michelle Kasprzak
PhD student
Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute (M-ITI)
Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto
Mobile: +351 967600092
http://about.me/mkasprzak
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