Image credit: obs/ZKM Karlsruhe/The Nest Arts Company
Africa is changing – radically – and digitization is playing a pivotal role.
On this continent that has the world’s youngest population, digital practices are emerging that transform Africa’s societies and their global perception.
The exhibition and research project »Digital Imaginaries«, which was developed by the Center of Art and Media Karlsruhe (ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany) in collaboration with partners in Dakar (Senegal) and Johannesburg (South Africa), takes this contradictory diversity of digital phenomena in Africa as its point of departure. Like the exhibitions, workshops, and events that took place in Senegal and South Africa as part of the project, the contributions now to be seen at the ZKM are by no means confined to describing digital transformations. Many of the works featured in this show engage with African histories, practices, and conditions to glean inspiration for emancipated digital futures that will withstand market-oriented interests and post-colonial hegemonies. Starting from artists’ positions which have developed in various countries on the African continent and in the African diaspora, the works featured in the exhibition articulate the necessity for more diverse, richer global digital imaginaries.
The exhibition project “Digital Imaginaries – Africas in Production” can be seen at ZKM | Karlsruhe until Mar 31, 2019.
The project is supported by the TURN Fund of the German Federal Cultural Foundation and by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Participating Artists:
Larry Achiampong / Sénamé Koffi Agbodjinou, L’Africaine d’architecture / Younes Baba-Ali / David Blandy / Tegan Bristow, Alex Coelho, Russel Hlongwane & João Roxo / Kombo Chapfika / Joshua Chiundiza / CUSS Group / Milumbe Haimbe aka ArtisTrophe / Olalekan Jeyifous & Wale Lawal / Isaac Kariuki / Wanuri Kahiu / Francois Knoetze / Maurice Mbikayi / DK Osseo Asare & Yasmine Abbas, Agbogbloshie Makerspace Platform (AMP) / Marcus Neustetter / Tabita Rezaire / The Nest Collective
Sources:
https://zkm.de/en/exhibition/2018/11/digital-imaginaries-africas-in-production