<nettime-ann> Call for Papers: New Narratives of Art and Technology in Africa

[Michelle Kasprzak <michelle.kasprzak@m-iti.org>]

.
I hope this call for papers is of interest. 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

--
Michelle Kasprzak
PhD student
Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute (M-ITI)
Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto
 
Mobile: +351 967600092
 
http://blogs.fe.up.pt/michelle/
http://about.me/mkasprzak
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