The Fakugesi Festival is a celebration of digital technology, art, and culture in the context of Africa.

Papers presented in theme sessions 1 to 3 will also be published as pier reviewed papers in a special edition of the Technoetic Arts Journal (published by Intellect).

The 4th session theme “Technology Dreams” invites partners and participants of the Fakugesi Festival and people involved in the development of Technology Arts Festivals generally, to present, reflect and discuss the role of festivals in the development of the convergence of technology and culture.

Abstract Submission Deadline: 6th October 2014

Final Paper Submission Deadline: 3rd November 2014

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The Post-Digital Organic

Convened by Prof. Roy Ascott

What can be said of the divide between the engineered and the organic? Are we looking at boundaries between these fields that are shifting and possibly dissolving? Can we speak of an emergent eNature, or should we consider a broader cybernetic model of worldstates, and personal states of being?

These issues raise questions, proposals, and practices in which Nature is invigilated, explored, and creatively expanded by technoetic agencies that artists and scientists employ in their development of new perspectives. How might learning, research and creativity be furthered, if developed in the context of the organism?

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Post-AfroFuture: Art, Culture and Technology in Africa

Convened by Tegan Bristow

Technology, particularly communication technology and digital art is a way to speak to and understand mechanism of engagement between Africa and the globalised West. Here the convergence of technology with culture presents an opportunity to reposition and reassess this relationship in contemporary culture.
Papers are to address socio-cultural or art practices with technology and digital media. There will be an emphasis on South African research, but research from across the continent will be welcomed.

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Innovate, Collaborate, Educate: Art-Technology Education

Convened by Prof. Christo Doherty

What does the challenge posed by the fusion of new technology and art practices mean for creative practice and technology education in Africa? Is this an opportunity for new forms of education that will break with the inherited colonial models which have dominated African institutions of education since Uhuru? Is this kind of education better located outside of existing institutional frameworks, using the web or hackathons or new forms of delivery and collaboration? What lessons can be learnt from innovative forms of technology-arts education in other parts of the world?

Papers that address these issues with a focus on lessons learnt and lessons which can be applied to Africa, from theoretical reflection to case studies of actual practice, are welcome.

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