Digital Platforms in “Making Africa”: From the Continent to the World
January 3, 2019 by Lizabel Stella
One of the most exciting aspects of the exhibition Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design is how it combines creative work across mediums—from fashion to furniture, photography to websites and apps—to show the many forms design can take, shifting and responding to economic, social, and political change on the continent and beyond. Below are some of the web-based works showcased in Making Africa, on view through January 6, 2019.
Jody Brand, Chomma
Photographer Jody Brand’s blog, named after a slang term for “friend,” offers a window into contemporary South African youth culture.
Brian Shimkovitz, Awesome Tapes from Africa
This online music repository makes analog recordings from across the continent available digitally to listeners around the world.
Rebecca Chiao, Engy Ghozlan, Amel Fahmy, and Sawsan Gad, HarassMap
This Cairo-based mapping tool seeks to end social acceptance of sexual harassment by allowing users to report street harassment and assault in real time, using crowd-sourced mapping and SMS texting tools developed in Kenya.
Pierre-Christophe Gam, Taali M
Art director Pierre-Christophe Gam fused brightly colored graphics with imagery evocative of ancient African kingdoms to create a virtual home for singer-songwriter Taali M, who guides visitors through the website’s pages.
Leti Arts, Africa’s Legends: The True Ananse
http://africaslegends.letiarts.com/
Africa’s Legends is a series of digital comics and mobile games that feature characters drawn from African history and folklore—such as Kweku Ananse, a Ghanaian spirit of trickery and cunning—reimagined as modern superheroes.
