2nd Edition of Kampala Art Biennale 2016 – SEVEN HILLS
Artistic director : Elise Atangana
KAMPALA ART BIENNALE
Kampala Art Biennale is a showcase of contemporary art with the goal to display, educate and create debate about the value of art in society.
Kampala Art Biennale was established by Kampala Arts Trust, a collective of visual and performance art practitioners living and working in public and private spaces within the precinct of Kampala City.
It was born out of the need for inclusion faced by artists working on the African continent trying to reach the global art scene.
The Biennale is directed by Daudi Karungi and Elise Atangana is the Artistic Director this 2nd edition.
Kampala Art Biennale 2016 – SEVEN HILLS. 3 Sept. – 2 Oct.
The theme « Seven Hills », refers to the 7 hills which historically surrounded the city.
Related to mobilities studies, the Biennale aims to question, with an aesthetic and a political approach, the transformation of movements in public space, physically or virtual (through connected technologies) and how it affects the daily life of the population from Kampala and from Eastern Africa sub region perspectives.
It will be an experimental territory for the artists practitioners to explore new forms and ideas.
« VIRTUAL MOBILITIES » Open Call
Virtual mobilites open call will challenge artists and practitioners who are interested in how digital era impacts movements, representation and practices in our daily lives.
With reference to the definition of mobility by the sociologist John Urry[1], the open call will be related to: ” (…) imaginative travel in images and media; communication and virtual travel through connected technologies”.
Regarding Tim Cresswell[2], mobilities depend also on accessed resources. It questions how movement and its distribution in virtual sphere (technologies, networks, devices, data, etc.), narrative and experience practice operate.
The last angle related to “Performative of spaces”[3] in its formation of new habits and interactions in virtual space in an Eastern African context or elsewhere.
Works could be related to:
- locative media
- imaginative in images and media
- communication
- virtual travel through technology
- movement and its distribution in virtual sphere
- narrative and experiences of movements in digital era
- habits and interactions of body/mind in virtual space
- mapping
Disciplines
All disciplines are included :
- Painting
- Video
- Installation
- Performance
- Photography
- Sound
- Digital arts
- VJing
- Design
- Architecture
- Innovations
Contest
Submissions are open for the 2016 edition of Kampala Art Biennale for visual artists, designers, architects, digital innovators, from the African and worldwide scene who are invited to send their proposals. Artists, designers, architects and digital innovators should present 1 or 2 projects already produced.
7 laureates will be selected from various nationalities, including at least 4 from African countries. Each project selected will be shown during the Biennale.
Date for applications
From 18 April to 30 May
Contact
Please complete the online application form below send your proposal (images, video links and text presentation) with the mention KAB16 – Virtual Mobilities OPEN CALL to: info@kampalabiennale.org
Jury
The Jury will be composed of international researchers and professionals who explore the notion of mobilities in relation to visual arts in a digital age.
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[1] John Urry, Mobilities (Cambridge: Polity, 2007).
[2] Tim Cresswell (University Northeastern of Boston, USA) – Toward a Politics of Mobility – African Cities Reader II – Mobilities and Fixtures pp159- 171 – Publish by Chimurenga and the African Center for Cities
[3] J.D. Dewsbury (University of Bristol, UK) – Non-representational landscapes and the performative affective forces of habit: from ‘Live’ to ‘Blank’ – Cultural geographies 2015, Vol 22(1) 29-47