We are delighted to welcome two keynote speakers: Prof. Dr Natasha A. Kelly (Universität der Künste, Berlin) and Professor Isabella Rega (Bournemouth University).
We are also pleased to live stream the keynote papers. Please see below for information about the keynote papers and the Zoom link for each paper. If you would like to join us online for the keynote papers, please email (opens in a new window)transnationalactivisms@gmail.com for the passcode for each Zoom.
Professor Isabella Rega
Isabella Rega is Professor of Digital Media for Social Change at Bournemouth and co-chair of the Working Group on Distance Education of the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE). She has led several research projects funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, the British Academy, the British Council, the Swiss National Fund for Research and the Swiss Agency for Cooperation. She has published articles in various journals and co-authored the book “Media Activism, Artivism and the Fight Against Marginalisation in the Global South” published by Routledge. She serves on the advisory board of the Journal of Media Literacy Education and is a board member of IDIA (International Development Informatics Association) and CIRN (Community Informatics Research Network).
Keynote Paper: Artivism as a Tool to Create a Transnational Movement for Social Justice in the Global South
This keynote reflects on the role that digital artivism plays in building dialogues to contribute to a transnational movement for social justice in the Global South. It focuses on the connecting power of arts in terms of imagining and creating shared histories and stories among the creators involved in the making of the artifacts and it delves into how the dialogic quality initiated through the artistic practice process is inherited by the media artefact and travel across unforeseen media territories. By reflecting on how digital artivism, as a process and as an output, expands and reshapes activism boundaries, this talk wants also to investigate how visibility is amplified by these initiatives and how digital artivists may navigate critical visibility moments that pose threats to them and their actions. The talk will discuss these interconnected issues by presenting three digital artivism projects and outputs: “Portrait of Marielle”, an animation movie created by young artivists affiliated to PAWA254 in Nairobi to celebrate the life of Marielle Franco, an important human right activist and city councillor born in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and killed in 2018; the online exhibition produced in the DA-RE (Digital Arts for Refugee Engagement) project in which young Syrian rand Rohingya refugees share and reflect on their past traumatic experiences and present their own narratives on their lives and their present; and هر | BLOSSOM, a film co-produced by marginalised youth in Tunisia and the UK, within the Dual Netizenship, that challenge the audience to see how, despite the different cultural and socioeconomic contexts, these young artivists share the same struggles, emotions, and have the same values.
This keynote paper will be delivered on Monday 25th March, 9.45 – 11am (Irish/UK time).
Zoom: (opens in a new window)https://ucd-ie.zoom.us/j/68014477099 (Meeting ID: 680 1447 7099) Please email (opens in a new window)transnationalactivisms@gmail.com to request the passcode for this Zoom.
Prof. Dr Natasha A. Kelly
Natasha A. Kelly is a communication scientist and sociologist, author and editor, curator and multimedia artist with a focus on Black German history, Black feminism and Afrofuturism. She began a three-year visiting professorship in cultural studies at the Universität der Künste, Berlin in the 2023/24 academic year. Dr Kelly has taught and researched at numerous universities; among other appointments, she has held a Max Kade visiting professorship in German studies at the University of Rhode Island (USA) and a visiting professorship in media studies at the University of Tübingen. Her artistic work has been shown at the Berlin Biennale, the German Historical Museum and the Maxim Gorki Theatre in Berlin, among other venues. As chairwoman of the non-profit association Black German Arts and Culture e.V., she is the artistic and scientific director of the first institute for Black German art, culture and its study in Germany. She is also co-director of the pan-European Black European Academic Network (BEAN) and a founding member of the international collective Black Speculative Arts Movement (BSAM). Her most recent publication Schwarz. Deutsch. Weiblich. Warum Feminismus mehr als Geschlechtergerechtigkeit fordern muss (“Black. German. Female. Why Feminism has to Demand more than Gender Equality”) was published with Piper in 2023.
More information can be found on her website: http://www.natashaakelly.com.
Keynote Paper: “Diasporic (Trans-)Formations”: Black German Arts and Culture
Düsseldorf, the capital of North Rhine Westphalia located in western Germany, is well-known for its contributions to the arts. In the 18th century the Düsseldorf Art Academy (Kunstakademie Düsseldorf) was established, in the 19th century the city became a centre for the Romantic movement, and in the 20th century the Düsseldorf Art Academy gained global acclaim for its impact on contemporary art, particularly through its role in the development of the Düsseldorf School of Photography. Art institutions, galleries and exhibitions of these periods primarily reflected contributions from white Europeans, without even taking the existence of Black Art in general or Black German Art in particular into consideration. However, in January 2023, Germany’s first Institute for Black German Arts and Culture opened its doors in the city, allowing for a more comprehensive representation of Black German voices and artistic expressions. In my keynote I will focus on the structure of the facility, its first multimedia stage performance “The Water Carrier” and its digital transformation to a performance film screened at the International Weimer Festival at Carnegie Hall in New York City in February 2023. Based on this multimedia project, I will show the multifaceted ways in which transnational activisms manifest themselves by examining their role in shaping political discourse, cultural expressions, and social movements across borders.
This keynote paper will be delivered on Tuesday 26th March, 9.15 – 10.30am (Irish/UK time).
Zoom: (opens in a new window)https://ucd-ie.zoom.us/j/68719235432 (Meeting ID: 687 1923 5432) Please email (opens in a new window)transnationalactivisms@gmail.com to request the passcode for this Zoom.