Africa.Dot.Com

Exhibition Dates: January 15 - February 28, 2007

The Glass Curtain Gallery of Columbia College Chicago is proud to present Africa.Dot.Com, an exhibition that visually and interactively explores the collision of modern culture and technology on cross-culture communication. Against the background of traditional African "talking" drums, dance and oral traditions, powering of the voice through electronic media has altered these long-established customs. New technology has strengthened and reinforced the assimilation of African expressive culture into vibrant new forms in America.

Unlike classical African art exhibitions, Africa.Dot.Com focuses on representing Africa as a part of the modern world, with cultures that have navigated into new media alongside the global community. Since the 1960s, dramatic changes have taken place as a result of African independence, and access to new media, computers, digital technology and mobile phones is growing at a rapid rate. Anthropologists currently encounter all types of digital media in both urban and rural settings, and the charting of innovative, varied practices within a range of media has only just begun.

Curated by: Columbia College alumni Deborah Strokes, who currently teaches African art history at the University of Illinois Chicago and has completed field research in Nigeria and Kenya.