What is Shifting Centers: Creative Collaboration in and outside of Africa through Cyberlearning and Ubiquitous Technologies?

Photography by Charles Kang

Shifting Centers Cyber Dance Project

Over the course of seven months, we’ll go to seven countries: Senegal, Mali, Morocco, Kenya, South Africa, Burkina Faso, and Madagascar.  The American and African transnational traveling team will meet established African-based choreographers in their home cities and document the conversations and movement dialogues in a blog and video journal.  The subject of the dialogue will be centered on how to connect artists through digital spaces as a way to develop artistic exchange and innovation by shifting centers physically and digitally.  How can cyberlearning and ubiquitous technologies be utilized to tap into collaborative engagement across geographical distance?

Eliminating a center leaves reality in the form of experienced traces…erasable traces that are made permanent through web-based interactions and digital communities. Shifting Centers Cyber Dance project will create traces of artistic experience through performance, collaborative choreography and artistic exchange and innovation by creating digital spaces and web-based forums…

Project Director: Esther Baker-Tarpaga

Cultural and Travel Consultant: Olivier Tarpaga

Media Manager: Kristen Jeppsen, graduate research assistant

Creative Technology Consultant: Norah Zuniga-Shaw

Visual Designer: Nicole Bauguss

Artist Consultants and Collaborators (subject to shift during project): Opiyo Okach (Kenya), Hind Benali (Morocco), Andreya Ouamba (Senegal), Gregory Maquoma (South Africa), Gaby Saranouffi (Madagascar).

Photography by Steven A. Gunther