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Dreaming new worlds

Dreaming New Worlds ©Eps51

The Dreaming New Worlds project will serve as a riverbank; the place where discussions about the future of technology in the African art space will not only be held but encouraged.

Dreaming New Worlds ©Tobe Otuogbodor

The 2023 cohort is spurred to answer some of the pressing questions of our time concerning the interface between art, technology, and our sociality. The project gives room to the most eclectic, undefinable minds of our time to commune wth their peers, to observe, inspect, and question the thoughts and work of these professionals and explore how to build a new world shaped by a congvergnce between art and technology sectors.

Goethe-Institut Nigeria’s Dreaming New Worlds project is designed to provide a space to investigate the new frontier posed by the prevalence of emerging technologies in the world and the role which the creative sector plays in shaping it.

Dreaming New Worlds Press Release(PDF, 110 kB)

Dreaming New Worlds Press Release © Goethe-Institut Nigeria

Dreaming new worlds

The Dreaming New Worlds project will serve as a riverbank; the place where discussions about the future of technology in the African art space will not only be held but encouraged. 

Over a series of Panel Sessions, a Creative Ideathon, and Interactive Exhibitions, the project will explore the following questions:

  • The possibility of artistic practices and creative endeavors domiciled primarily in virtual worlds to become more commonplace. What are new forms of artistic engagement with technologies? Who are the new mediators and practitioners?
  • What does the emergence of these spaces mean for artists/creators and audiences of the future, and what are the emerging trends for compensating such creative endeavors?
  • How can collaborative practices between traditional artistic spaces and the virtual look like? What are tensions, tendencies and trends? How can we imagine planetary and interspecies co-existence? How do datasets relate with the artist?
  • How will technologies such as AI and AR fit into the city and its artistic scene?

A Dream Materializing  

October 2023

After a month of creativity guided by mentors, in October 2023, the projects will exhibit their works in progress to the public. This showcase aims to provide valuable feedback on the strength, relevance, and direction of their projects within the Nigerian context. A panel discussion will explore the frontiers of this dialogue between the country, technology, and the creative scene, touching on ethics, business, and payment structures. Register to attend this exciting event. 

Dreaming New Worlds © Goethe-Institut Nigeria

How to change the future

Goethe-Institut's Dreaming New Worlds project is not providing answers. It was designed to provide the questions that desperately need to be asked. Africa’s young population is expanding exponentially (by 2050 half of the people on this continent will be younger than 25) and the creative sector is expanding right along with it.

How ot change the future Goethe

Desing thinking

Despite the interminable Lagos traffic, I made it just in time for the opening session of the Goethe-Institut’s Dreaming New Worlds Ideathon. The Ideathon was the next phase in the ongoing Dreaming New Worlds (Insert hyperlink to How to Change the Future Article) project, conceived by Geothe-Insitut Nigeria’s Program Coordinator Oluwadara Omotosho and curator, Chinyere Obieze.

Design thinking © Goethe-Institut Nigeria

Think about thechnology

I have to admit something: it was only when I started watching 2021’s Neptune Frost, the last of the three films in the screening Tobi Akinde curated for the Goethe-Institut's Dreaming New Worlds project that I was able to even hazard a guess at what the unifying theme of the selection might be.

dnw Goethe Institut Nigria

Dreaming New Worlds 2023 Cohort

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