(Seen
at last year’s DigiFest. Photo by Erin-Wulfsohn)
Deadline:
November 8, 2017
The Durban University of Technology’s
fourth annual DigiFest takes place from November 6 to 11, featuring a series of
live art activations, innovations, exhibitions, discussions, workshops, music,
poetry, dance and drama as well as craft and street food markets.
DigiFest 4, is a public event that looks to
celebrate the creative spirit through multimedia projects from disciplines such
as visual and performing arts and promotes a collaboration across art, science
and technology.
“The theme this year is “glitch” which
informs the content of the fest that will engage, contest, celebrate and
question the idea of malfunctions, technical mishaps and imperfections in
systems,” says Dr Rene Smith Festival Director and Executive Dean: Faculty of
Arts & Design. “Curated projects will speak to the disruption and
subversion of formats, spaces, places and technologies. It is about questioning
and going beyond traditional notions of art in an interdisciplinary, multimedia
world, where design and creativity merge and interact with science and
technology broadly.”
Opening night takes place on November 6 and
will highlight a collaborative live audio visual performance coordinated by
Johannesburg-based electronic artist, cultural activist and producer, Marcus
Neustetter and featuring a selection of local artists. Sue Gollifer, the chair
of the ISEA international board, will introduce ISEA as a precursor to ISEA2018
(International Symposium on Electronic Art), which takes place in Durban next
year. The Alumni and Development Department will be running a competition to
pledge support for the Missing Middle campaign.
In a new fashion, the festival will host a
series of events across venues in Durban. The KZNSA Gallery in Glenwood comes
alive on November 7 with DUT Fine Art Department exhibition, and an
installation by Bongumenzi Ngobese, examines elements of sounds, which address
issues of context through video. The night features a special performance by
Zimbabwean multi-media artist Robert Machiri.
An evening of style takes place at the DUT
Brickfield Campus on November 8, with a multi-media fashion experience
featuring leading innovations in the fashion and textiles department joined by
a special guest DJ to be announced. B-Tech students’ final portfolio
exhibitions will be on display and student run pop-up shops will have jewellery
and craft on sale.
A breakaway session on November 9 at the
Green Camp, a creative hub of urban farming and green rehabilitated art in
Umbilo, features the premier of the film entitled Street art and mural art as visual activism in Durban by artist
Mook Lion. A Sketch is an
installation of bricolage video work by Glenn Adendorff and Rob Da Banka closes
the night with vinyl loops.
The City Campus explodes with creativity on
November 10 from 10h00 with a host of prominent speakers in the world of arts,
design and digital media. In the courtyard, students entrepreneurs showcase
their products and innovations. Exhibitions open throughout the afternoon and
feature projects from various departments including graphic design, jewellery,
interior design, journalism and video technology as well as individual
exhibitions from range of young local artists working in the digital arts.
The Talk Fest at the City Campus that day
includes speakers Sheetal Cross (RSA) - Virtual Reality, Kirstin Wiedow
(Namibia) - NUST-DUT Polar Project, Mari Pete (RSA) - Glitches in ELearning,
Prof Oliviera (Brazil) - LabInter Project; Tegan Bristow (RSA) - Fakugesi
Festival, and Arjon Dunnewind (Netherlands) - Frankenstein in the Garden of
Eden.
The Makerspace hosts a workshop that will
allow a fixed number of participants the opportunity to collaborate and build
doodle bots. This session will open to all on a first come basis, and
submissions can be done via digifest@dut.ac.za.
The day culminates with the popular
PechaKucha, a gathering of inspired minds who presents ideas, thoughts, dreams
and creative insights. This year some of the speakers include Llwellyn Makhanya
(photographer), Richard Gevers (Civic Data Activist), Mark Stuart (developer),
Brad Vause (musician, app developer), Zwelisha Giampietri (multi-media
designer), Sihle Mthembu (journalist), Bylwansta (designer and rapper) and
more.
On November 11, the Steve Biko Campus
becomes the focus with live performances in the form of poetry and open mic
sessions, a cross-platform theatrical piece entitled Duped and a hip hop battle closing the evening with a great line-up
of music by ByLwansta, Gaba, Rude Boyz, Moonchild, Sibot and Toyota and Sparks
Bantwana.
A highlight of the DigiFest 4 this year is
The Digital Battle, which will take place at the DUT Gallery on November 11.
This Digital Battle is a live head-to-head design tournament where participants
flex their skills in front of an audience and compete for some great prizes.
The competitors will engage in a battle of their choice including 2D design,
animation, character design and video editing.
Entries are now open and close on November
8. Head over to www.designbattles.co.za/durban.html to sign up.
“We are pleased to be presenting DigiFest 4
again this year, as it provides a valuable opportunity for students to showcase
their work, and to collaborate with professionals and other creatives,” says
Steve Jones, Festival Manager. “We aim to build an event that stands tall on
the Durban calendar and engages the highest level of the work from around the
world to be presented.”
All are welcome and entrance is free with
exception of November 11 events at Steve Biko where tickets will be free for
students and R40 for the public.
The full programme can be found on the
website digifest.dut.ac.za
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