SA: Fak'ugesi Digital Innovation Festival is back in 2019

Digital artists are invited to attend the event, which will be held at Wits University's Tshimologong Precinct in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 30 August to 8 September 2019.

This year, Fak'ugesi is partnering with the British Council's ColabNowNow programme, which will select about 11 digital artists from Africa and the UK to develop cutting-edge digital artworks through collaborative artmaking and storytelling.

Festival director Tegan Bristow said the attendees should expect a fresh and energised programme.

"The Fak'ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival is the only one of its kind in Africa and the only digital arts-focused festival in sub-Saharan Africa," she said. "It has risen to prominence as a platform through which many young digital makers have launched their careers and developed skills in digital media and technology innovation."

Running under the theme Own Your Force, the festival will explore screen-based digital creativity in gaming, virtual reality, mixed reality cinema and animation, with particular focus on cross-sector collaboration in southern and East Africa.

The programming will also include the announcement of the 2019 Fak’ugesi Digital Africa Residency winners. The annual residency seeks to highlight and develop young digital talent in southern Africa and boost their careers as creatives.

Some of the questions that will be tackled by experts at the festival include:

• Who owns our digital value chain?
• How do we protect our creative and cultural equity in the digital world?
• How do we value our contributions to digital culture in an African economy?
• Where are the threats and the opportunities for culture and technology in Africa in a world driven by market interests?

Additionally, Digital Lab Africa (DLA) in partnership with Tshimologong Precinct will host the winners of its 2019 accelerator programme.

The festival will also showcase the works of Swiss artists Andreas Gysin and Sidi Vanetti, and feature a virtual reality exhibition, an animation screening in collaboration with Animation SA and a games arcade, among others.

Last year, the festival focused on the role of vernacular and traditional cultures in digital culture and practices.

Visit the official website for more information.