Grahamstown recently played host to the National Arts Festival which is now marked as the second biggest arts festival in the world. I worked with my class mates in the New Media Lab to produce daily updates on the 15 day festival and by placing articles and multi-media products on the website I realised that now any user with access to a PC and an internet connection could take in the cultural arts explosion from their desks on the other side of the world.
For old Grahamstown inhabitants or those merely curious about the arts in South Africa there was something for everyone. On a larger perspective we could consider how this flattens the global divide between cultures. By having resources showcasing cultural productions, the citizens of a global web-connected society can now experience different cultures without having to visit the country where that culture is enacted.
Xhosa fables and beliefs were enacted in the street theatre extravaganza 'Amathole' which with the mere power capacity of two nervous noob new media students and some basic filming equipment, a documentation was made and broadcast withing 24 hours of the production taking place. By accessing this web-video online, a user can learn something new about this small southern african culture in under 4 minutes.
Our team covered not just local African festival productions but also visiting theatre productions from the other side of the world like 'Inua', a production revolving around the Inuit cultural story telling and time travelling fantasy. For a fourth generation African, I had never been made aware of the Inuit culture nor as I had never come across it in books or school lectures.
Now with the help of my class mate, we had produced a neat package that at the very least would prompt further internet and search engine based research on the culture after watching it.
Next week I tackle issues brought up in the WJEC 2 session also held at Rhodes University this July.
