The Italian Embassy in Zambia is organising the event “ART and Technology” on Thursday, February 17, from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
With the participation of the Zambian Minister for Technology and Science Hon. Felix Mutati, this event, which is the third one of a series of five events, is part of the Project “Italia-Zambia, un Ponte fatto ad Arte” (Italy-Zambia, a Bridge made in Art), curated by Professor Costantino D’Orazio, art historian and curator at theSovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali (Rome’s Department responsible for Cultural Heritage).
The morning session, entitled “ART and Technology: Technological-Scientific Integration for Zambia’s Development”, will focus on the themes of science, technology, research and development, with particular attention paid to Italy’s crucial role in Zambia’s digitalization process. The event will see the institutional participation of the Minister for Technology and Science, Hon. Felix Mutati, and of the EU Delegation to Zambia. Presentations will be made by Italian research excellences including the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, ENEA, the Italian Institute of Technology, IIT and the Council for Agricultural Research and Analysis of Agricultural Economics, CREA, which will identify – together with the Zambian government and the Zambian excellence BongoHive Technology & Innovation Hub – possible ways of cooperation to support Zambia’s digitalisation.
The afternoon session, entitled “ART and Technology: from software to virtual-ware”, will analyse the link between Art and Technology through a conversation between Professor D’Orazio and the Italian artist, Gioacchino Pontrelli. Pontrelli will illustrate his pictorial research, which develops through the sampling of images taken from the Internet, in a symbiosis between the virtual and the real world, which is typical of the most contemporary work. D’Orazio will finally illustrate the compelling relationship between technology and art in history, from ancient times to the present day. From the construction of the Egyptian pyramids to the invention of theBosco Verticale (Vertical Forest), passing through the camera obscura and Futurist “velocities”. At the end of the day, the Zambian artist, Nukwase Tembo, will present a new performance, in which she stages the contradictions that human beings have experienced during the pandemic, when technological means have demonstrated their great usefulness but also the danger they pose to our relations.
The event, organized in a hybrid webinar format, will be accessible both in-person at the Italian-Zambian Cultural Centre in Lusaka and in virtual mode, through the Webex platform (for the morning session at the link: https://maeci.webex.com/maeci-en/j.php?MTID=m9712d77134845f28bba1affef47b27dc; for the afternoon session at the link: https://maeci.webex.com/maeci-en/j.php?MTID=m677b5a4f047788b3d02f648c202db816; login password: Lusaka2022).
