Mawred invites you to participate in three online conversations on 14-16-21 May, aiming to foster dialogue around the intersection of technology and arts, and deepen artists’ engagement with emerging technologies amid accelerating digital advancements and their growing impact on the cultural sector. These conversations are grounded in the lessons learned from the 12 projects supported by the Culture 3.0 project between 2022 and 2024, all of which operate at the crossroads of art, labor, and technology.
1st Conversation: Generative AI and Artistic Labor
14 May – 17:00 – 18:30 Beirut time
Language: English with Arabic translation
The conversation explores the ethics of generative AI technologies in relation to artists’ creativity and intellectual property rights. It addresses the impact of these technologies on cultural organizations, archives and ways to protect artists’ data and enhance their autonomy. It showcases regional initiatives that reclaim AI to support freedom of expression and promote fair representation.
Facilitator:
Yasmine Boudiaf / researcher, artist and creative technologist
Speakers:
Ameera Kawash, Palestine / Artist, creative technology specialist, and researcher
Batoul Desouky, United Kingdom / Computational artist
Laila Shereen Sakr, Egypt / Media artist and academic
Miriyam Aouragh, Morocco / Digital anthropologist
2nd Conversation: A Common Lexicon Between Techies and Artists
16 May – 17:00 – 18:30 Beirut time
Language: Arabic
The conversation aims to bridge the gap between artists and techies in the region, in terms of issues, skills, and shared understanding. It addresses the obstacles artists encounter in engaging with tech policies, explores intersecting practices between the two fields, and identifies ways for developing shared knowledge resources that support collaboration . It also highlights the joint struggle for a free and open internet, and the need for a unified agenda that benefits from cross-movement collaboration.
Facilitator:
Sarah Kuhail / Expert in cultural management, knowledge production, research, and solidarity practices.
Speakers:
Ranwa Yehya, Lebanon / Co-founder of the Arab Digital Expression Foundation (ADEF)
Tewa Barnosa, Libya / Interdisciplinary artist and cultural producer
Yazan Saleh, Palestine / DJ, researcher, and engineer
3rd Conversation: Alternative Digital Economies for Cultural Production
21 May – 17:00 – 18:30 Beirut time
Language: Arabic
The conversation examines the regulations governing digital platforms and their impact on artists’ creative expression, as well as their relationship to digital economy and blockchain technologies in pursuit of fairer conditions. It also highlights decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) emerging in the region, analyzing how these economic models align with creative freedom values. The conversation also explores ways to sustain these initiatives and leverage their economic potential.
Facilitator:
Daniela Nofal, Syria / Cultural organiser and curator
Speakers:
Adham Hafez, Egypt / Artist, curator and Creative Director of Wizara
Ammar Manla Hassan, Egypt / Cultural worker and founder of Taxir
Mohammad Ashraf, Egypt / Writer and Web3 governance systems designer
To participate in the conversations via Zoom, please register through this link.
Image from “Ascension Blacklist: an orginal video game-artwork” project by the Wonder Cabinet (Palestine), supported by Culture 3.0
