A heads up for the friends across the pond, I’ll be bringing some digital Sahel goodness to Europe for the next two weeks in Switzerland and France:
From Feb. 6th – 8th is Lift 13, a three day conference “exploring the business and social implications of digital technologies.” I’ll be speaking in a section called “Mobile Stories” about how the cellphone has been adapted in West Africa as, among other things, a music sharing device – and what this suggests to Western notions of copyright and file-sharing.
Continuing the tradition of music from cellphones, the Phono Mundial djs, DJ Cuica (Mississippi Records) and myself will be playing music on Saturday, Feb. 9th at La Surprise Partout #6 (Facebook) in Marseille.
Finally, in a brief stop in Paris at Le Comptoir Général “Sahel Digital Art” (Facebook) will be opening. Drawing on images from West Africa’s Sahel, collected via Facebook, it’s something between ethnography, folk art, and just some bad ass photoshop skills.
