Bone Flute

Resume

I am a Southern African artist, researcher and curator, with extensive experience at multidisciplinary collaboration. I’ve worked with engineers, surgeons, musicians, craftspeople and city administrators. I use art to investigate and communicate compelling ideas to wide audiences. My work engages with some of the most fundamental aspects of what it is to be human, as story-telling, social creatures who use technology1. Both Southern perspectives and Northern experiences inform my work. My research areas include Interventionist Art, Discursive Design, Futures Studies, Science and Technology Studies, Object Studies and Medical Humanities. Human-machine collaboration is one of my main areas of interest.

Education

  1. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, 2011
  2. Master of Professional Studies in the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University, 2003
  3. Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art (Sculpture and English) at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, 1997

Awards

  1. Outstanding Scholar Award, Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2023
  2. Oppenheimer Memorial Trust Overseas Study Grant 2006 – 2009
  3. National Research Foundation Prestigious Overseas Doctoral Scholarship 2006 – 2009
  4. Graduate Assistanceship, New York University 2000 – 2002
  5. Lew Wasserman Scholarship, New York University 1999 – 2000
  6. Paulette Goddard Scholarship, New York University 1999 – 2000
  7. University of Cape Town, Entrance Merit Scholarship 1994 – 1996
  8. University of Cape Town, class medals 1994, 1995 & 1997

Funding

  1. African Culture Fund Solidarity Fund for Artists and Cultural Organizations in Africa 2020
  2. Department of Sports, Arts and Culture Digital Solutions Fund 2020
  3. Business and Arts South Africa Supporting Grant 2019
  4. Pro Helvetia Ant Funding Award 2019
  5. National Arts Council South Africa funding award 2018
  6. National Arts Council South Africa funding award 2016
  7. SA-UK Seasons Creative Catalyst Award 2015
  8. Pro Helvetia Ant Funding Award 2015

Collections and commissions

  1. Suited for Subversion (2002) in the Design and Architecture Collection, New York Museum of Modern Art (NY MoMA)
  2. Jetty Square (2005) public sculptures for City of Cape Town, South Africa
  3. Kruskal Avenue (2020 – 2024) public sculptures for City of Cape Town, South Africa

Curation

  1. Future Present: Design in a Time of Urgency for Science Gallery Detroit, 2020
  2. Design and Violence for Science Gallery Dublin and NY MoMA, Dublin 2016
  3. Better Living Challenge for Cape Craft and Design Institute, Cape Town 2015
  4. Future Foreshore for UCT and Transport for Cape Town, Cape Town 2014
  5. DIY for World Design Capital, Atlantic House, Cape Town 2014
  6. SURFACE TENSION: The Future of Water for Science Gallery Dublin 2011

Selected exhibitions of work

  1. Dig Where You Stand, Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art, Tamale, Ghana 2022
  2. Ĩ NDAFFA #, Dakar Biennial of Contemporary African Art, Dakar, Senegal 2022
  3. Still here tomorrow…, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art, Cape Town 2019
  4. Lux Aeterna, International Symposium for Electronic Arts, South Korea 2019
  5. International Symposium for Electronic Arts, Durban, South Africa 2018
  6. The Life Fair, Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam 2016
  7. CODE Live, Cultural Olympiad, Vancouver, February 2010
  8. Play Safe, Project Arts Centre, Dublin 2007
  9. Amour d’Armour, Washington Center Gallery, Lafayette University, USA 2007
  10. Nextwave Commonwealth Art Exhibition, Melbourne, Australia 2006
  11. SAFE: Design takes on Risk, New York Museum of Modern Art 2005
  12. V Salon de Arte Digitale, Havana, Cuba 2003

Peer-reviewed publications

  1. ‘SPACECRAFT: A Southern Interventionist Art Project’ in Journal of Futures Studies, ‘Design and Futures’ special edition, 23(4): 27–36, June 2019.
  2. ‘Southern Agency: Navigating Local and Global Imperatives in Climate Research’, with Morrell R. and Watson V. in Global Environmental Politics 18:3, August 2018.
  3. ‘The PlayPump’, chapter in The Gameful World, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2015.
  4. ‘Marketing-driven philanthropy: Some lessons from Playpumps’, with Saunders, S.G., European Business Review, 25(4):321-335, 2013.
  5. ‘SMSage: a public address system with personality’, with Redfern T. in the proceedings of the 15th International Symposium for Electronic Arts (ISEA) 2009.

Selected presentations

  1. ‘Bone Flute’ for African Studies Association Annual Conference, San Francisco, Nov 2023
  2. ‘African Robots & Spacecraft’ for UNESCO Creative Cities, Jinju, South Korea, June 2022
  3. ‘Aesthetic Interventions in Artificial Intelligence in Africa’ for Critical AI and Pan-African perspectives, African Studies Association of Africa, University of Cape Town, April 2022
  4. ‘’Dubship I – Expanded Universe’ – Pan-African Art as Research’ for Art as Research – Critical and Creative Engagements with Technology, ASAA, UCT, April 2022
  5. ‘Aesthetic Interventions in Artificial Intelligence in Africa’ for Afr(io)futurism: Debates, Contestations, Interventions at Bayreuth University, Germany, February 2022
  6. ‘Digi-Dub Club – Pan-African Art in shared Virtual Reality worlds’ for COVID-19: The Impact on Performance and the Performance of Impact, US African Studies Association, Rutgers University, November 2021
  7. ‘Village Oracle’ for Critical Borders: Radical (Re)visions of AI hosted by the ‘Global Narratives of AI’ research group, Cambridge University, October 2021

Teaching and research

  1. Researcher at HUMA, the Institute for Humanities in Africa, UCT, 2021 – 2023
  2. Lecturer (part-time) in New Media, Michaelis School of Fine Art, UCT, 2012 – 2017
  3. Postdoctoral research fellow, Global Arenas, University of Cape Town, 2014 – 2015
  4. Postdoctoral research fellow, African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town, 2013
  5. Adjunct Associate Lecturer and researcher, Science Gallery, Trinity College Dublin, 2011
  6. Associate Researcher, Graduate School of Creative Arts and Media, Dublin 2008 – 2011
  7. Fourth-year thesis supervision, Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), 2009
  8. Lecturer (part-time) in Art Theory, Michaelis School of Fine Art, UCT, 2003 – 2006
  9. Course developer and lecturer (part-time) in Physical Computing, UCT, 2004 – 2006
  10. Instructor, Expository Writing Program, New York University, 2000 – 2002

Footnotes

  1. This identification of the three essential characteristics of humans – social, storytelling and technology-using – seen at the !Khwa ttu San Heritage Centre near Cape Town. ↩︎