<incom> Daniel Langlois Foundation - Awa Meité to begin residency at OBORO New Media Laboratory (Modified by Geert Lovink)

[La fondation Daniel Langlois]

http://www.fondation-langlois.org/

 From October to December 2007, Malian artist Awa Meité will collaborate 
with independent French filmmaker Anik Hurst during a research and 
experimentation residency at OBORO's MediaLab. The residency will be 
used to develop two interactive Internet portals that will highlight 
Malian cotton production (Daoula) and local cultural practices from 
around the world (La Couverture Vivante).

As the founder of the Daoula  project, Meité is interested in drawing 
attention to all aspects of local cotton production, including the 
cotton growers, spinning wheel operators, artisans, dyers, 
embroiderers, tailors, and merchants. Mali is one of Africa's largest 
cotton producers, yet less than 5% of the cotton grown here is 
processed locally. Meité intends to create a Daoula  Internet portal to 
serve as an educational and documentation tool for stories about the 
economy and the sustainability of local cotton production. The portal 
will also serve as an interactive meeting space to promote artistic 
creativity and civic participation.

Initiated by Les brasseurs de cages  and with the participation of 
Hurst, La Couverture Vivante  project will enable women from around the 
world to upload images of self portraits created with squares of 
fabric. Each woven self portrait will be associated with 
culture-specific information and organized by theme and will also 
include an interactive timeline.

The aim of the residency is to allow Meité and Hurst to collaborate as 
artists on the creation of these two Internet projects. The residency 
will also permit them to learn the skills and techniques needed to 
artistically create an educational, interactive Web site that 
highlights local knowledge while offering a space for the sharing of 
information among users.