{"273341":{"#nid":"273341","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tech Launches Africa Atlanta 2014 Initiative","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EArts and culture, innovation, and entrepreneurship \u2014 these aren\u2019t concepts that typically come to mind when Americans think of Africa.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut a Georgia Tech-led initiative has ambitious goals to recast narrow and negative perceptions about the continent and highlight Atlanta as a center for action.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea for Africa Atlanta 2014 grew out of a conversation over lunch one day when Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts Dean Jacqueline Royster learned that the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium, was closing for renovation and was willing to have pieces from its spectacular collection tour outside of Belgium. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe immediately set about finding partners and funding to bring to Atlanta an exhibition that was being curated for a U.S. tour, \u003Cem\u003EKONGO across the WATERS\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFrom our start in 2012, we\u2019ve found tremendous enthusiasm for this project,\u201d Royster said. \u201cThe arts became our pebble in the pond.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ripple spread across universities, visual and performing arts organizations, African Diaspora heritage communities, governmental organizations and agencies (local, state, national, and international), nongovernmental organizations, business, and industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETaking a cue from the highly successful model for France-Atlanta, Royster chose a holistic approach and included activities spanning not only arts and culture, but education, business and innovation, and global affairs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe idea is to see the arts as a lens for understanding cultures more robustly within a global context,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are thrilled to have one of the world\u2019s foremost collections of African art to anchor this initiative. We are also thrilled to add many other amazing artistic and cultural activities.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECampus sponsors include the Office of the Provost, Office for Institute Diversity, Office of International Education, College of Architecture, Scheller College of Business, Office of International Initiatives, College of Science, Institute of Paper Science and Technology, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, the IAC School of Literature, Media, and Communication, and the IAC School of Modern Languages. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEvents across the city are already underway. Upcoming campus events include the \u003Cbr \/\u003Efollowing:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMapping Place: Africa Beyond Paper (Feb. 28-May 17):\u003C\/strong\u003E An exhibition exploring the changing representation and projection of space that has shaped our approach to Africa at the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum. Admission is free.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EShuffle, Shake, and Shatter by Sanford Biggers (March 28):\u003C\/strong\u003E A multimedia film suite exploring the formation and dissolution of identity at the Ferst Center for the Arts. Tickets are $15 for the general public.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAfrica Beyond Africa:\u003C\/strong\u003E The Future of Cultural, Social, and Scientific Research Conference (May 16-17): This event will focus on challenges museums face today including uses of science and technology for presentation and representation. See \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.africaatlanta.org\u0022 title=\u0022www.africaatlanta.org\u0022\u003Ewww.africaatlanta.org\u003C\/a\u003E for registration fees and details.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EKONGO across the WATERS\u003C\/em\u003E (May 17-Sept. 21):\u003C\/strong\u003E Art and artifacts from the Royal Museum for Central Africa explore connections between the art and culture of the Kongo peoples and African-American art in the United States at Jimmy Carter Library and Museum. Tickets are $8.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EView the full schedule of events \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.africaatlanta.org\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EArts and culture, innovation, and entrepreneurship \u2014 these aren\u2019t concepts that typically come to mind when Americans think of Africa.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Arts and culture, innovation, and entrepreneurship \u2014 these aren\u2019t concepts that typically come to mind when Americans think of Africa."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2014-02-04 11:31:56","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:47","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"273191":{"id":"273191","type":"image","title":"Africa Atlanta","body":null,"created":"1449244112","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:32","changed":"1475894964","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:24","alt":"Africa Atlanta","file":{"fid":"198690","name":"africaatlanta.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/africaatlanta_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/africaatlanta_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1962051,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/africaatlanta_0.jpg?itok=q_eZp50M"}}},"media_ids":["273191"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.africaatlanta.org\/","title":"Africa Atlanta 2014"}],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"60031","name":"Africa Atlanta 2014"},{"id":"1616","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:rebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ERebecca Keane\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}