CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROJECT BETWEEN ARTISTS AND MUSICIANS IN KAMPALA/UGANDA AND MOTHERBOARD, NORWAY
13.02 - 11.03.04

In collaboration with over twenty artists and musicians in Uganda, Motherboard will hold a workshop where we can share competences in music and art production that utilize digital tools and the Internet. This will form a basis for further cross-continent collaborations in the future. Our intention is to develop a social and technical infrastructure for the creation of networked performances. We will take with us 17 Macintosh computers, installed with appropriate software. The machines, all of which have been donated to the the project by friendly people and institutions, are older models, but never-the-less, in full working order. Additionally we will take with us extra equipment such as modems, MIDI interfaces, keyboards, printers, video projectors and video cameras.

This equipment is a gift to our hosts in Kampala. Margaret Nawaga, the former director of The Uganda Artists Association (UAA) will organize the selection of the local artists who will take part in the workshop, and be responsible for maintainance and further dialogue with Motherboard. Daudi Karungi, owner of the Afri Art Gallery in Kampala will provide a host space for this project. In addition to the workshop we will take part in several cultural events/performances.

BACKGROUND
Following Baktruppen's guest performance in Kampala, 2003, an idea emerged about realizing a cultural exchange project related to digital art production. While Uganda is not lacking in artists educated both in Uganda and abroad, there is certainly a great lack of resources for artistic work that utilizes digital tools. Simultaneously, we, in Norway, lack feedback from artists in Africa in relation to our own work in this field. (Read Brian Eno's thoughts about the future of digital art.) A desire arose to achieve a level of exchange that extended beyond that which could be achieved through a formal guest-artist performance trip.

Several institutions in Kampala, such as Alliance Francaise, The Uganda Artists Association and The Uganda National Theatre, expressed an interest in showing the outcome of a workshop of this nature. They also expressed a desire to arrange additional concerts/performances during our eventual visit. The outcome of this interest was that we wondered whether it would be possible to breathe new life into a heap of outdated (for us) computers, and the answer was YES! The Uganda Artists Association was contacted, and in collaboration with them, the idea of holding a 14-day workshop was pursued.

TRAVELLING FROM NORWAY
Thora Balke Dolven
Vegard Heskestad
Reidar Karlsen
Jørgen Knudsen
Ulf Knudsen
Per Platou
Amanda Steggell
Bo Krister Wallström

From Bergens Tidende:
Kjartan Andersen, Journalist
Eirik Brekke, Photographer