An Xiao Mina - How Visual Media Affect Culture and Identity Globally
An Xiao Mina is an American artist, designer, writer and technologist. She explores the disruptive power of networked, creative communities in civic life. Dubbing memes the "street art of the internet", she looks at the growing role of meme culture and humor in addressing social and political issues in countries like China, Uganda and the United States.
The shift to imagery and animation as a primary mode of communication on the web is a fun, creative shift from the primacy of text online. It is also having numerous effects on identity, civic engagement and creative expression. In this session we want to look at the broader implications of this shift, and what it can mean for brands, governments, organizations and anyone else working in this space.
An Xiao would like to thank Arda Ibikolgu (Bogazici University) and David Banks (Cyborgology) for sharing their research on memes during the Gezi Park protests and Rosebell Kagumire (rosebellkagumire.com) for her writing on #UgandaIsNotSpain. Source images can be found at www.thecivicbeat.com.
