[dorkbotatl-announce] tonight @ 7 pm: dorkbot art and technology forum

[Jason Freeman]

The Atlanta chapter of Dorkbot, the international forum on art and  
technology dedicated to "people doing strange things with  
electricity," has its next meeting today (Thursday, February 8th) at  
7 p.m. in the Skiles Courtyard Gallery (note special location).

Full information and directions are available at:

http://dorkbot.org/dorkbotatl/upcoming_meetings/ 
thursday,_feb_8,_2007.html



We are teaming up with the Digital Media program at Georgia Tech for  
a special dorkbot in a special location this month. It is all part of  
an exhibition of the work that Mary Flanagan, a long-time friend of  
dorkbot, has created during her residency at Georgia Tech.



Full Schedule for Thursday, February 8th:

4:30 pm: Mary Flanagan lecture in Skiles 002

6:00-8:00 pm: Exhibition Reception, Skiles Courtyard Gallery

7:00 pm: Dorkbot meeting featuring a hands-on presentation by Mary,  
Skiles Courtyard Gallery



Mary Flanagan investigates everyday technologies through critical  
writing, artwork, and activist design projects. Flanagan's work has  
been exhibited internationally at museums, festivals, and galleries,  
including: the Guggenheim, The Whitney Museum of American Art,  
SIGGRAPH, The Banff Centre, The Moving Image Centre, New Zealand,  
Central Fine Arts Gallery NY, Artists Space NY, the University of  
Arizona, University of Colorado-Boulder, and venues in Brazil,  
France, UK, Canada, Taiwan, New Zealand, and Australia. Her projects  
have been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Pacific  
Cultural Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.


Flanagan writes about popular culture and digital media such as  
computer games, virtual agents, and online spaces in order to  
understand their affect on culture. Her essays on digital art,  
cyberculture, and gaming have appeared in periodicals such as Art  
Journal , Wide Angle , Intelligent Agent, Convergence, and Culture  
Machine, as well as several books. Her co-edited collection reload:  
rethinking women + cyberculture with Austin Booth was published by  
MIT Press in 2002. She is also co-author with Matteo Bittanti of  
Similitudini. Simboli. Simulacri ( SIMilarities, Symbols, Simulacra )  
on The Sims game (in Italian, Unicopli 2003), and the co-editor of  
the collection re:skin , forthcoming from MIT Press.

Flanagan is also the creator of "The Adventures of Josie True," the  
first web-based adventure game for girls, and is implementing  
innovations in pedagogical and values-based game design.

Mary Flanagan holds MFA and MA degrees from the University of Iowa, a  
BA in Film from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a Ph.D. in  
Computational Media focusing on activist game design from Central  
Saint Martins College of Art and Design, UK. She teaches in the  
Integrated Media Arts MFA program in the Department of Film and Media  
Studies at Hunter College, NYC. Her research group and laboratory in  
New York is called TiltFactor, a lab focused on the design of  
activists and socially-conscious software. http://www.tiltfactor.org.




Dorkbot, which is sponsored by the Music Department, is free and open  
to the public. Special thanks to Celia Pearce, Mary Flanagan, and the  
Digital Media program for putting this month's event together.