DIGI-MENA is a mapping research project which seeks to connect and present new media and digital artists from the MENA region
This gap which DIGI-MENA aimed to fill became clear during a workshop at Culture Academy where it was later offered a grant by Goethe Institut to begin its first phase in 2016. An ongoing endeavor since then, DIGI-MENA serves as a platform for outsourcing artists working within the various digital mediums; from illustration, video, interactive art to sound, game art, and digital performance. It seeks to develop long term partnerships with international platforms and entities by matching them up with creatives that represent the region’s thriving digital art scene. The project also encourages creative dialogue between the MENA artists themselves, emerging and established, local and from the diaspora, by offering opportunities for them to meet, collaborate and contribute to thriving within the contemporary digital international scene.
Because of the complex and singular approach of this initiative, DIGI-MENA is divided into three mapping phases; North Africa, the Gulf region, and the Levant region. In 2018 a book was published to cap the North Africa phase, compiling 40 artists and institutions from Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. The team of curators; founder Elham Khattab with Toufik Douib (Curator Coordinator, Algeria) and Nouha Ben Yebdri (Curator, Morocco), used their networks to identify and select digital artists whose work stands out and who were interested to become part of this mapping project. The book release succeeded in sparking new opportunities for the included artists, both locally and internationally.
We are currently focused on mapping the Gulf region and seeking partners of curators or institutions to support the research and extend our network.
If you are a digital artist and want to be part of this platform, or an entity seeking artists within the digital arts field, get in touch by contacting us.