Digital Arts and Humanities Festival: CHAT (Collaborations: Humanities, Arts & Technology)

The Institute for the Arts and Humanities is coordinating a large-scale festival celebrating and showcasing digital arts and humanities work at UNC and in the Triangle area. Registration details will be posted soon. CHAT (Collaborations: Humanities, Arts & Technology) will take place February 16-20, 2010, on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus. The festival comprises five major elements:

1. Multidisciplinary faculty projects - At the heart of the festival are our faculty working groups, which are creating multidisciplinary and collaborative arts and humanities projects using technology as a medium. Many involve inter-university teams with UNC faculty and staff collaborating with peers at RENCI, Duke and North Carolina State universities. Visit our Projects page for information about our exciting working groups.
2. Student Projects - Joyce Rudinsky, domain scientist for the arts and humanities at RENCI, will work with faculty at UNC, Duke University and North Carolina State University to coordinate undergraduate projects for the festival that feature digital media in the arts and humanities.
3. Performance:
1. Festival on the Hill: The Art and Culture of the DJ - In February 2010, UNC Music Professor Mark Katz is organizing Music on the Hill, a public event held biennially sponsored by UNC’s music department. The music department has partnered with the Institute for the Arts and Humanities and the CHAT festival to put on a two-day event, February 18-19, on The Art and Culture of the DJ. It will consist of performances, scholarly presentations and discussions, and a DJ/VJ Dance Party geared toward students.
2. Carolina Performing Arts: BRAVE Collaborative Performance - BRAVE is a cross-disciplinary collaboration between New York choreographer Elizabeth Streb, founder of the innovative STREB Dance Company; composer David Van Teighem; and the MIT Media Lab. BRAVE performers will incorporate experimental technologies including smart prostheses, a human sized yo-yo and personal robots.The performances are scheduled February 19-20, 2010.
4. Keynote Lectures and Panel Discussions - The Institute for the Arts and Humanities is collaborating with units across the UNC campus and plans to work with corporate sponsors to identify nationally recognized experts to invite as keynote speakers during the CHAT festival. Following each keynote lecture, the keynote speaker will moderate a panel with a mixture of local faculty and industry experts.
5. Teaching Clinics for Faculty and K-12 Teachers - As part of the CHAT festival, the Institute will offer public service and outreach by giving North Carolina public school teachers the opportunity to fulfill some of their Continuing Education credits. Cheryl Mason Bolick from the School of Education will lead the effort to bring K-12 teachers to Carolina to earn CE credits in classroom technology during the CHAT Festival.

Visit iah.unc.edu/chat for full festival details.