‘The Play’s the Thing’- Technology as Performer: Talk by Padmini Ray Murray on 26th February, 7 p.m

Abstract:
In 2020 we created a digital theatrical piece called Abhi.Neta Aayenge which raised interesting and provocative questions about audience agency and the role, quite literally played, by technology and its affordances in making this work. I will be discussing how some of these explorations might have resonances for game design as well our understandings of interactivity and narrative in this talk, by sharing our experiences in the rehearsing and the staging of the piece.

Bio note:

Padmini Ray Murray’s research-led practice focuses on challenging acts of infrastructural and algorithmic violence, and creating alternative digital spaces and imaginations that are characterised by feminist values, specifically an ethics of care. To explore the possibilities of manifesting these spaces, Padmini founded Design Beku, a design and digital collective, that aims to dismantle expectations created by market-driven notions of design by following design justice principles, that advocate designing with communities, and not for. Her creative work includes Darshan Diversion, a feminist videogame about the Sabarimala temple controversy; visualising Cybersecurity (with Paulanthony George & CIS, 2019) about how cybersecurity is represented in the media; On Affecting the Archive (as artist in residence at Serendipity Arts Festival, 2020). She has just completed curating Smarter Digital Realities, working with 21 residents from India and Bangladesh about technology and the city, and performing Abhi.Neta Aayenge (as part of Last Seen), a digital theatrical work developed under the aegis of Refunction, a grant for experimental work online awarded by the Goethe Institut in 2020. Her work has been recently featured as a highlight of the Wired Women programme for the NEoN Digital Arts Festival and recently exhibited her work as part of a residency, Unstacked: articulations of the algorithmic condition at Khoj Studios in Delhi.

Join us on Zoom at 7 p.m on 26 February: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82682132464?pwd=dVJIZC9zKzd5RWhxb0VqMnhNT1lldz09