The Glasgow School of Art

Race, Rights and Sovereignty presents:
Digital Colonialism: The Threat of Neutrality
Libby Odai

Tickets free via Eventbrite

For the first event of 2021, the Race, Rights and Sovereignty series are pleased to welcome Libby Odai who’ll be presenting a new talk on digital colonialism. 

Technology is often touted as a “neutral tool” but how does this “neutrality” become a form of oppression? In this lecture we will learn about the history and manifestations of digital colonisation, its future and digital resistance. 

From guns to AI, missionaries to influencers, phrenology to facial recognition. Looking at the “Tools of Empire”, Libby Odai links the methods of colonial past to the present. Through exploration of technology we will see how neocolonialism is defined and developed with technological advances, and how this is realised in the digital present.  

Libby Odai is a creative technologist based in Glasgow, developing and producing digital sculpture and performance with digital elements. She has previously produced digital works shown at Dancebase Edinburgh, The University of Edinburgh, Plat:form and the Swap Market in Govanhill. 

Her work focuses on bringing digital concepts into the physical world. By breaking down barriers in technology, blending traditional arts such as dance and crochet with high tech components, she brings tech to new more diverse audiences. Her work aims to bridge the STEM gap as well as exploring the creative applications of new technology. 

Libby will also lead a seminar on Decolonising the Digital Self – information available here.

Race, Rights and Sovereignty series was established in 2016 as a partnership between The Art School: GSA's Students' Association (GSASA) and GSA Exhibitions. The programme has been developed in order to create opportunities, and forums, to engage with and unpack ideas and issues related to race, rights & sovereignty; particularly in the contexts of creative practice. The series aims to celebrate, challenge, inform and inspire the next generation of artists, designers and architects, empowering them to have a creative voice.