With the democratization of digital photography and technology, we are seeing a fundamental shift in how we express ourselves and in how we communicate with the wider world. Technology presents a new space to shape and share our identity, with opportunities to connect with greater communities and to craft more specific personas.

This intersection can be overwhelmingly positive by allowing us to experience new perspectives and ideas, and it can be alarmingly negative as we engage with digital norms and the performance of the self. These ideas will be explored during Gender and Imagining in the Online Realm, part of the Second Century: Photography, Feminism, Politics symposium on October 7, 2017.

Meet the Panelists
Kate Palmer Albers, an Associate Professor in the Art History Division at the University of Arizona specializing in the History and Theory of Photography is moderating the panel. Kate’s recent work focuses on the role of digital technologies in art historical research and she is developing new research on photographic communication through social media.

Joining Kate is panelist Natalie Bookchin, a professor of Media and Associate Chair in the Visual Arts Department at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Natalie is a multi-channel media artist who explores the impact of digital tools, platforms, and algorithms on how we live our lives. With numerous exhibits, grants, awards and projects, she is a media specialist with a keen eye for the human side of technology.

Nora Khan is the final panelist. Nora is a writer and Contributing Editor at Rhizome, a nonprofit art organization that supports new media art, and a research resident at Eyebeam, a nonprofit studio for collaborative experiments with technology. With a passion for exploring the interplay between joy and creativity within oppressive systems, she is focused on how technology, politics, and creativity affect how we think and feel.

Gender and Imagining in the Online Realm
The panel will take place at 11:00am on October 7 at Memorial Hall and will be moderated by Kate Palmer Albers, Associate Professor, University of Arizona. Panelists will include Natalie Bookchin, Artist and Associate Professor of Media, Associate Chair, Visual Arts Department, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, NJ; and Nora Khan, Writer and Contributing Editor at Rhizome, New York.

We encourage you to visit the Gender & Imaging in the Online Realm Facebook Event for more updates, and you can also find the complete schedule for the Second Century: Photography, Feminism, Politics symposium at FotoFocusSymposium.org/about.