13.11. Keynote: Karim Ben Khalifa

Augment Your Awareness: Immersive Strategies for Relevant Topics

In his talk, Karim Ben Khelifa offers insights into how he conceived the project «SEVEN GRAMS» within the complex topic of artisanal mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a part of the computer and smartphone industry. He discusses why every smartphone, in which seven grams of rare minerals are used, is at the same time the ideal medium to bring across what production and exploitation chains are behind it. With his producers, Karim decided to develop an augmented reality (AR) app that allows the users to discover the global connections and individual sufferings in their homes and on their own devices they use every day. As a war photographer and immersive journalist, Karim also discusses the advantages of new technologies in conveying topics of political relevance and reaching societal impact.

Karim Ben Khelifa is an award-winning Belgian-Tunisian transdisciplinary artist and director, whose narrative storytelling is at the convergence of art, science and journalism. His practice is driven by a non-linear, cross-disciplinary approach. He started his career as a war correspondent and photojournalist, on assignment for publications such as Vanity Fair, The New York Times Magazine, Le Monde, Stern, Time Magazine. He has travelled to more than 90 countries.

Karim Ben Khelifa is also a speaker and has been a mentor at numerous conferences, festivals and universities. He is a former fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, an Artist-in-Residence at the OpenDocLab and a Visiting Artist at CAST, both at MIT. Currently, he is an advisory board member of the Center for Advanced Virtuality at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Keynote speaker: Karim Ben Khelifa

Where: ZHdK, Toni Areal, Zürich

When: 10 November 2021, 12.30 – 13.00

Tickets: ZHdK ticket booth

Organisation: