Ghana Think Tank at Ffotogallery

The Ghana Think Tank

Ffotogallery, Wales, UK 22 October -- 10 December

The work of Ghana Think Tank explores the implications of a revolution in mass communication that enables communities and groups to become connected and share information technologically on a global scale.

As a globally distributed network of think tanks, it was set up to create strategies for resolving local problems. The network began with groups in Ghana, Cuba and El Salvador, and has since expanded to include Serbia, Mexico and Ethiopia.

At the heart of this project is socially mediated problem solving, an activity which bridges divergent cultures and technologies. The intention is to transpose parts of one culture into another. In a series of characteristically playful social interventions, a solution generated in one context is applied elsewhere, often on the other side of the globe. Beyond the propensity to shock or entertain, the ambition is to challenge the hidden assumptions that govern many cross-cultural interactions. Traditional power-roles are swapped, places are exchanged and communities are connected through what had previously been their differences.

Drop boxes around the city of Cardiff (Wales, UK), and interviews with passers by, generated a body of problems related to everyday life. These were relayed to the international Think Tanks who suggested on-the-street actions from the far reaches of the world to solve Wales' day-to-day problems.

This video illustrates these on-street-actions.

www.ghanathinktank.grographics.com
http://www.mayyouliveininterestingtimes.org.uk

Commissioned by Ffotogallery and May You Live in Interesting Times with additional support from the National Museum Cardiff.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Ghana Think Tank
• Ffotogallery
• 2009
• commission
• problem solving
• creative technology
• mass communication
• project
• community
• art
• network
• Wales
• UK
• Cardiff
• Penarth