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Herstory: Digital Innovation Symposium and Book Signing set for October 26


An interactive symposium and book signing titled “Herstory: Digital Innovation” is set for Friday, October 26, 2018 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (1205 W. Clark St., Urbana). This will be a valuable opportunity for students, professionals, and researchers to hear from midwestern women who shaped early digital media and participate in breakout sessions focused on empowering women in the workplace. The event follows the release of a new book titled New Media Futures: The Rise of Women in the Digital Arts, recently published book by the University of Illinois Press.

Thirteen book contributors including the woman who designed the first graphical web browser, the first female gaming company founder, and the woman who built the first room-size virtual reality room environments will participate. Speaker will share their experiences, thrills, and challenges inventing and harnessing emerging technologies in pivotal years at the University of Illinois and Chicago’s School of the Art Institute during the 1980’s, and 90’s. Many of these overlooked stories are part of a larger context of the history of Midwestern women from late 1800’s who led historical movements in social work, labor, women’s suffrage, and alternative arts, and latter 20th century emerging virtual reality CAVE, digital games, data visualization, and the internet browser.

New Media Futures: The Rise of Women in the Digital Art is a big, beautifully designed and richly illustrated volume that captures the breadth of Midwestern women’s artistic endeavors and pays tribute to their many achievements. The book includes endorsements by founding NCSA Director Larry Smarr; Dr. Sara Diamond, President OCAD University; and Walter Massey, Chancellor of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Copies of the book will be available for sale at the Symposium with a signing by the co-editors and contributors who participate in the event.

This Symposium is sponsored by Women@NCSA, the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities (IPRH), and the University of Illinois Press. Lunch will be provided for registered guests.

Register today!

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