Exhibition: Game on, Africa! Event

Description

Game On, Africa! brings together a collection of video games from the African continent that address the diverse set of challenges expressed in play and games. Some games in the exhibition challenge the aesthetics of contemporary video games, introducing African myths and characters into the narratives that drive play. Other games challenge conventional notions of just what it is to be a game. And others still challenge the player, either through the difficulty of the gameplay or the difficulty of the game’s content. Although the games in the exhibition are diverse, all the games are related in that they not only offer a wide range of challenges to players, but also a challenge to play in general. They ask visitors to begin playing within a world of video games, instead of one oriented toward the West. The games assembled in this exhibition challenge us to begin thinking about the different contexts for game development and the different opportunities for players that emerge from these contexts. Most of all, the exhibition is designed to introduce games from the African continent to Western audiences and to challenge us to think about what a game can be. 

The exhibition is generously funded by the University of Glasgow’s Knowledge Exchange Fund and was designed and installed by We Throw Switches (wethrowswitches.com). Sincere thanks to Tim Barker and Lauren Watson for their involvement in the curation and organisation of the exhibition. Although the exhibition is mostly family-friendly, some of the games contain sensitive contents and adult themes. Parental guidance and viewer discretion is advised.