A project developed by the research laboratory of the Center for Informatics and Systems of the University of Coimbra (CISUC) is among the finalists of the Aesthetica Art Prize, an international contemporary art competition held annually.
The Middle Passage was developed by the Computational Design and Visualization Lab., CISUC's research laboratory and is part of the 10 finalists of the Aesthetica Art Prize, it was announced yesterday, in a statement sent to the Lusa agency. It was also selected to integrate the contemporary art exhibition at the York Art Gallery (England), between Friday and the 4th of June.
The finalist project is the result of a partnership between CISUC, Instituto Pedro Nunes and Fundação Cupertino de Miranda. The Middle Passage, by CISUC researchers Tiago Martins, Sérgio Rebelo, Jéssica Parente, Evgheni Polisciuc, João Bicker and Penousal Machado, reflects on the magnitude of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans between the 16th and 19th centuries.
It also features a series of digital artefacts, offering the public an immersion in this historical period. This work is based on data provided by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, housed at Emory University, located in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, United States of America.
The Aesthetica Art Prize is an international contemporary art competition held annually by the art and culture magazine Aesthetica Magazine.
The prize was created in 2007 to celebrate and support excellence and innovation in contemporary art. The competition is open to artists of all nationalities, dedicated to any type of artistic expression, namely painting, sculpture, photography, graphic design, video and installation, which are evaluated by a panel of specialists in contemporary art.
In addition to the financial distinction, the winners also have the opportunity to exhibit their work in galleries and exhibitions around the world, and are also highlighted in the specialist magazine.
The winners of this international contemporary art competition are announced on Thursday.