Spaces to Fail in: Negotiating Gender, Community and Technology in Algorave

Authors

Keywords:

algorave, coding, gender

Abstract

Algorave presents itself as a community that is open and accessible to all, yet historically, there has been a lack of diversity on both the stage and dance floor. Through women-only workshops, mentoring and other efforts at widening participation, the number of women performing at algorave events has increased. Grounded in existing research in feminist technology studies, computing education and gender and electronic music, this article unpacks how techno, social and cultural structures have gendered algorave. These ideas will be elucidated through a series of interviews with women participating in the algorave community, to centrally argue that gender significantly impacts an individual’s ability to engage and interact within the algorave community. I will also consider how live coding, as an embodied techno-social form, is represented at events and hypothesise as to how it could grow further as an inclusive and feminist practice.

Author Biography

Joanne Louise Armitage, University of Leeds

Joanne Armitage lectures in digital media at School of Media and Communication, University of Leeds, mostly teaching digital media practices. She is an established performer in the field of live coding and has performed across the UK, Europe, USA and Canada solo and with collaborator Shelly Knotts as duo ALGOBABEZ. She recently completed a PhD at the University of Leeds, developing several bespoke installation and performance systems that connect the body to digital sound through vibration.

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Published

23-Nov-2018

Issue

Section

Feature Articles