Vertical Atlas

Out on October 27: Vertical Atlas
Pre-order Vertical Atlas here. 

Hivos and Het Nieuwe Instituut are pleased to announce the book launch and exhibition opening of Vertical Atlas on October 27, 2022, 8–10pm CET at Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam with lectures by Nanjala Nyabola and Benjamin H. Bratton and a performance by artist Francois Knoetze. 

Join us at Het Nieuwe Instituut in person or online. Livestream available: stream.hetnieuweinstituut.nl

This event also marks the opening of the Vertical Atlas exhibition in Gallery 3 with work by Kévin Bray, Geocinema, Isaac Kariuki, Francois Knoetze, Emo De Medeiros, Andrej Škufca, Suzanne Treister and Qiu Zhijie.

This publication is the result of a four-year collaboration between Hivos and Het Nieuwe Instituut. It is published by ArtEZ Press and edited by Leonardo Dellanoce, Amal Khalaf, Klaas Kuitenbrouwer, Nanjala Nyabola, Renée Roukens, Arthur Steiner and Mi You.

How to navigate the rapidly changing digital geopolitics of the world today? How to make sense of digital transformations and their many social, political, cultural, and environmental implications at different locations around the world? Vertical Atlas brings together the insights of a diverse group of internationally renowned artists, scientists and technologists from different backgrounds and places. From an investigation into the lithium mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo to maps of the fiber-optic submarine cables in the Atlantic, from algorithmic justice to cultural stances towards AI, from the corporate conception of autonomous vehicles to the ride-hailing community platforms of China, and much more.

Vertical Atlas is not a classic atlas that depicts the world in a uniform manner and it is also not a simple collection of traditional maps. It is a set of tools that enable comparisons, and the seeing of connections and contradictions between different and diverse visions, realities and worlds through newly commissioned diagrams, interviews, essays and works of art by leading experts from around the world.

Contributors: Sophia Al Maria, Heba Y. Amin, Lotte Arndt, Benjamin H. Bratton, Kévin Bray, James Bridle, Ingrid Burrington, Adriana Bustos, Ben Cerveny, Guo Cheng, Chimurenga, Cristina Cochior, Sounak Das, Data Justice Lab (Philippa Metcalfe, Fieke Jansen), Pablo DeSoto, Alexis Destoop, Marjolijn Dijkman, DISNOVATION.ORG, Maarten Vanden Eynde, Cao Fei, Shuang Lu Frost, Maya Indira Ganesh, Pélagie Gbaguidi, GCC Group, Geocinema (Asia Bazdyrieva, Solveig Qu Suess), John Gerrard, Oulimata Gueye, Camille Henrot, Femke Herregraven, Yuk Hui, Sanneke Huisman, Victoria Ivanova, Vladan Joler, Isaac Kariuki, Klaas Kuitenbrouwer, Francois Knoetze, Srinivas Kodali, Bogna Konior, Lukáš Likavčan, Abu Bakarr Mansaray, Svitlana Matviyenko, Emo de Medeiros, Metahaven, Dorine Mokha, Jean Katambayi Mukendi, Musasa, Katja Novitskova, Nanjala Nyabola, Trevor Paglen, Alice Piva, Chen ‘Stanley’ Qiufan, Nii Quaynor, Elia Rediger, Tabita Rezaire, Lucas Rolim, Bassem Saad, Nanjira Sambuli, Georges Senga, Nzilani Simu, Andrej Škufca, Ksenia Tatarchenko, Suzanne Treister, Unknown Fields, Jordi Vallverdú, Richard Vijgen, Sarah Waiswa, Zhan Wang, Kedolwa Waziri, Mi You, Qiu Zhijie, Dan Zhu

Edited by Leonardo Dellanoce, Amal Khalaf, Klaas Kuitenbrouwer, Nanjala Nyabola, Renée Roukens, Arthur Steiner and Mi You. Published by ArtEZ Press, 2022. Design by Catalogtree. English language. 400 color pages. Hardcopy. ISBN: 9789491444692

The book can be purchased via ArtEZ Press and is freely available online via verticalatlas.net from October 27. For more information on the outcomes of the research labs, visit verticalatlas.net and digitalearth.art. 

Supported by Sida, Creative Industries Fund NL, New Silk Roads

About
Vertical Atlas is the result of a four-year collaboration between Het Nieuwe Instituut and Hivos’ Digital Earth research fellowship which is part of the Resource of Open Minds (R.O.O.M.) program. Vertical Atlas was initiated in 2018 by Benjamin H. Bratton, Leonardo Dellanoce, Arthur Steiner and Klaas Kuitenbrouwer.

Media contacts
For all media enquiries please contact Joke Hoeven who can be reached at +31 6 22 73 57 97 or via email to: joke.hoeven [​at​] gmail.com

Download the press kit here.