MaMA 

As part of the exhibition MACHT VAN WIE! the symposium POWER OF CONVERSATION will take place on Saturday June 25: a panel discussion with various industry figures on how games can function as a form of protest. Italian film and video game director Leonard Menchiari will contribute to the symposium with a keynote about his work. Menchiari focuses on Vision Design and Creative Direction and is the brain behind  RIOT: Civil Unrest (2019) and the recently released game Trek to Yomi. 

Following the keynote and panel discussion, a networking reception will take place at MAMA’s showroom, where makers and developers from the game industry will also be present by invitation. Curator Sebastiaan Hoogstraten and contributors Anna Sandri AND Guido de Boer will give a guided tour of the exhibition.

POWER OF CONVERSATION is part of POWER OF WHO!, an exhibition project which foregrounds the newly designed level Woonopstand for the game RIOT: Civil Unrest. This level is based on the Woonopstand (Housing Revolt) of 17 October 2021 in Rotterdam. 

POWER OF WHO!, about positions of power, police brutality, and the right to demonstrate, shows that the game culture can offer a space for urgent discussions around ownership, representation and participation, distinctive qualities which potentially make it a critical social forum. 

Timetable:

@The Auditorium of TENT 

13:15 Start symposium
13:30 Keynote Leonard Menchiari
14:15 Break
14:30 Start panel discussion about videogames, art and protest
16:00 Q&A panel

@POWER OF WHO! in MAMA’s showroom

17:30 Guided tour through POWER OF WHO!
18:00 Networking
20:00 End of event

*The visit of Leonard Menchiari is made possible by the International Visitors Programme of Het Nieuwe Instituut with support from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.