The Digital Everglades: New Media, New Audiences

The Everglades can seem intangible, remote, and even mythical to those living in the adjacent urban areas. For many reasons, it is entirely probable that one can live an entire life in Florida’s southern counties and not once set foot in its most famous wetlands. In addition to the barriers (geographic, cultural, economic, or otherwise) that prevent people from physically accessing the wetlands, there are barriers that prevent them from conceptually accessing them. An ontological partition divides “nature,” ensconced somewhere far from the urban center, from everyday life. Embracing the 21st century visual and interactive media forms that dominate contemporary communication can help bridge those gaps and foreground the connectivity of the Everglades ecosystem, urban areas, and adjacent ecosystems, like coastal or estuarine spaces. These media grant access and provide agency to new audiences that might be otherwise left out of conservation discourse. This panel will include artists and new media scholars to discuss the possibilities of leveraging digital content to further societal understanding of Everglades restoration and participation in Everglades advocacy.

10:30 am, Saturday, January 10th, 2020

Moderator:
Deborah Mitchell, Artist, Cultural Producer
Panelists:
Linda Cheung, CEO and Founder, Before It’s Too Late
Edyna Garcia-Miguez, Marketing Manager, Everglades Foundation
Kim Grinfeder, Program Director for Interactive Media, Univeristy of Miami Elite Kedan, Artist and Architect, Alliance of the Southern Triangle (AST)