This article was written by
Andrei I Stan, Annabel Langdon, Luke Wakemen, Faye Larkins
Undergraduate Students, School of East Asian Studies
The recently-launched Digital Asia Exhibition is a student-led online exhibition showcasing a culmination of work created by students in the School of East Asian Studies (SEAS) at the University of Sheffield. The work on display explores and presents a variety of themes including history, language, and culture of the East Asian region through different lenses and creative mediums such as academic posters, photography, manga, and more. This exhibition is part of a wider project led by the Head of Department Professor Kate Taylor-Jones and Dr Jennifer Coates, which explores possible initiatives, synergies, and future collaborative partnerships between the department and South Yorkshire's thriving digital sector.
Through a series of online roundtable events, hosted by the Sheffield Digital Festival in May 2021, in coordination with Simon Cookson of Northern Value Creators, the department was able to identify future initiatives with both existing and new external partners. These discussions also increased SEAS’ understanding of Sheffield's current digital ecosystem, as well as the diverse and ambitious work of the many businesses and agencies that exist within it. As a result of such roundtable events, the department now has several initiatives moving forward, and are in a position to further develop working partnerships with a number of digital/tech businesses, networks and organisations. These include —but are not limited to— Zoo Digital (a globalisation service offering translation for TV/film content), Barnsley Digital Media Centre, Sheffield Digital (an association for Sheffield’s digital industries), Unfolding Innovation (a consultancy specialising in digital policy and strategy), and the National Railway Museum.
In addition to this, SEAS has prioritised the following aims for this project:
- Identifying methods to further support student employability (by establishing new work placements and internships),
- Developing staff and student engagement with digital tools and,
- Increasing the digital, 'business-facing' presence of SEAS on both a local and international scale.
The final stage of the externally-funded project was to curate an online exhibition space to showcase the work of students in SEAS. The exhibition provided a way to pursue the goals mentioned above, in addition to exploring new ways to share the work, research and expertise of our academic cohort (including partners in East Asia), via innovative digital methods such as the Kunstmatrix online exhibition platform. This was of particular importance, given that East Asia is now a leader in digital media technologies.
The work on display consists of work completed for university modules, as well as personal projects. It demonstrates how the expansive work of SEAS' student cohorts covers a number of different creative, digital and technological mediums. Thus, the exhibition allowed students to showcase and share their passion for East Asia whilst also celebrating the cultural complexities of the East Asian region.
The future of Digital Asia
SEAS hopes to further develop its digital presence and utilise Sheffield's digital networks, with the aim of developing the relationship between the local landscape and the East Asian region.