More About Place

The research begins in a town in Brazil incorporated in the 1980s called São Miguel do Gostoso. A hub for several villages in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, this town is a constellation of rural settlements, or villages, a nucleus of activity where people socialize, interact, and barter. It is an informal network of interactions critical to understanding the multiple levels of meaning in societies, which increasingly rely on digital social networks for exchange in lieu of personal (physical) contact. The changes brought about by the introduction of social media platforms have affected how people interact–where transactions have become more ubiquitous than ever before, blurring the lines between personal and commercial relationships.

Biography

Jose Ferreira is the project director and recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award (2023). Research and production will commence in July 2023 on a year-long sabbatical in Brazil working on the project.

Ferreira was born in Mozambique, he studied Fine Art at the Durban University of Technology in South Africa. After living in Europe for several years, he returned to South Africa in 1998 and co-founded The Trinity Session. This curatorial organization fundraised and collaborated with artists and institutions to develop innovative projects. In 2002, Ferreira joined the Cultural Studies department at the University of East London in the United Kingdom, where he focused on his academic research interests. Subsequently, he was a Research Fellow in Digital Media at the University of Sunderland in the UK, where he continued to expand his exploration of the intersection between identity, technology, and art. 

Ferreira's artistic achievements and academic contributions led to his appointment as a full-time faculty member in the Sculpture Department at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the United States, where he served from 2006 to 2013. Ferreira's research, teaching, and creative work gained recognition during his tenure. He is currently an Associate Professor of Art and Chair of the Sculpture and Expanded Practices area at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.