Salome Asega and Rufaro Makanda join Eyebeam Board of Directors
Pictured left, Salome Asega. Pictured right, Rufaro Makanda.
News Release
Brent Jones
(917) 280-6217,
press@eyebeam.org
Salome Asega and Rufaro Makanda join Eyebeam Board of Directors
Brooklyn, June 21, 2021 —Eyebeam, a “power station” known for generating visionary work by artists and technologists together with the community, today announced the elections of Salome Asega and Rufaro Makanda to its Board of Directors. The unanimous decision was made during the board’s recent meeting on April 26, 2021 and follows the organization’s announcement that it has shed its public storefront space and physical residency and transformed into a groundbreaking, radically distributed catalyst and incubator. Eyebeam recently celebrated its inaugural digital fellowship Rapid Response for a Better Digital Future with an ambitious digital convening of radical practitioners spanning the fields of public policy, journalism, healthcare, and more, “From the Rupture: Ideas and Actions for the Future.”
“We are thrilled that Salome and Rufaro will join us at this tremendously exciting and pivotal moment,” said chairman Joe Versace, who for many years has been involved in art and social service organizations in New York City. “As we de-center Eyebeam and hand authority over to artists so that they may enliven a more humane digital realm, we look forward to the vision, advice, and guidance of our newest leadership.”
Salome Asega, pictured, is an artist and researcher. She has exhibited internationally, including at MoMA, and lectured at the Brooklyn Museum, the MIT Media Lab, Performa, and elsewhere. Asega was a 2015/2016 resident at Eyebeam and the inaugural Ford Foundation Technology Fellow landscaping new media artist. She is the director of partnerships at POWRPLNT, a youth digital art collaboratory in Brooklyn. Asega holds an M.F.A. in Design and Technology from Parsons at The New School where she now teaches.
“My relationship with Eyebeam started as a resident and that relationship is sticky, as I never really left, and I am delighted to join the board,” enthused Asega. “It really is rare to have dedicated time to do research, to experiment, and to be inventive in a community of like minded practitioners. And now, in an amazing pivot, for Eyebeam to honor place-based work in the context in which it is happening and to meet where you are at as an artist, is incredible.”
Born in Harare, Zimbabwe and raised in Washington, D.C., Rufaro Makanda, pictured, who joins the board’s executive committee and will serve a term as treasurer, is an investment banking vice president at Bank of America and works with private equity clients. Makanda also serves on the steering committee of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.
“I grew up dancing, and I’ve always valued the craft of an artist,” said Makanda. “Through my involvement with Ailey and through engaging with various artists over the years, I feel strongly that a network and community are extremely important to the development and evolution of any artist. The scope of Eyebeam’s artist support is international and cross-cultural, and I look forward to working with the board.”
About Eyebeam
Technology’s effect on our future is always changing and difficult to understand. Through exploratory process and emotionally compelling output, Eyebeam believes that artists can help us visualize and realize a more humane future.
Eyebeam provides both space and support for a community of diverse, justice-driven artists. Our annual fellowship program, highly engaged community of alumni, advanced tools and resources, shows and events help our artists bring their work to life and out into the world.
Eyebeam enables people to think creatively and critically about technology’s effect on society, with the mission of revealing new paths toward a better future for all.