Afro Algorithms – Panel Discussion

Speakers

• Robin Quiver
  Robin Quiver

  Robin Ophelia Quivers is an American radio personality, author, and actress, best known for being the long-running news anchor and co-host of The Howard Stern Show. Quivers has been hailed the most popular female radio personality in the U.S. and made her feature film debut in Howard Stern’s autobiographical comedy, Private Parts. She graduated with a B.S. in nursing and served as an Airforce nurse before discovering broadcasting. Quivers has received an NAACP award for literary work for her book “The Vegucation of Robin” and was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2017.

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  Ava Raiin
  

  Ava Raiin

  Called an “audio-diva superhero” by Solange’s blog Saint Heron, AVA RAIIN’s self-titled debut album charted #9 on the Billboard R&B album sales chart, ranked highly on 4 other Billboard charts, and debuted #6 R&B and Top 40 all genres on iTunes. Her 2016 single and video ‘Eagle Eye’ premiered on AfroPunk and was named Vimeo ‘Staff Pick’. Raised with her twin sister in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the outskirts of Houston, Texas, Raiin settled in NYC, after completing undergrad at The University of Texas at Austin, and got her start touring as a backing vocalist with a range of artists across the spectrum, including stints with: Melissa Etheridge, Solange, Blood Orange/Devonte Hynes, Carly Rae Jepsen, Jack Antonoff/Bleachers, Chrisette Michele and contributions to a handful of recordings most notably Blood Orange’s Freetown Sound and Negro Swan.

• Hoji Fortuna
  Hoji Fortuna

  Hoji Fortuna is an African actor performing mainly in film and Television. Among the films in which he performed is African Movie Academy Awards winner Viva Riva, BronzeLens winner In The Morning and Sundance and Berlinale selection Afronauts. In TelevisonHojiperformed in ABC Pan Am, BBC Mc Mafia and Netflix Tribes of Europa, among other projects. Afro Algorithms is his second animation performance, along with Anima Mundi Animation winner Another Day of Life. He is an African Movie Academy Awards winner Best Actor in Supporting Role for his performance in Viva Riva.”

• Duru Azubuike
  Duru Azubuike

  Hailing from Nigeria-based Magic Carpet Animation Studios, Duru Azubuike is an artist, photographer, and 3D animator. He earned a BSC in Fine and Applied Art from the University of Benin, Nigeria. Duru sees art as an invitation to discover beauty, to discover life and to help people awaken to the world around them. His goal is to pull that art out with either a brush, camera or with the stroke in every frame. The medium may change, but fundamentally the art remains the same.

• Nkosana Ngwenya
  Nkosana Ngwenya

  The best way to spell Nicci is by uttering the words surreal. Nkosana Nicci Ngwenya is a South African art director, 3D artist, and the founder of Astra Angelo. His personality reflects in his surreal designs and esoteric concepts which catch the gaze of the audience. Nicci has worked on multiple projects with big brands and other artists in order to tell stories through animation and design rather than showing it.

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  Anatola Araba Filmmaker; AI Researcher; Journalist; Visual Artist & speaker
  

  Anatola Araba

  Filmmaker; AI Researcher; Journalist; Visual Artist & speaker

  Anatola is a filmmaker, AI researcher, journalist, visual artist, and speaker from New York City. Her film and multimedia creations have been featured in film festivals, museums, and art galleries across the globe. Her works have been exhibited at MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, Film at Lincoln Center, Pan African Film Festival, and more.

  Her award-winning project, Afro Algorithms, is a 3D animated short film in the Afrofuturist genre that explores the topics of AI and bias. Afro Algorithms has led Anatola to become a 2021 Mozilla Creative Media Awardee, audience award winner at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth, and an active member of AI 4 Afrika.

  Anatola has spoken about her work at panels hosted by Unity Technologies, Verizon 5G Labs, and Mozilla, to name a few. She uses her voice to advocate for using creativity to reimagine global futures that lead to better ways of living, especially for the historically marginalized. Her writing has been published in ELLE Magazine and Harper’s BAZAAR.

  Anatola graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. With the mantra that “creativity is the greatest tool of humanity,” Anatola’s passion is to innovate, inspire, and reimagine the world as it could be. Learn more at www.anatolaaraba.com.

• Stephanie Dinkins
  Stephanie Dinkins

  Stephanie Dinkins is a transmedia artist who creates experiences that spark dialog about race, gender, aging, and our future histories. Her work in AI and other mediums uses emerging technologies and social collaboration to work toward technological ecosystems based on care and social equity. Dinkins’ experiences with and explorations of artificial intelligence have led to a deep interest in how algorithmic systems impact communities of color in particular and all of our futures more generally.