As part of the 2012 Africa in Motion (AiM) Film Festival in Edinburgh, AiM and the Centre of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh host an international symposium on 'African Popular Culture in the 21st Century'.

To link with the Africa in Motion 2012 festival theme 'Modern Africa', we have invited papers from international scholars working in the field of African popular culture. The symposium will cover various aspects of contemporary African arts and cultures from different parts of the continent, including music, visual arts, fiction, dance, film and festivals.

Current research in African popular culture illuminates Africa’s position in a global world, where new and modified cultural forms that embrace modernity and reinterpret tradition, are emerging all over the continent. The digital revolution has also had a profound impact on African popular arts, where artists and audiences alike now have unprecedented access to create and consume new art forms.

Following two panel sessions on African popular art forms and popular art institutions, the day will conclude with a roundtable discussion on the popular African video-film industries. Having originated in Nigeria in the 1990s to become widely known as “Nollywood”, the phenomenon of low-budget filmmaking with easily accessible digital technology that aids production and consumption, has created a revolution in African filmmaking. This model is increasingly being adopted in other parts of the continent and the discussion will look at this phenomenon from trans- and international perspectives.

Registration is open at: http://www.africa-in-motion.org.uk/symposium/