The Container Project is a community media lab in a 40 foot shipping container in rural Jamaica. It was initiated in 2003 by media artist (h)activist mervin Jarman, who fulfilled his dream of returning to Jamaica to start the Container Project in the community where he grew up. The Container Project has just won the prestigious
Stockholm Challenge Award
mervin is a community art activist, interactive multimedia designer, human computer interface expert and core member of the Mongrel Collective. He is a particular kind of mongrel – a new breed of street art-activist emerging in new media and technology.
The Container Project's current initiative is "As We Move", a series of workshops across Jamaica celebrating their 5th anniversary.
Afrofuturist, a group of Canadian artists who use media as a tool for intercultural engagement participated in a residence at the Container's "As We Move" project. The artists traveled to various communities, facilitating workshops in three locations across Jamaica. The three participating artists are: electronic media artist, Jim Ruxton, who facilitated a Second Life workshop which enabled participants to build a virtual Container online to showcase their projects and ideas.
Jennifer LaFontaine and Camille Turner, two Toronto-based media artists facilitated digital storytelling workshops (digital stories are 3-5 min videos the participants made to tell stories from their lives).
Afrofuturist's participation was generously supported by Ontario Arts Council.
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