Our IN+ ART Iterations programme launched in 2023 and seeks to explore digital equity through collaborative and experimental approaches. Working with artists and communities, the programme addresses the INCLUDE+ Principles and focuses on three core themes: well-being, precarity, and civic participation.
Rather than aiming for predefined outcomes, the initiative encourages an open-ended exploration of how digital equity manifests in various contexts, acknowledging the complex interplay between technology, identity, and access.
Below is a critical examination of several key projects within the programme, exploring their insights and implications for digital equity.
Spotka, Museum of Kraków, Poland (March 2024). Photos by Kinga Świętek
[1] algorithmic erasure, climate grief, & digital collective care [Miami, US]
Allison Rich’s project in Miami examined how communities can use digital tools to process collective grief over climate change. Focusing on communities disproportionately affected by environmental injustice, the project used digital rituals to foster collective care and resilience.
The workshops explored how digital spaces can be repurposed to facilitate conversations about climate loss, moving beyond doomscrolling and sensationalism towards more constructive and supportive dialogues.
Sustainability (IN+ Principle) was interpreted "through the lens of ecofeminism and environmental justice to incorporate social justice principles into an exploration of intergenerational adaptations"
IN+ART’s participants in Miami discussed the digital exclusion many faced in accessing reliable climate information, particularly in marginalised communities. The project highlighted the need for digital infrastructure that supports climate justice and addresses the emotional and social dimensions of environmental degradation. It also suggested that digital platforms should be reoriented to prioritise sustainability and collective care rather than profit-driven content.
The absence of visibility of climate change in digital and community spaces or practices to process changing ecosystems contributes to disengagement, inequity, anxiety, and fear of collective unknown partly due to the digital invisibility.
Allison’s project provides a critique of the existing digital landscape, arguing that the current structure of digital platforms often fails to address the most pressing issues of our time – such as climate catastrophe.
The emphasis on climate justice as a form of digital equity underscores the need to rethink how digital infrastructure is designed, suggesting that equity should include access to the tools and information necessary for communities to adapt and respond to environmental crises.
[2] on cyber sisterhood, digital literacy assumptions, & interface poetry [Krakow, Poland]
Spotka, Museum of Kraków, Poland (March 2024). Photos by Kinga Świętek
This project, led by Marta Grabowska and Aleksandra Pieńkosz through the MuHER organisation in Poland, explored the concept of “cyber sisterhood,” focusing on digital safety, equity, and feminist solidarity in online spaces. Using art as a medium, participants engaged in workshops that addressed issues like online harassment, cyberstalking, and privacy*. The workshops included creating interface poetry and collage, through which participants shared their experiences of navigating unsafe digital environments, particularly as marginalised groups.
The Cyber Sisterhood project uncovered the emotional toll of digital participation for many women, highlighting how digital platforms often exacerbate existing forms of oppression. Participants noted the pervasive nature of online harassment, particularly on platforms like Twitter, where short-form communication amplifies misunderstandings and conflicts. They also explored how the commodification of women’s bodies in digital spaces mirrors broader societal inequities.
"Cyber Sisterhood refers to a supportive community of women who connect and build relationships online. This concept emphasises solidarity, mutual support, and empowerment among women, facilitated by digital platforms like social media, forums, and online groups. Cyber Sisterhood often involves sharing
experiences, advice, resources, and encouragement, fostering a sense of belonging and collective strength in a digital space. This network can be particularly important for women seeking community and
support beyond geographical or social boundaries"
Marta Grabowska and Aleksandra Pieńkosz interrogated the gendered dimensions of digital inequity, illustrating how online spaces reflect and reinforce offline power dynamics. The discussions reveal how digital platforms, often celebrated for their democratic potential, can become hostile environments for women, especially those from marginalised backgrounds.
The emphasis on artistic expression as a form of resistance provides a powerful counter-narrative to the dominant discourse around digital equity, suggesting that the fight for equity must include emotional, psychological, and safety considerations.
*The Interface Poetry Method, invented by Pieńkosz in 2016, involves finding and extracting texts and/or graphic elements from graphic user interfaces and placing them in new, artistic and poetic contexts. The preferred way of creating these kinds of artworks is with a smartphone – and this fact often influenced their themes: touch-sensitivity (intentionally employed witha double meaning) and personal relationships with digital devices.
Interface Poetry practice aims to deautomatize the reading of texts with which systems & programs communicate with us via user interfaces – and which, in consequence, mediate and influence our communication with other people. It helps to bring attention to the fact that even in our day-to-day conversations, we are constantly operating within contexts of applications and systems.
[3] on Romani feminist music, cultural appropriation & [mis] representation within digital spaces
This project explored how Romani women artists use digital platforms to challenge cultural appropriation and assert their self-representation. Facilitated by DJ Aldessa in collaboration with the Gure Golé Choir, the project examined the intersections of Romani culture, feminism, and digital equity. Participants discussed how mainstream digital platforms often misrepresent or appropriate Romani music and culture. By engaging with Romani feminist music, participants highlighted the potential of digital spaces to serve as tools for resistance and self-empowerment.
"For the participants, digital equity meant having the opportunities and resources for Romani artists to authentically share their music and cultural expressions without facing discrimination or appropriation. This concept resonated deeply and led to broader discussions about systemic barriers and the need for more inclusive digital platforms"
The workshop explored the parallels between the ‘manele’ music of Romania and the flamenco traditions of Spain, both of which have been historically associated with Romani communities. These musical forms have often been exoticized and appropriated by mainstream culture, and this project aimed to reclaim these traditions by emphasizing feminist perspectives in music and social justice.
This project reveals the importance of digital platforms as spaces for cultural resistance and redefinition, particularly for marginalized groups like Romani women. The findings indicate that digital equity for these artists is not just about having access to platforms but about the ability to control their representation and protect their cultural heritage from misappropriation. The project highlights the need for digital spaces that are inclusive of marginalized voices and provide opportunities for authentic self-expression.
[4] on sustaining healing technologies, colonialism, economic exploitation, and educational disparities [Birmingham, UK]
This project, facilitated by artist Samiir Saunders in collaboration with MAIA Group in Birmingham, examined the barriers to digital access faced by marginalised communities. The workshop highlighted how digital inequity exacerbates existing social inequalities, particularly for lower-income families during the COVID-19 lockdown. Participants shared how children without home computers experienced educational disadvantages, adding stress and leading to lower academic performance, which could affect their long-term well-being and economic prospects.
An important focus of the discussion was on the unethical production practices behind digital technologies, specifically the mining of minerals like cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This conversation linked digital inequity to global economic exploitation.
Samiir Saunders discussed the use of minerals such as cobalt and tantalum in lithium-ion batteries which power electric cars, computers and smartphones.
This project challenges the notion that digital equity is simply about providing access to technology. Instead, it exposes how deeply interconnected digital exclusion is with larger systemic issues such as colonialism, economic exploitation, and educational disparities.
By highlighting the reliance of digital infrastructure on unethical labour practices, it calls for a more radical rethinking of equity that considers both local and global injustices.
An important focus of the discussion was on the unethical production practices behind digital technologies, specifically the mining of minerals like cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This conversation linked digital inequity to global economic exploitation.
Samiir Saunders discussed the use of minerals such as cobalt and tantalum in lithium-ion batteries which power electric cars, computers and smartphones.
The workshop highlighted the violence, slavery, and child labour practices of many of these mines, the ongoing wars and genocides waged in the name of controlling these resources, and how big tech companies’ complicity in these atrocities represents an extension of colonialism.
[4] on digital joy, diversity, and agency amongst young people (India)
Illustration by Udisha Madan
Led by The Pranava Institute and Udisha Madan and , this project focused on the digital experiences of young people in India, examining how they navigate digital platforms to find joy and community. Through a virtual workshop, participants explored how factors like language, culture, and region influence their digital interactions, and how they balance their online and offline lives to maintain wellbeing.
"Young people in India seek different ways to stay connected to their cultures and reclaim their identities. Diversity in their digital joys is shaped by language, region, media, access, and gender. Young individuals find more joy in digital experiences specific to their native language, culture or region"
Digital platforms such as Instagram and WhatsApp emerged as key spaces where participants curated experiences that connected them to their cultural identities.
Participants also discussed how the algorithms of these platforms often manipulate users’ behaviour, but many had developed strategies to maintain agency and mitigate the negative effects of persuasive design. The workshop’s outcomes included the creation of a digital map that visualised how participants seek joy online and the diverse ways in which their cultural and regional identities shape their digital interactions.
This project adds an important dimension to digital equity by showing that equity is not only about access to digital platforms but also about the quality of interactions within those spaces.
The young participants’ experiences highlight the complexity of digital joy, where platforms designed for engagement also function as sites of resistance and reclamation of agency.
The nuanced ways in which young people navigate these digital environments underscore the importance of considering cultural and regional contexts when addressing digital equity. The project points towards a more expansive understanding of digital inclusion, where joy and community-building are central to the conversation.
Illustration by Udisha Madan
The key findings from the workshop will be used to create a digital cartographic map of diverse online joys experienced by young people in India. The perspectives and insights on ‘diverse’ digital joys, will be mapped visually and spatially, organised under three major themes namely agency, well-being and community. The creative output will also include shared exploration and understanding of the online vs offline periods of young people and their digital platform usage at different times of the day
[5] on the invisibility of disabled people’s sexuality in digital spaces.
The Here and Now project, led by Thomas Diafas in collaboration with the Liminal, explored the intersection of disability and digital equity. The workshop focused on how individuals with disabilities are often excluded from digital spaces and mass media, and it sought to address these gaps through performance art inspired by Dogma 95. The project critically examined how accessibility is defined and who is responsible for ensuring it, while also exploring the ways in which digital technologies either include or exclude disabled individuals.
"Some of the participants pointed out that digital equity can be used as an alibi to be socially excluded. Technology can be a subsitute for real communication. However, the group admitted that through technology they can have access to various data and that there is a big advance regarding accessibility"
A key theme of the workshop was the misrepresentation or invisibility of disabled people’s sexuality in public and digital spaces. Participants shared personal stories about how digital platforms fail to adequately address the specific needs of individuals with various disabilities, such as hearing or visual impairments. This led to a broader discussion about how accessibility tools, such as voice notes or screen readers, are designed for some disabilities but may inadvertently exclude others. The project sought to challenge assumptions about what it means to be “digitally included,” focusing on how disabled individuals navigate these spaces.
The Here and Now project highlights the complex and highly individualized nature of digital accessibility. It underscores the idea that a one-size-fits-all approach to digital equity cannot meet the diverse needs of disabled individuals. The project raised critical questions about how digital technologies are designed and who gets to decide what counts as “accessible.” By framing digital equity through the lens of disability, the project reveals the limitations of current digital infrastructure and the importance of involving disabled communities in the design and implementation of accessible technologies.
