Chidumaga Uzoma Orji is many things. As an artist and dreamer his work imagines a progressive African future in which the people are truly free. As a technologist he researches and prototypes tech for the 21st century that derive from ancient African technological modalities. His philosophy as a futurist draws from the wisdom of the Sankofa bird and acknowledges that the secrets to a prosperous future lie in our past. He is the director of the Ministry of Dreams, a speculative government agency dedicated to safeguarding collective imagination, the creative director of uzoma.studio, a creative technology studio for artists and creative brands and 1/3 of Future Inventions, a research collective prototyping Afro-technological futures.
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Exhibitions
2023 - Akademie Schloss Solitude: Magical Hackerism residency
Achebe's Internet
2021 - 1927 Art Space: Borders, Borderlands, Crossings
Passport Mathematics
2021 - Here, There, Everywhere / Format Festival 2021
Welcome to Instaland
2020 - CultureHub ReFest
The Baptism of an Igbo Man VR Installation
2019 - Naija Tech Creatives/Abuja Art Week 2019
The Baptism of an Igbo Man Immersive VR Experience
2019 - Lagos Photo Festival
The Baptism of an Igbo Man
2018 - CSM Open Dialogue: Artists + Designers of Afro-Carribean Descent
YOU ARE THE SOUL OF A NATION
Residencies and Fellowships
February 2023 - February 2024
Prince Claus Fund Building Beyond Mentorship Program
Nigeria of my Dreams
February 2023 - April 2023
Farfara 2031
Dreaming Farfara
December 2022 - June 2023
Magical Hackerism Web Residency
Achebe's Internet
April 2022 - April 2022
Format/Derby QUAD/ Here, There, Everywhere: The New Vernacular
Welcome to Instaland
September 2020 - October 2020
Guest Projects Digital
Graveyard of Ideas
October 2020 - July 2021
Digital Earth
Untitled
Speaking Engagements & Press
PerForm Open Academy: Arts + Activations - Intentional Dreaming: A Strategy for Worldmaking
TEDx Wuse - The Ancestral Internet: Dreaming Decolonial Futures in the Digital Age
Akademie Solitude: Solitude Blog - Putting the Love into Networked Systems
Killscreen - Uzoma Orji: The Spiritual Undertones of Virtual Reality
A'naala Blog - Uzoma Orji: Swimming in the Divide (pt. 1)
ALA Blog - Uzoma Chidumaga Orji ’12 Uses Art and Technology to Explore Identities and African Realities
Skills and Interests
🤔 Creative Strategy ~ 🎨 Interaction Design ~ 👨🏾💻 Web Development ~ 👨🏾💻 Web Design ~ 🎨 UI/UX Design ~ 🗣️ Public Speaking ~ 👾 Digital Marketing