| Leonardo/ISASTwith Arizona State University

Bruce Breland

Spokane,
United States

The Digital Art Exchange (The DAX Group) is an established international organization whose experience and reputation posts more than a decade of successful activity in the field of telecommunications art (1980—1997Recognized internationally as a pioneering group in the field of telematics, DAX has participated in numerous prestigious art exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale in 1986; the Museum of Image and Sound, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1987/1988; and Ars Electronica, Linz, Austria, 1982/1986/1996. Many of the founding members are still working together. The DAX membership brings to bear a great deal of expertise and international focus. In 1991 the DAX Group received the Kwanzaa Honors List Award Certificate in recognition of DAX participation in the Goree-Almadies Memorial Celebration, an art event that for the first time in history of telematic art simultaneously connected performing artists in Pittsburgh and Dakar, Senegal. The event, called DAX Dakar d'Accord, originated in the O.R.T.S. television studios on July 21--22, 1990. This historic exchange was accomplished using interactive slowscan television (SSTV) connecting the two cities by telephone. The primary purpose was to focus attention on "The restoration and reanimation of Goree Island, the proclaimed universal legacy of mankind..." DAX Dakar d'Accord became a living memorial celebrating African culture and its diaspora, rejoicing the profound contribution the African people have made to the rest of the world. The DAX Group volunteered to accept this responsibility at the local and global level and is so dedicated to the continuing creation of a collaborative memorial as a symbol of universal fraternity: "... not only for Africa and the people of African descent, but also for the members of the international community. In this spirit, it can truly be considered as a world partnership [1]. Reference 1. Ministere de la Culture Commissariat General a la Realisation du Memorial.