Internet, arts and translocality in Tanzania

Abstract

This article explores Internet development and use at an Arts College in Tanzania in relation to translocal and transnational linkages. Chuo Cha Sanaa Bagamoyo, or Bagamoyo College of Arts, is the only institute for training of arts professionals in East Africa. The College has a high status on the national art scene and is well known throughout the region and internationally. In this article, the introduction and subsequent use of the Internet is analysed in relation to the social composition and cultural positioning of Chuo Cha Sanaa Bagamoyo. I will argue that the social embeddedness of the Internet represents an intensification of translocal and transnational relations and imageries, while underscoring a sense of locality and national identity.