Beyond the Digital Divide

How access to technology has created a new skill-sharing imperative

October 10, 2012 | 4:00 PM

Digital Divide

"We normally say that the best space for creativity is when necessity meets possibility. My great preoccupation as an artist is to narrow this divide."
— Vik Muniz

In the late 1990s, when the emergence of the Internet and the rapid expansion of technological tools connected people like never before, a term arose to describe the chasm between those who had access and those who did not: The Digital Divide.

While there's still work to be done, that divide has been narrowed considerably in the years since. But with more widespread access to technology, there comes a new set of opportunities for growth and a new imperative to make sure that the right tools have the right skills to match.

Access to technology isn't enough. Skills, expertise, and inspiration need to be shared in equal measure between those who have found avenues of success and those who hope to do the same.

This is especially true for the visual arts and technology. The skills and expertise of the visual arts—graphic design, illustration, video game design, fashion, and web design, to name a few—have multiple career avenues and trace their point of creation to computers.

Technology like the Intel-inspired Ultrabook™ enables people to grow and learn in new and exciting ways. With access to technology and the opportunity to learn from and interact with leaders in the visual arts, students have the right tools and inspiration to make their creative imagination a reality.

That's why Intel and Levi's "Friends of Vik Muniz for Spectaculu" shares skills through on-site workshops and online resources. The students of Spectaculu get the opportunity to learn from artists and designers who are at the top of their fields.