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The Art of Connection narrates the individual stories of artisans and traders of Kenyan arts and crafts as they overcome the loss of physical access to roadside market space by turning to new digital technologies to make their businesses more mobile and integrated into the global economy. Bringing together the studies of globalization, development, art, and communication, the book illuminates the lived experiences of informal economies and shows how traders and small enterprises balance new risks with the mobility afforded by digital technologies. An array of ethnic and generational politics have led to market burnings and witchcraft accusations as Kenya's crafts industry struggles to adapt to its new connection to the global economy. To mediate the resulting crisis of trust, the Fair Trade sticker and other NGO aesthetics continue to successfully represent a transparent, ethical, and trusting relationship between buyer and producer. Dillon Mahoney shows that by balancing revelation and obfuscation-what is revealed and what is not-Kenyan art traders make their own roles as intermediaries and the exploitative realities of the global economy invisible.

Business communication --- Artisans --- Handicraft --- Digital communications --- Communications, Digital --- Digital transmission --- Pulse communication --- Digital electronics --- Pulse techniques (Electronics) --- Telecommunication --- Digital media --- Signal processing --- Crafts (Handicrafts) --- Handcraft --- Occupations --- Decorative arts --- Manual training --- Sloyd --- Artizans --- Craftsmen --- Craftspeople --- Craftspersons --- Skilled labor --- Cottage industries --- Administrative communication --- Communication, Administrative --- Communication, Business --- Communication, Industrial --- Industrial communication --- Communication --- Technological innovations --- Digital techniques --- africa. --- african history. --- african. --- art. --- artisans. --- communication. --- connection. --- development. --- digital business. --- digital technology. --- digital world. --- economy. --- fair trade. --- global economy. --- globalization. --- grief. --- kenya. --- loss. --- market space. --- market. --- mobility. --- ngo. --- online. --- real life. --- risk assessment. --- risk. --- technology. --- true story. --- vending. --- vendor.