We are advocates and enthusiasts for all kinds of interesting work, ours and others. Here are some of the things catching our attention.
Art and Tech Collaborations
Research from the RSC on the impact of the innovative Tempest production. Key takeaways: Put people first: celebrate and recognize expertise. Shift your culture to accept risk, flatten hierarchies and provide time and space to play. Develop transformational leaders with a mandate to build enthusiasm. Measure innovation as well as financial return.
Data 61
The Australian National University and Dr. Genevieve Bell are working to define a new applied science for the data age. The future looks bright, with clever people thinking deeply about the moral and social implications of dramatic technical change.
Dance with flARmingos
Kristin Lucas and Thomas Wester continue to evolve the AR art piece they began with Oregon Story Board. FlARmingos is "an exercise in going beyond a human-centered worldview into a more fluid ecological discourse, through the use of technological embodiment and sensory play." It's delightful to see diverse and interesting content get financial support and a splashy LA premier.
Tempest: Live Digital
After an inaugural run at the Royal Shakespeare Theater in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Tempest is playing at the Barbican in London (Jun 30 - Aug 18). It was a truly magical experience to work with the creatives at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Imaginarium at such an early stage of the Live Digital revolution; and more than a bit of that magic is on display for audiences. Update: congrats to the Tempest team, who won two Cannes Lions for Innovation in Digital Craft!
Portland: An Emerging VR Hub
VR pioneers are finding their way to Portland and building a collaborative community, with a focus on diversity and new voices. Creatives are leading the way, exploring compelling usages for VR that push the capabilities of this infant technology.
Oregon Story Board: Training the Future
Oregon Story Board is offering classes to train the builders of the VR future. Their mission is to attract a wide variety of thinkers, from diverse backgrounds, to participate in this emerging economy. We've watched enough industries started by white boy cliques, who later tried to diversify, to think that beginning from a broader base is a great idea.
Che Guevara: Experiential Critical Thinking
University of California, Riverside is driving a compelling investigation into the potential for VR as a tool to help a wide variety of university students develop a robust practice of critical thinking. The first expression is an investigation of a 1959 Che Guevara speech. The future? That is yet to be written.