Hello Visual Artists!

“MI QUERIDO BARRIO”

 The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora (CCCADI) has been awarded a grant from Rockefeller Cultural Innovation Fund to develop a mobile augmented reality project called “Mi Querido Barrio” or “My Beloved Barrio”.

 ”Mi Querido Barrio” is an exhibition with both physical and virtual components, mapping an historic and cultural tour of El Barrio to foster greater awareness of the cultural history of the area’s long-standing residents. The works of intergenerational artists in both traditional media and augmented reality will explore the concept of home/community in a global reality.

 The physical exhibition will document the lives of 5 families with a generational history of living in El Barrio. The virtual exhibition will place virtual computer graphic artworks and environments throughout the neighborhood of Spanish Harlem as a means to reflect upon El Barrio’s past, present and future in cultural memory, history, fantasy, and reality.

CALL FOR ARTISTS

The CCCADI will be identifying five artists to participate in a workshop to learn the new technology of augmented reality and use these new skills to create site-specific virtual artworks and environments landmarking the history and culture of East Harlem/El Barrio.

We are seeking artists with a wide range of skills including strong computer and media skills, as well as artists with limited computer skills but a strong interest in bringing their more traditional artistic styles into this very spatial and experiential medium.

NOTE: the medium is still in its infancy, and there are severe limits in what you can do right now! So imagination and flexibility to adjust your concepts to fit with the medium’s limitations are very important qualifications.

These five artists will learn the technology of augmented reality in an initial workshop series that will be lead by Tamiko Thiel. The workshop series will be held beginning on the weekend of Saturday and Sunday April 6^th and 7^th and will continue during the evenings of the week of Aprill 8^th thru the 12^th with a culminating workshop to be held that Saturday, April 13^th. The participating artists will then assist in helping an additional cohort of youths/artists to learn the technology later in the development and production cycle.

• Traditional artistic skills that fit with current augmented reality technology include:

◦     Strong drawing or painting skills – including graffiti artists.

◦     Strong interest in installations, assemblage, collage, found object installations.

◦     Objects and small sculptures, if it is all right to photograph them and use them as 2D images.

◦     Interest in public artworks, strong spatial sense for dealing with the local environment.

• What unfortunately does not fit so well right now are:

◦       Video or animated movies, as this requires large bandwidth.

◦        Traditional sculptors may be frustrated, as we cannot make very complex, organic or finely detailed forms in 3-D computer graphics. Sculptures might have to be represented as cut-out photographs.

• Artists need not be computer graphic or media artists, and do not need programming skills. Comfort using computers is however a plus.

• Experience in the following areas is helpful, although not required for all artists:

◦          Photoshop

◦           Some experience with simple animations (e.g. Flash, animated GIFs)

◦           Sound editing (again simple – professional sound designers may be frustrated by low-fi bandwidth)

◦           3D modeling programs,with experience making low polygon count models – AR cannot do high resolution models! – a game design orientation rather than a film animation orientation. 


• Artists with experience using augmented reality platforms should of course also apply! The initial workshop will use the augmented reality platform Layar (www.layar.com), and the augmented reality content servers Hoppala (www.hoppala-agency.com) and porPOIse (http://code.google.com/p/porpoise/). A strong visual and spatial sense is however more important than technical and programming skills.

• All artists for the initial workshop should be genuinely interested in working with and helping the other artists in the group.

• All artists should be willing and able to participate in the full duration of the project, culminating in the exhibition in September 2014.

• All artists for the initial workshop should be willing and interested in working with others in the group, and helping each other.

If you are interested in participating in the Mi Querido Barrio project, please send in the following materials:

1. A Letter of Interest of no more than a page in length which outlines your skills and background as an artist and why you want to participate on this project
2. A one to two page resume
3. A sample of your work preferably in digital form

The workshop schedule is now confirmed with Tamiko.  Your confirmation is required in order to assure that participating artists have the full benefit of the training process.  Please confirm your participation for the workshop series by return email to rbultron@cccadi.org.  The workshop is available to a limited number of participants therefore confirmation is necessary. We look forward to hearing from you! Cheers.

Photo Credit: Regina Bultrón Bengoa