augmented reality workshop program

in collaboration with Emerson Contemporary’s Art + Tech + Incubator Program
pilot supported by a Transformative Public Art Grant from the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture

Boston Cyberarts, in collaboration with Emerson Contemporary, created an Augmented Reality Learning Program designed to support BIPOC artists in gaining access to the skills and technology needed to either translate previous work, or create new work, in the medium of Augmented Reality (AR). The pilot program for this project ran in late fall of 2021 with the support of a Transformative Public Art Grant from the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture.

The program was constructed with the sole goal of providing a training opportunity for underrepresented artists, and thereby access to a field heavily dominated by white men. These artists have traditionally faced an “access gap” due to the high start-up costs of these design tools and the cultural barriers within the new media art field. In turn, by providing support and access, we hope to expand the demographics of artists working in AR. Three artists from the greater Boston area were invited to participate in this pilot program: Marlon Forrester, Elisa H. Hamilton, and Yu-Wen Wu. Each artist received a stipend to participate to compensate for their time and energy in an attempt to remove an additional potential barrier to this resource. The project was also supported by AR publishing platform Hoverlay, who provided free access to the artists to their content creation platform.

Taught by local AR Artist & Curator Michael Lewy, with support from Boston Cyberarts Director George Fifield and Emerson Contemporary’s Distinguished Curator-in-Residence Leonie Bradbury, the program consisted of both in-person workshops, virtual conversations and one-on-one support. The program also integrated various virtual guests, such as artist Nancy Baker Cahill and Hoverlay’s CEO & co-founder Nicolas Robbe. The program will also host artist talks and demonstrations with Tamiko Thiel & Will Pappenheimer open to the general public in 2022 through Emerson Contemporary.

According to participating artist Yu-Wen Wu “I learned the possibilities of AR for my own practice–expanding storytelling to another level in public art– translating drawing and video/sound to the realm of the real and virtual world.” Participating artist Elisa H. Hamilton also spoke of the significance of having access to an opportunity created purely in the interests of learning: “success here was to show up, to learn, to try, to be open to new ideas, to imagine. I loved that.”

Boston Cyberarts hopes to run this program again very soon. We will continue to support the growth and careers of these artists in their work at the intersection of art & technology via possible commission & exhibition opportunities.

about the artists

Yu-Wen Wu (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Boston. Born in Taipei Taiwan, Wu’s subjectivity as an immigrant is central to her artwork. Arriving at an early age, her experiences have shaped her work in areas of migration--examining issues of displacement, arrival, assimilation and the shape of identity in a new country. At the crossroads of art, science, politics and social issues, her wide range of projects include large-scale drawings, site-specific video installations, community engaged practices and public art. For additional information, please visit the artist’s website: www.yuwenwu.com

Elisa H. Hamilton (she/her) is a socially engaged multimedia artist who creates artworks and community-centered programs that emphasize shared spaces and the hopeful examination of our everyday places, objects, and experiences. Her work has been shown locally and nationally in solo and group exhibitions, and she has been the recipient of numerous commissions and grants to create various artworks and participatory programs. For additional information, please visit the artist’s website: www.elisahhamilton.com

Marlon Forrester (he/him) born in Guyana, South America, is an artist and educator raised in Boston, MA. Forrester is a graduate of School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, B.A 2008 and Yale School of Art, M.F.A. 2010. He is a resident artist at African-American Masters Artist Residency Program (AAMARP) adjunct to the Department of African-American Studies in association with Northeastern University. He has shown both internationally and nationally, concerned with the corporate use of the black body, or the body as logo, Forrester’s paintings, drawings, sculptures, and multimedia works reflect meditations on the exploitation implicit in the simultaneous apotheosis and fear of the muscular black figure in America. For additional information, please visit the artist’s website: www.marlonforrester.com