Nigerian XR, civil society research, cross-artform collaboration, immersive media in China, and public media innovation
Imisi 3D
Imisi 3D is an Extended Reality (XR) creation lab focused on building the XR ecosystem in Nigeria and beyond. Imisi 3D is dedicated to growing a community of African AR/VR creators and providing educational and engagement experiences. Imisi 3D is led by the inimitable Judith Okonkwo, who produced a pan-African VR hackathon in 2018 (no mean feat!) and is also the creator of the AR/VR Africa group on Facebook. (We have been working with Imisi 3D on one of our Electric South VR projects, based in Lagos.) Africa really needs these kinds of hubs to cultivate AR/VR and other immersive media on the continent. More, please!
Sameer Padania
If you are interested in journalism, human rights, civil society, and philanthropy, I highly recommend following the work of Sameer Padania. He has had stints at organizations like WITNESS and Open Society Foundations, in addition to his consulting work. His experience is wide-ranging and he matches great curiosity with intellectual rigor. See for example this guide he wrote for funders interested in supporting journalism and media. If you want to dig into more reports like this, follow Sameer on Twitter.
Artful Spark
Artful Spark is “a creative community exploring cross-artform collaboration.” Based in London, Artful Spark events bring together artists, inventors, writers, directors, coders, content producers, and commissioners to talk practical details, share inspiration and unpick their process. These kinds of interdisciplinary, collaborative networks are something I really value in my work so I’m very excited to follow what the members of Artful Spark are, ahem, sparking with their events.
Sandbox Immersive Festival
2019 marks the second year of the Sandbox Immersive Festival in Qingdao, China. The festival includes a showcase of virtual and mixed reality work, alongside a conference, networking, and project pitching. In its inaugural year the festival had an impressive guest list from all over the world. At Immerse we are constantly trying to make sure that we are covering immersive media with a more global perspective and I am very much looking forward to attending Sandbox this year for the first time.
POV Spark
POV Spark is a new initiative from POV supporting interactive media. Led by Opeyemi Olukemi, POV Spark is funding productions including Changing Same: An American Pilgrimage, The Queen versus Godfred, and Atomu. POV Spark is also running an African Interactive Art Residency and various field-building initiatives, along with partnerships with organizations like the National Film Board of Canada. It is so exciting to see this level of innovation and wide-ranging incubation and experimentation supported by public media.
Immerse is an initiative of the MIT Open DocLab and The Fledgling Fund, and it receives funding from Just Films | Ford Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation. IFP is our fiscal sponsor. Learn more here. We are committed to exploring and showcasing media projects that push the boundaries of media and tackle issues of social justice — and rely on friends like you to sustain ourselves and grow. Join us by making a gift today.