About

Immersive Lab Residency

Partner:University of Zurich

Role:Program Manager & Experience Designer

Impact:12 new works created, +3,000 visitors over one month

Description:

I oversaw the design and delivery of a residency supporting ten artists using the Immersive Lab to create and exhibit works. To do this successfully required designing systems for the lab to function both as a space for experiential learning and creation, and as a permanent audiovisual installation for the general public. While technically complex, the interactive exhibits needed to show the finished pieces in a self-explanatory way.

The ‘Immersive Lab’ is an artistic and technological research project of the Institute of Computer Music and Sound Technology at the Zurich University of the Arts which was brought to Gray Area in 2016. It is a media space that integrates panoramic video, surround audio with full touch interaction on the entire screen surface.

Deep Dream

Partner:Google Research Labs

Role:Project Manager & Experience Designer

Impact:29 new works created

~$100K raised through silent auction

+1,500 in attendance over two days

Description:

I managed a partnership between Google and Gray Area to create the first art exhibition and auction dedicated to neural networking. Over six months I acted as the intermediary between artists and Google to support the creation of neural network-driven artworks. After leading a curatorial process, I paired artists and with members of the Google Data Arts team. In a highly collaborative process, artists learned new forms of creative expression within with machine learning. The the exhibition took the form of large-scale archival prints. No robots we harmed while I facilitated this collaboration.

To successfully engage the public around this exhibition required a multi-format event designed to inform the public, train artists, auction works of art, and create dialogue around this new medium.

The exhibition consisted of:

• Public exhibition of 29 works by 10 artists

• Extensive, positive press coverage

• Lecture series highlighting the artists and techniques used to create the works

• Workshop series consisting of six workshops teaching new forms of creative expression with machine learning

• Explainer materials to support the audience’s understanding of the exhibition

• Auction raising ~$100K for Gray Area

Press:

Fast Company

Business Insider

The Guardian

Wired

Creative Code Apprenticeship

Client:Dolby

Role:Program Manager & Experience Designer

Impact:12 apprentices created two interactive works

60 teens were taught creative coding

+200 attendance for openings

Description:

In 2015 & 2016 I designed and delivered an apprenticeship program to provide Bay Area teens access to modern creative development. Twelve high school students were selected to collaborate on the production of an interactive installation, working together for ten weeks under the guidance of Gray Area and Dolby mentors. The artwork was installed on a 62-foot LED screen equipped with 52 speakers in the lobby of Dolby’s headquarters.

Each year the apprenticeship concluded with a public opening showcasing the artists work, free youth workshops lead by the artists on the techniques used, and a one month exhibition of the work. I secured and managed the partnership, designed and developed the curriculum as well as the technical infrastructure allowing students to be creative and successful while absorbing new technologies.

MSPF Incubator

Partners:SF Planning Department,YBCA,Knight Foundation

Role:Project Manager & Experience Designer

Impact:35 projects funded for two days of display

10 projects funded for six months of display

43% increase of visitors on Market street

Description:

For the 2016 MSPF I designed, directed, and delivered a six month incubation lab. The lab provided guidance to 10 project teams, including industry leaders and city officials, to move participants along a pathway from prototype to permitted, permanent public installation. The MSPF invited the public to submit ideas for improving Market Street’s life. Thirty of these ideas were selected to become temporary design installations (prototypes), installed during a three-day festival. The Festival was a partnership between Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, the San Francisco Planning Department, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the Knight Foundation. A lesson: almost any exhibition space is easier than Market Street.