Fellowship in Community Engagement brings cutting edge technology to the forefront for one artist

As a practicing artist interested in integrating technology into her own performance
art, a Fellowship at the Media and Emerging Technology Lab (METL) at UNCSA has served Karine Fleurima well. She joined METL in August for a
Fellowship in Community Engagement, helping the Lab with everything from social media
communications to event planning.

With METL's focus on exploring modes of interactive storytelling like virtual and
augmented reality (VR and AR), Fleurima, a multidisciplinary artist whose work is based in Afro-futurist feminist concepts, was able to embrace the duties
of the fellowship and learn more about how those technologies could be incorporated
into her existing practice.

For METL, partnering with the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts to offer the fellowship was crucial to the Lab's efforts to expand its reach. "Having
Karine join us as the Fellow in Community Engagement allowed us to develop our social
media platforms and create in-person community events," says Stacy Payne, METL's Director of Strategic Initiatives. "Karine brought her own vision and skills
to these areas, which helped us launch important connecting points with our community."

One such project that Fleurima was involved in was METL's 2021 Immersive Storytelling Residency. The residency brought together techinical artists, game developers and filmmakers
for the development of two VR projects, "Black Ice" and "System: The Contribution,"
which premiered in the fall at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA)
in Winston-Salem. "Black Ice" will make its world premiere at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in March, with Fleurima in tow — she was able to utilize her fellowship funds to
attend the festival and assist with the presentation of the VR experience.

That kind of work fulfilled by the fellowship, Payne says, met a great need and priority
at METL. "The Kenan Institute has created a program that is tailored to meet the specific
needs of each partner organization — and the interests of each Fellow — which is rare
to find," she says. "We’re grateful to have been a part of it."

Below, Fleurima reflects on her Fellowship experiences and how her work in communicating
about and interacting with VR and AR has enhanced her own storytelling:

What drew you to the Fellowship at METL?

The Kenan Institute's programs have really helped me to clarify my career goals. This
clarity included the realization of the expansion of my creative practice to include
emerging technology. My interest in VR has grown throughout the pandemic so this seemed
like the perfect opportunity to gain some knowledge of the production of VR experiences.

How does the fellowship help meet your goals professionally and artistically?

I had never put on a VR set before this fellowship and now I’m excited about the possibility
of creating my own immersive experience.

Karine Fleurima

It’s been an amazing opportunity to network and meet other creatives as well as organizations
that are passionate about the intersection of art and technology. I had never put
on a VR set before this fellowship and now I’m excited about the possibility of creating
my own immersive experience.

Describe the work you did as a fellow. What was most exciting? What challenged you?

During the Immersive Storytelling Residency, I had the pleasure of engaging with some
of the artists while capturing some behind-the-scenes footage of their process. Assisting
with the coordination of METL’s VR presentation for the IdeasCity festival in downtown
Winston-Salem was definitely a highlight as well.

Finally, I organized the culminating presentation for the 2021 Immersive Storytelling Residency at SECCA. It’s been exciting to engage
with so many different communities during this fellowship.

The biggest challenge has been the pandemic and maintaining COVID protocols for the
in-person events that I coordinated. Luckily, safety and communication throughout
the pre-production process was implemented in order to ensure successful execution.

Learning more about virtual reality has also been inspiring for my creative practice.

Can you talk about your own art or artistic projects? What inspires you?

My creative practice is based in creating immersive Afrofuturistic performance art
experiences. During the pandemic, I shifted to creating virtual sound healing sessions
as my focus is expanding to include VR. Currently, the deepening of my meditation
and yoga practice is inspiring me.

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