Unsettling Grounds AR App

Background

The Unsettling Grounds AR app is an Augmented Reality (AR) digital contextualization exhibition showcasing experimental and monumental works by Black, Brown, Indigenous, and rural artists in and around the Woolen Mills area in Charlottesville, VA.

Dream Syndicate partnered with the artists, administrators, and stakeholders involved in the project to strategize, concept, design, and develop the Unsettling Grounds AR app, including five interactive and fully-immersive monumental AR experiences: The Wheel, The Loom, Three Sisters, Melting Monument, and The Sundial.

Execution

Dream Syndicate was involved in all of the project phases, from discovery through delivery. Starting with discovery, our team worked closely with Marisa Williamson, curator and lead artist, to identify and shape the goals and general identity of the project – advising on conceptual, creative, and technical approaches we could take to see it come to life. Once a project blueprint was determined our creative and technical teams traveled to Charlottesville, VA for an on-site visit and walkthrough. That visit culminated in an all-hands artist workshopping session that was open to the community to collectively review artist concepts for each virtual monument and openly discuss the ways and means to best see them realized.

During the design and concepting phase, collaboration with the artists was critical in shaping the design and development of each virtual monument. Multiple workshop sessions were scheduled with individual and small groups of artists to deeply discuss their vision, goals, and reasoning behind the creative concept so as to collaboratively align on the technical approach we would take. Production and development followed, with Alpha, Beta, and Final stages for each virtual monument strategically scheduled to fit into the overall app development timeline.

Outcome

The Unsettling Grounds AR app serves as an interactive storytelling tool, guiding users through physical exploration of the Woolen Mills campus to unveil the concealed histories of often-overlooked struggles for freedom. In a world where monuments are missing and voices are silenced, The Unsettling Grounds AR app brings these hidden stories to life, making them both visible and audible.

The app features a stylized 3D map of the Woolen Mills campus, directing users to the ideal on-site locations for each virtual monument and guiding the activation of these monuments through AR. Each of the AR experiences is driven by physical movement, encouraging users to actively participate in the experience of each monument through sight, sound, and space. The user’s movements, position, and gaze all influence how the monument responds and its narrative unfolds.

The app had two public launch events at the Woolen Mills in which community members of all ages and walks of life used the app to explore and discuss the Unsettling Grounds exhibition from their unique personal perspectives.