ANCESTRAL FUTURISM: UNAPOLOGETICALLY MELANATED

Over a year in the making, a team of international BIPOC artists collaborated to claim some space in the metaverse with a new kind of gallery of art and storytelling. The exhibition centers women and non-binary voices and identities, in an expansive, cosmic exploration of cultural, personal, and mythic experience.
Created for the Quest 2, in partnership with Versatile Media, visitors to the XR Culture Gallery will experience the first “room” of immersive artworks in a space we call Ancestral Futurism.
The Gallery features 3D works by Lola Flash, Catherine Blackburn, Karo Duro, Jessi Ujazi and Valentina Vargas.

  • Wendy Levy
    Director
  • Valentina Vargas
    Director
  • Cassidy Arkin
    Producer
  • Sadah Espii Proctor
    Producer
  • Afua Kafi Akua
    Producer
  • Kali Spitzer
    Producer
  • Chanelle Elaine
    Producer
  • Valentina Vargas
    Producer
  • Aeryn Gray
    Lead Artists
  • Kyle Liu
    Lead Artists
  • Karo Duro
    Lead Artists
  • Jessi Ujazi
    Lead Artists
  • Catherine Blackburn
    Lead Artists
  • Lola Flash
    Lead Artists
  • Siraj Jhaveri
    Key Collaborators
  • Project Type:
    Virtual Reality
  • Minimum Runtime:
    1 minute
  • Maximum Runtime:
    30 minutes
  • Average Runtime:
    20 minutes
  • Variable Runtime Details:
    This is a walk-through Gallery experience of larger-than-life 3D artworks. Viewers can teleport between installations and spend as long as they like with each work of art.
  • Completion Date:
    September 1, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    200,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • The Alliance for Media Arts + Culture
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Wendy Levy, Valentina Vargas

Valentina Vargas is a Colombian storyteller who explores the complex realities of the places she inhabits through documentary filmmaking and performing arts. She envisioned the XR Culture Gallery as a way to reclaim and democratize the virtual space for Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities. "We are aware of how privileged it is to access the metaverse. So, to be able even to create something for it is the first step of rethinking and reclaiming the virtual world".

Wendy Levy: Wendy’s creative work occurs at the intersection of storytelling, innovation, and social justice. As the Executive Director of The Alliance for Media Arts + Culture, she is focused on facilitating collaboration, innovation, leadership, and cultural impact in the media arts field, leading new national and international programs like HatchLabs, Arts2Work, and The Innovation Studio. The latter is the program that hosts the XR Culture Gallery.

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