Long Walk – NYC

Overview

Over two years, UKAI Projects worked with a range of partners to prototype approaches to translating culturally-specific non-Western performance into digitally-augmented modalities. With three of these partners, UKAI organized a multi-day tour of New York’s creative sector. Site visits and conversations allowed us to explore how others were using digital technologies in the development and creation of new works while strengthening social inclusion in audience communities.

Between September 2018 and April 2019, UKAI Projects worked with Nagata Shachu Taiko Ensemble, Music Africa (music and culture festival) and Music in the Barns (classical installation concert and event producer) to identify and analyze opportunities to translate culturally-specific performance to digital environments, and to build three digital prototypes to advance organizational objectives and community knowledge for culturally-specific music organizations in Canada. This multi-day tour of New York’s creative sector allowed us to explore how others were using digital technologies in the development and creation of new works while strengthening social inclusion in audience communities.

The shift to digital has privileged commercially successful and Western disciplines. There is a need to translate hybrid, diasporic and non-Western traditions into digital business models. This project advance dour understanding of how and led directly to the Migration residency in 2020.

The downloadable file below summarizes our visits and observations from the visit.