Preserving Latino History in East Harlem with Augmented Reality (LatinaLista - 12/16/14) #HarlemEd, #Harlem, #ElBarrio, #CulturalEducation, #ArtEducation Caribbean Cultural Center (CCCADI), El Museo del Barrio EXCERPT: A type of digital imaging technology known as augmented reality (AR) is playing a starring role in an upcoming initiative that documents the Caribbean and Latino history of East Harlem in New York City. The project is called Mi Querido Barrio (“My Beloved Neighborhood”), and is the brainchild of Dr. Marta Moreno-Vega, president and founder of the New York-based Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI). CCCADI received a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation in 2012 to help develop the mobile application aimed at increasing awareness of the Manhattan neighborhood’s rich cultural and historic heritage. The app works by overlaying an interactive multimedia image — viewable only when looking through a smart phone or other mobile device — onto a number of historic locations around the neighborhood. . . . Puerto Rican artist Yasmin Hernandez, who was chosen to participate in Mi Querido Barrio, plans to create a virtual installation that can be viewed in the courtyard of El Museo. Visitors will be able to use the app on their mobile devices to view Hernandez’s artwork, which will overlay a Taíno village scene onto the courtyard. (The Taíno were a major indigenous group when the Spanish arrived in the Caribbean.) Hernandez’s work will integrate Taíno architectural elements and aspects of their cosmology into the courtyard of El Museo, which has showcased Taíno art and culture through exhibitions for decades. According to Bruce Lincoln, project manager for Mi Querido Barrio, all of the historic points of interest for the app have been selected and appear on the official website. The research phase for the sites has also been completed, and the award-winning digital production studio Ember Media was brought on to develop the AR-based app. Mr. Lincoln says the app is slated to launch in early 2016, coinciding with the opening of CCCADI’s new headquarters in an East Harlem firehouse built in 1888.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 12:42:43 +0000
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