21 Dec Fellows MIT Campus Retreat in Pictures
Fellows MIT Campus Retreat in Pictures
We ended this semester with a a campus retreat which we wanted to share in pictures. We have many documentarians in our group who meticulously captured the experience in photos and video.
For the second year in a row, we brought in the Open Documentary Lab hybrid fellows for a 3-day campus visit in early December. Having spent the semester on Zoom together, now they would finally meet in person and have an opportunity to explore MIT and participate in workshops, lectures and screenings together.
It’s a thrilling moment when they arrive on the MIT campus and see each other in person for the first time and the thrill continued for the three days and we hope far into the future.
December 6th, Morning
ODL fellows and members meet after travelling from as far as Kenya and as close as the next street over. They start with a tour of the MIT Campus.
MIT ODL folks in the lab space Photo Credit: Pierre Christophe Gam
From left to right Ryat Yezbick, Pierre-Christophe Gam, Joanna Wright, Ruoyun Chen, Rashin Fahandej, Meghna Singh, Mehvish Ali, Kidus Hailesilassie, Sahar Sajadieh, Simon Wood, Max Musau. In back: Milad Mozari, Sarah Wolozin, Halsey Burgund.
Crossing Massachusetts Avenue Photo Credit: Mehvish Ali
Admiring the MIT Chapel Photo Credit: Lori Landley
Group photo in front of MIT Dome Photo Credit: Simon Wood
Left to right: Ryat Yezbick, Sarah Wolozin, Ambar Reyes Lopez, (first row) Pierre Christophe Gam, Kidus Hailesilassie, Joanna Wright, Lori Landay, Meghna Singh, Halsey Burgund, Sahar Sajadieh, Ruoyun Chen, Mehvish Ali (back row)
December 6th, Afternoon
ODL Creative Technologist in residence Halsey Burgund offers a workshop on Roundware, a contributory augmented reality app that he created and ODL fellow, Max Musau, play tests his new game, Usawa with the lab.
Halsey Burgund giving a workshop Photo Credit: Mehvish Ali
Why Audio AR? Photo Credit: Sarah Wolozin
Max Musau watches people play Usawa Photo Credit: Sarah Wolozin
Sahar and Kidus Playing the game Photo Credit: Sarah Wolozin
High Fives all around after finishing the game Photo Credit: Sarah Wolozin
Left to right: Mehvish Ali, Pierre Christophe Gam, Marjolaine Grappe, Ruoyun Chen, Ryat Yezbick
The night ends with dinner and a view.
View from apartment Photo Credit: Rashin Fahandej
December 7th, Morning
Nicholas Robbe, CEO of the Augmented Reality app, Hoverlay, offers a workshop. MIT CAST Visiting Artist Albert Figurt (aka Alberto Angelini,) video-artisan and new media scholar, gives a lunch talk about his work with Desktop films.
AR creation Photo Credit: Mehvish Ali
Albert Figurt shows screen movie examples Photo Credit: Sarah Wolozin
Screen movie manifesto slide Photo Credit: Sarah Wolozin
Time out for interviews
Amber Reyes Lopez conducting an interview with Meghna Singh Photo Credit: Simon Wood
December 7th, Afternoon
The afternoon starts with a tour of the MIT Museum’s AI exhibit by AI curator Lindsay Bartholomew. The group then visits the MIT.nano Immersion Lab. Big Data Technologist Talis Reks gives the lab a tour of the immersive storytelling equipment and ODL fellow Kidus Hailesilassie gives a demo of his cultural archive project, Uncharted VR using motion capture technology. ODL fellow Sahar Sajadieh volunteers to be the dancer who navigates the archives to access the content.
Ruoyun Chen exploring the AI exhibit Photo Credit: Mehvish Ali
RuoyunChen and Mehvish Ali contemplating Deep Fakes Photo credit: Simon Wood
Talis Reks explains motion capture technology Photo Credit: Rashin Fahandej
Kidus watches dancer Sahar in his archive Photo Credit: Rashin Fahandej
Dancer Sahar navigates the archive Photo Credit: Rashin Fahandej
The evening ends with Scribe Video Center’s founder and filmmaker Louis Massiah’s program, We Tell: 50 Years of Participatory Community Media, a screening exhibition, which chronicles the histories of place-based documentaries, situating their collaborative practices in specific locales, communities, and needs for social and political change.
We Tell: Wages of Work Poster Poster Design: Mehvish Ali
December 8th, Morning
We begin the morning with a workshop by MIT MLK Scholar and ODL fellow Louis Massiah on participatory methodologies.
Participants gathered around the table for the workshop Photo Credit: Mehvish Ali
In our closing circle, we talk about our experiences and impressions of the fellowship program.
Rashin reflecting on the fellowship program Photo credit: Simon Wood
Left to right: Pierre Christophe Gam, Rashin Fahandej, Milad Mozari
Ryat Yezbick shares some of her thoughts Photo Credit: Simon Wood
December 8, Afternoon
The fellows were treated to an afternoon tour of Boston’s local art scene by ODL Senior Co-Creation Research Practitioner and Emerson Professor Rashin Fahandej. The tour included the Boston Center for the Arts where they were met by Senior Director of Development Alicia Nichols and Associate Director of Exhibition Julia Szejnblum. They also visited Emerson Contemporary.
The tour begins at BCA’s Mills Gallery Photo credit: Rashin Fahandej
Max Musau taking in the art at Emerson Collective Photo credit: Rashin Fahandej
BCA’s Cyclorama Photo credit: Rashin Fahandej
Like all good retreats, it ended with food.
Final dinner Photo credit: Max Musau
The themes that emerged out of the retreat were our shared commitment to ethics, bold innovation, community and making the world a better place with stories as diverse as we are.
Left to right: Max Musau, Sahar Sajadieh, Pierre Christophe Gam, Joanna Wright, Lori Landay, Rashin Fahandej, Ryat Yezbik
See you all in 2024!