14 Mar Announcing Lamont “Jack” Pearley as inaugural recipient of co-hosted fellowship with WKU
Cambridge, Mass. (Mar. 13, 2023) — The MIT Open Documentary Lab is excited to announce Lamont “Jack” Pearley as the inaugural recipient of a new fellowship offered in partnership with the Western Kentucky University (WKU) Innovation Campus. This fellowship will connect a Kentucky-based creator to the Lab’s online community of innovative storytellers, technologists and scholars while WKU provides additional mentoring and physical resources on campus.
Pearley, host of the weekly African American Folklorist segment on WKU Public Radio and an inductee in the New York Blues Hall of Fame, was nominated for the fellowship to help identify, curate and amplify true folk stories from roots music and communities of color.
“I can’t imagine a better inaugural recipient for this fellowship than Lamont,” wrote Sarah Wolozin, director of the MIT Open Documentary Lab. “His work across multiple media formats and with emerging technologies, and his commitment to co-creation approaches with the communities whose stories he’s documenting, is deeply aligned with our focus and work at MIT.”
This new fellowship reflects the Lab’s commitment to expanding access to our community for artists and scholars who aren’t able to relocate to Cambridge and include under-represented geographic areas. Pearley is one of several current Fellows whose community-focused projects benefit from their physical presence in their home cities and towns.
Pearley is a graduate student in WKU’s folklore studies program and closely engages with the local history and cultures of Bowling Green, Ky., where the program is based. From telling stories of the Black community to working with locals to bring equitable economic ventures to the area, Pearley’s work utilizes new technology and co-creation practices to connect audiences with the diverse stories, art and music of the region.
“The intersection of technology and storytelling provides an abundance of transformative opportunities to progress our society,” said WKU Potter College Dean Dr. Terrance Brown. “I cannot think of a better or more deserving person than Lamont ‘Jack’ Pearley to be the inaugural recipient of the MIT Open Documentary Lab Fellowship. His groundbreaking work in the areas of blues, folklore and community engagement provides impactful insight into diverse communities. I am honored to have him represent WKU in this project.”
During his fellowship, Pearley will work on Jack Dappa Blues, a virtual web-based repository of blues culture and tradition. In this project, he looks to work with community members to gather stories of the people, places, and music fundamental to blues culture in order to preserve its heritage and make these stories accessible to a larger audience.
“That’s what I’m engaged in – taking storytelling, entrepreneurship, and bringing them together to disseminate information in the collaborative effort,” Pearley said.
About MIT Open Documentary Lab
Drawing on MIT’s legacy of media innovation and its deep commitment to open and accessible information, the MIT Open Documentary Lab brings storytellers, technologists, and scholars together to explore new documentary forms with a particular focus on collaborative, interactive, and immersive storytelling. OpenDocLab is based in Cambridge, Mass.
About WKU Innovation Campus: The WKU Innovation Campus is an applied research and intellectual hub that spurs innovative collaboration, promotes problem-solving and nurtures talent to elevate the economy and region. Through real-world applications and entrepreneurial support, the Innovation Campus engages and connects researchers, students and start-ups with corporations, industry leaders and local businesses to tackle challenges and foster a talent-first strategy to meet the needs of the region’s growing industries.