News, Sep 30, 2022
TVLab + U-M Arts Initiative Residency Invites Artists to Engage with Extended Reality

The Taubman College Visualization Laboratory (TVLab), in partnership with the University of Michigan Arts Initiative, is now accepting applications for a residency program to support artists working with extended reality (XR) technology. Artists are encouraged to submit proposals exploring game development, virtual event production, mixed reality fabrication, and augmented reality interventions, among other zones of inquiry in extended reality.

The inaugural fellowship term will coincide with the official launch of the TVLab in winter 2023. The TVLab is a spatial visualization lab that provides an inclusive and creative space for projects using virtual, augmented, and mixed reality tools. In addition to hosting a range of XR technologies, 3D scanning and spatial mapping equipment, and computational devices, along with resources for virtual production, the TVLab will emphasize attention to the broader impact of XR and the exploration of societal issues; the artist in residence will be encouraged to explore this broader impact as well. 

The residency program is funded by the University of Michigan Arts Initiative’s Visiting Artist Integration Project (VAIP). In VAIP’s inaugural year, the Arts Initiative identified Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning as a foundational proving ground for the project. 

“We’re delighted that the Arts Initiative recognized Taubman College’s leadership in experimental modes of spatial visualization and chose us as a collaborator to launch this residency program. We founded TVLab to expose the myriad of contributions our faculty and students are already making to the field of spatial visualization, to cultivate new pedagogical and professional experimentation, and to make emergent tools accessible and joyful. The resident artist will bring another fresh perspective to this space and will benefit from a fertile ground in which to engage with Taubman College and the broader university community around the future of visualization in the arts and public discourse,” said Anya Sirota, associate dean for academic initiatives and associate professor of architecture at Taubman College.

The artist selected for the residency will receive a $30,000 stipend, a $5,000 research budget to support student assistants and incidental expenses, professional development support, a dedicated studio space in the TVLab, and the opportunity to work closely with Taubman College faculty and students. More information and the application for the residency are available here

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