Ready Avatar One is a three-day in-person and online gathering centred around avataring practices and mixed-reality performance, taking place March 14-16, 2023. Ready Avatar One will feature a program of live performances, art works/screenings, artist and academic talks, paper presentations, etc taking place in-person in two communities: at Virginia Commonwealth University (and Gallery5), Richmond, Virginia and at the Networked Imagination Laboratory at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.

At this time, registration (free) is closed. The public livestreams for the three days can currently be accessed here (note: these are not permanent archival livestreams - they are solely for the purpose of facilitating attendance/participation at and around the time of the event):

  • Mar 14 livestream
  • Mar 15 livestream
  • Mar 16 livestream
    • Contact David Ogborn at ogbornd@mcmaster.ca with any questions.

    Locations

    Mar 14-16: Networked Imagination Laboratory (NIL), Togo Salmon Hall room B108, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M2, Canada

    Mar 14-15: Gallery5: 200 W Marshall St, Richmond, Virginia 23220, United States

    Mar 16: Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Depot Annex, 801 W. Marshall St, Richmond, Virginia 23220, United States

    And online via Zoom and Youtube livestream, links TBA

    Schedule

    Note 1: All times on this schedule are in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT = UTC -4 hrs)

    Note 2: The final schedule with complete abstracts and bios will be available shortly.

    Day 1: 14 March 2023

    Day 2: 15 March 2023

    Day 3: 16 March 2023

    Abstracts and Bios

    Farley Chery: Restoring Our Mythical Past and Owning Our Fantastic Future

    Abstract: What is Afro-futurism? It’s gained traction in popular culture. How do you know when you see it? But what does Afro-futurism mean in the context of video games and the avatar experience? This talk will delve into the ways that Afro-futurist themes and aesthetics can be incorporated into video games and next gen media, from the storylines and characters to the visual design and soundscapes. We will explore the potential of the avatar experience as a tool for embodying Afro-futurist ideals, and what media is highlighting a new method of storytelling demonstrating a more inclusive gaming experience. Join us for a journey through the mythical past and fantastic future of video games and the avatar experience, as we consider the possibilities and challenges of Afro-futurism in gaming. This talk is designed for anyone interested in video games and the avatar experience, as well as those interested in the cultural impact of Afro-futurism in popular media. We welcome participants from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, and encourage questions.

    Skawennati: The Care and Feeding of an Avatar

    Abstract: Skawennati has had an avatar since 1996 (earlier if you count her favourite eleven-and-a-half-inch fashion doll). Named xox, she has evolved over the years not just in form, but in agency. From a lurker behind the scenes, xox has become a central figure in Skawennati’s machinima and machinimagraphs. In this presentation, Skawennati reflects on the relationship she has with her avatar while showing examples from her artistic practice of avatars as extensions of the self; as culture bearers and storytellers; and as playmates and personifications.

    Bio: Skawennati investigates history, the future, and change from her perspective as an urban Kanien’kehá:ka woman and as a cyberpunk avatar. Her machinimas, still images, textiles and sculpture have been presented internationally and collected by the National Gallery of Canada, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montreal and the Thoma Foundation, among others. Recipient of a 2022 Hewlett 50 Arts Commissions Grant and an Honorary Doctorate from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, she is also a founding board member of daphne, Montreal’s first Indigenous artist-run centre. She co-directs Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace, a research-creation network based at Concordia University, where she received her BFA. Originally from Kahnawà:ke Mohawk Territory, Skawennati resides in Montreal. She is represented by ELLEPHANT.

    Ruth Gibson: Avatars & Choreography

    Abstract: Ruth Gibson brings a unique choreographic perspective to Ready Avatar One. Interweaving research strands through performance technologies allows her to investigate kinaesthetic awareness to reveal new modes of perception and experience in both the performers and the audience. She views the term player, performer, and visitor, as interchangeable. This presentation aims to describe her layered practice giving a few examples. She draws on her embodied expertise in dance to inform and challenge her process. She incorporates pedagogy into her artworks using imagery, and improvisational prompts from her experience as a Skinner Releasing Technique practitioner and teacher. She uses and adapts principles from the technique to form haptic interfaces and environmental designs. Her presentation describes creative methods and approaches used in making several artworks. She is interested in the relationship between figure and landscape, 'Figure of Landscape' and 'Figure-ground' perception with camouflage and illusion being prominent themes. ‘Figure’ here can easily be replaced by ‘Avatar’.

    Bio: Visual artist and choreographer Ruth Gibson works across disciplines to produce objects, software, and installations in partnership with artist Bruno Martelli. She exhibits in galleries and museums internationally, creating award-winning projects using computer games, augmented and virtual reality, print and video. Her worldwide commissions include residencies in North America, China, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, exhibitions at the Barbican Centre, the British Film Institute, Centro de Arte Moderna, Lisbon, Detroit Institute of Arts, and Venice Biennale. Nominated for a BAFTA and recipient of several awards: a Henry Moore Foundation New Commission, a NESTA Innovation Award, an AHRC Creative Fellowship, and the Lumen Gold Prize. Ruth has over 20 years of experience in technology and transdisciplinary research within higher education and industry sectors at a national and international level. She publishes in journals, recently in Transformations and Performance Research, presenting at conferences: VRUK, TEI, and MOCO. She holds a doctorate in immersive and somatic sensing from RMIT, advocating for the role creative movement plays in performative XR contexts and AI, ML, UX, and UI development. Skinner Releasing Technique underpins her practice - a certified SRT teacher - she combines the technique with her motion capture /performance technology research. Currently as Associate Professor in the Centre for Dance Research, Coventry University UK she collaborates with colleagues at Goldsmiths UOL and the Creative Computing Institute UAL, The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance Limerick and Malmö University. She lives and works in London.

    Kadir Kayserilioğlu: Video Games Without Humans

    Abstract: Video games are usually seen as a part of a huge entertaining industry ranging from casual gaming to movies, influencers and e-sport organizations. However, today, games started to become a colorful field of creativity and self-expression especially after this industry has intersected with the works of contemporary artists and activists. We can see performance artists using digital avatars, activists manipulating maps in gaming servers, experimental movies made by video game footages, online protests and artists exhibiting their games in gallery spaces.

    There is also a niche, avant-garde group with a unique way of blurring the borders between human and machine, gamer and narrator, avatar and self-identity. I offer to call this group “video games without humans” and focus on this phenomenon in my research. These kind of games avoid using human centered images or narratives. Their mechanics and designs are usually complex or obscure, and this serves to alienate the player from human control over the software. In some games player activity is so limited that the game almost plays itself.

    I argue that video games without humans break representational borders between human and software, and I discuss whether these games build a new way of interaction between player and artificial intelligence.

    Open Call (now closed)

    Individuals and collectives working with the practices and ethics related to avataring and mixed-reality performance are invited to submit their work for consideration. Avataring, as described by Gregory Ulmer, can be understood as a verb, rather than an object. Similar to Christopher Small’s description of “musicking”, avataring is a multilateral experience that extends and weaves itself into games, algorithmic choreography, machinima, online communities, and virtual worlds.

    Submissions will be curated by a peer review team, composed of researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and McMaster University working on the Locomotion project, a live coding language involving avataring and choreography practices (produced with support from the Government of Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF), [NFRFE-2020-00771]).

    Individuals and/or collectives submitting works for presentation are encouraged to consider work that translates to embodied presentation in Richmond or Hamilton; virtual accommodations are available upon request. Please note that the budget available to support the first iteration of this gathering is extremely limited - individuals/collectives responding to this open call should not expect travel support and/or compensation.

    Possible themes for contributions include (but are not limited to):