Creative Computation Showcase Goes Virtual, April 27

Gather.town platform lets guests mingle, give feedback  in virtual environments during free event

The Meadows School’s Center of Creative Computation will virtually stage its end-of-year C3 Showcase on Tuesday, April 27 at 6 p.m., with students presenting a variety of works in the form of video games, interactive installations, performances and more. Due to the pandemic, this year the showcase will take place on a new platform, Gather.town, for the first time. This platform will allow guests to mingle, talk and see exhibits in a virtual environment with beaches, lounges and game rooms. Guests will be encouraged to ask questions, give feedback and interact with the presenting artists, musicians and technologists.

The event will include works from more than 70 students, exhibiting everything from new musical instruments, websites and video games to mental health apps. Students come from a variety of backgrounds and interests and their projects each explore different intersections of computation with the arts.  Senior Creative Computation major Natasha Schmid is creating an interdisciplinary dance and graphic art work for her showcase project. Using photography from choreographer Silas Farley’s ballet Boundless, from the Dance Division’s Spring Hope Show, Schmid combines dance with typography through code. “By manipulating pixels of my imagery, I can create movement on-screen and display letters to help communicate the message of the ballet,” she says. While excited to share her project, Schmid recognizes a greater value in the showcase. “It’s more than just sharing our works,” she says. “We get feedback, encouragement and ideas, things we can use to further our work and success.”

Gather.town will host a virtual space, designed and built by students, that mimics what the in-person showcase has been like in past years. By allowing for poster sessions, videos and more, the highly customizable website was the perfect choice for the showcase. Not being able to have the showcase in person was not ideal, but leaning into a virtual option has some major benefits. “Gather.town is a really fun way to have the showcase when we can’t meet in person,” Schmid says. “I’m excited to use Gather.town because that means people from all over can attend. My sister lives in Ohio and this will be the first time she will be able to attend a Creative Computation Showcase in all the years I have been a presenter.” Using a virtual platform doesn’t just open the showcase up to faraway friends and family, but also to potential students and employers. “Anyone who wants to come is welcome!” says Schmid.

The showcase will be held Tuesday, April 27, 2021 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and is free to the public. Advance registration is required. For more details and to register, visit http://c3smu.org/creative-computation-showcase-spring-2021. Once registered, attendees will be able to join the event by visiting https://gather.town/app/GZCYKIqfvcaC8P8k/C3Showcase.