Photo by Jay Paul
An augmented-reality art installation featuring local youth activists Ta’Dreama McBride and Clyde Walker was unveiled on July 1 outside of Richmond City Hall.
Performing Statistics, a Richmond-based national organization that uses art to advocate for alternatives to youth incarceration, worked with the city of Richmond and RISE for Youth, a nonpartisan organization committed to dismantling the youth prison model, to create the installation.
During the unveiling, attendees watched a demonstration of the augmented reality, which consists of audio of young Richmonders reciting a poem about a world without youth prisons, accompanied by animations of McBride and Walker’s dreams for the future. “It is deeply important that the city provide platforms for all youth to speak about their experiences, showcase their leadership and share their dreams for a more just, whole and free Richmond with all of us,” says Performing Statistics Creative Director Mark Strandquist.
The installation will remain at City Hall until Nov. 30. The project will continue for the next three years, with future installations focusing on other underrepresented groups including immigrants and the disabled.
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