“Eskin 4 the Visually Impaired” by Jill Scott

Composer, Director, Choreographer:

• Jill Scott -
  • Zurich University of the Arts

Filmmaker, Video Artist, or Animator(s):

• Marille Hahne

Collaborators:

• Olav Lervik
• Mandla Matsha -
  • AfroGong
• Andrew Quinn
• Vanessa Barrera Giraldo
• Andreas Schiffler -
  • Microsoft
• Peter Walker
• Tim Gerritsen

Performers:

• Thobile Maphanga
• Lorin Sookool

This performance is the result of a 5 day workshop, presented at ISEA2018, Durban, South Africa.

There is little chance for visually impaired people to engage in a world of culture that is so visually dominant. The aim of “Eskin 4 the visually impaired” is to create a trans-disciplinary platform to enable visually impaired participants to become performers alongside their own pre-recorded audio content and local ecological stories. In a workshop prior to ISEA 2018, seven visually challenged participants from the Mason Lincoln Special School in Umlazi, Durban will work with two Durban dancers and the Swiss-based media art group AIL Productions, under the direction of Jill Scott. Together we will develop navigation potentials inspired by current research in AI, neuroscience, augmented reality and wearable computing. The role of the media art team is to visually interpret the individual stories and audio content for a sighted audience and to support the performers to be creative on a mediated stage. Here, technology is used as a platform for social engagement that will amplify the voices of this local community and empower them with new navigation and orientation skills. The workshop results will be shown in a final performance, where the audience is introduced to a unique experimental theater format.

Funded by Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council. Supported by AIL Productions Zurich and the Mason Lincoln Special School in Umlazi, Durban, SA.

Special thanks to Bongeka Gumede, teacher at the special school who hand picked the amazing performers, interactive visuals and interactive sound.

Jill Scott (concept and direction)
Thobile Maphanga & Lorin Sookool (dancers/choreographers)
Olav Lervik & Mandla Matsha (music)
Andrew Quinn (real time visual design and programming, TouchDesigner, kinect)
Peter Walker & Tim Gerritsen (GLSL programming)
Vanessa Barrera Giraldo (electronics and audio engineering)
Marille Hahne (documentary, lighting)
Andreas Schiffler (systems designer)

Participants: Mason Lincoln Special School