Ibarra Presents 'Digital Sanctuaries'
A public art installation by music faculty member and TED Senior Fellow Susie Ibarra offers a musical pilgrimage through 12 culturally significant locations in lower Manhattan, each featuring an original composition inspired by the history of the site itself.
The project, Digital Sanctuaries, created in collaboration with BBC award-winning composer and producer Roberto Juan Rodriguez, interaction designer Shankari Murali, and visual artist and cultural catalyst Makoto Fujimura, takes participants on an interactive “soundwalk” in which they experience each composition at its corresponding site through a downloadable mobile app, which invites users to “remix” the music, and post about their experience.
“We are very excited to create a digital public art experience that engages with the dynamic city-space, and offers interactive music in virtual sanctuaries,” said Ibarra. “We are interested to combine traditional and contemporary forms of music and aural story-telling.”
The lower Manhattan walk includes stops at the National Museum of the American Indian, the African Burial Ground, Titanic Memorial Park, Pier 15, and the New York Stock Exchange, among other historical sites. Ibarra hopes to create similar sanctuaries in cities all over the world, she said.
Read Ibarra's full interview on the TED website.
For more information, see coverage of the project in Fast Company.