In this episode, the intersection of dance, theatre, technology, and activism are front and center. Featured guest Valencia James, a Barbadian freelance performer, and maker shares her international experiences as a movement artist, leading her to explore the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence in dance. In doing so, Volumetric Performance Toolbox was created, a community-building toolkit for movement artists of all ethnicities, cultures and abilities to create immersive performances online through co-learning and co-creation.

Information and registration page for [UN]CON 2021, CRUX's 4-day retreat from Sept. 19-22 in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico.

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Comics. Fan fiction. Horror. Gaming. So many niche markets of powerful subcultures where passionate Black fan bases and artists create a space for themselves because the "mainstream" doesn't recognize us. For this episode, Cruxers Tunisha and Joanna are joined by comic book creator, illustrator, digital sculpture, and colorist Micheline Hess to discuss how she made a career our of a childhood passion for drawing. Other topics of conversation include the concept of privilege in embracing technology and the arts for communities of color, representation in VR, and creating a genre of sociopolitical horror in comics with her comic book "Diary of a Mad, Black, Werewolf." 

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The intersection of sports and society is no secret. But what's imaginable when sport stories rooted in social, cultural, and political history are told in virtual reality? Featured guest in this episode is acclaimed playwright and poet Idris Goodwin, writer of Ali Summit. Produced in collaboration with CRUX and the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Ali Summit takes us inside 1967, where world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali met with a group of the top black athletes in the country, who questioned him about his conscientious objection to serving in the Vietnam War. In this new emergent play with deep local roots, a defining moment in the story of a Louisville icon is explored, catalyzing a dynamic community-building initiative. Listen to this upbeat conversation to hear about how Idris turned his passions for hip hop and sports into an inspirational muse for a career in storytelling, and his experiences working in VR for the first time. 

Ali Summit will be available for streaming beginning May 28, 2021 as part of Actors Theatre of Louisville's Humana Festival. 

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New York Live Arts is “where thinking and movement meet the future.” - Bill T. Jones. 

This episode features a profound conversation with Artistic Director, world-renowned choreographer, dancer, theater director and writer Bill T. Jones. Topics of discussion include Afrofuturism, Black bodies, avant garde, is there a “we,” and a look inside the New York Live Arts Live Ideas Gala produced by Crux.

NYLA Live Ideas Gala | Monday, May 10th, 2021

Digital Live Ideas Gala: Altered-Worlds: Black Utopia and the Age of Acceleration

Honorees: Sir David Adjaye OBE, Spike Lee, and Jean-Michel Basquiat

Hosted by Saul Williams

FEATURED MUSIC: Verified Artist, Darian Dauchan

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As tech continues to be used as a utility to ease and enhance the human experience, that creates a very easy pathway for negative biases to be naturally inserted and wrongly used. This significant and weighty conversation tackles how creators can combat implicit bias in technology with impact storytelling. To gain an understanding on how racism and prejudicial information intersects with data, privacy, and predictive policing, featured guests for this episode are Erinn Budd - Full Service Creative, Photographer, and Graphic Designer and Alton Glass - Storyteller and CEO of GRX Immersive Lab - an XR content and talent development studio.

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We've all heard about it. Now let's educate ourselves on it. This episode features an open conversation to share insight, perspective, and opportunity for Black creators and alternative voices in the space of NFTs, blockchain, Crypto art, digital collectibles, etc. Special guests are two Cruxers Mark Sabb - Founder of FELT Zine, digital activist, and virtual/internet/crypto artist and Jose Rosero - XR artist and immersive producer. 

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Everybody is talking about diversity...but what does that mean in VR? What does that even look like in this XR space? In this episode, Isha and Joanna from Crux XR are joined by Raven Two Feathers (he/they), a Two Spirit, Emmy award winning VR creator. Collectively they discuss Indigenous storytelling and how VR can help multicultural creators to rediscover, preserve, and transform inclusionary expression.

FEATURED GUEST: Raven Two Feathers

FEATURED MUSIC: Verified Artist, Darian Dauchan

Let’s examine what diversity, equity and inclusion look like in emerging media. What does ‘making a new reality’ really mean? And how does this define what diversity means in the VR/XR space for Black artists? Hosts Tunisha and Isha discuss these topics and more with featured guests Kamal Sinclair and Jessica Clark - co-authors of Making a New Reality: A Toolkit for Inclusive Media Future.

Music this episode is provided by AlexLee!! 

Don't forget too check out Mozilla Festival happening right now from March 8-19 showcasing Crux's collaborative projects POV: Points of View Pilot Exhibition and Black Imagination Series. 

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In our premiere episode, hosts Tunisha Singleton and Joanna White-Oldham introduce listeners to Crux, a cooperative working to turn Black artists into owners - one creator at a time. Featured guest is Lauren Ruffin, Crux co-founder who in an inspiring conversation shares her thoughts on the potential for XR to tell Black stories, create Black wealth, and unleash Black imagination.