Worlds for Change XRts Creator Chat: Weidi Zhang (Zoom)

Join MIX Center’s industry relations director Stephanie Tomlin for a live Q&A session with artist and assistant professor Weidi Zhang, whose piece “ReCollection” will be exhibiting at MIX Center’s upcoming Worlds in Play gathering and summit January 3-7, 2024. 

Inspired by her grandmother’s experience with memory regression, “ReCollection” is an interactive AI art installation that assembles synthetic collective visual memories based on language input, blurring the boundaries between remembrance and imagination through intelligent system design and experimental visualization. The project was created in collaboration with Rodger Luo, an AI principal scientist at Autodesk.

• Professor Weidi Zhang’s tools and techniques for immersive storytelling

• Inspiration for your Worlds for Change Challenge creative submission

• Your questions answered – including considerations for leveraging AI in projects 

Weidi Zhang (Ph.D.) is a new media artist/designer based in Los Angeles and Phoenix. She is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of immersive experience design at the Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center at Arizona State University. Her interdisciplinary art and design research investigates A Speculative Assemblage at the intersection of immersive media design, experimental data visualization, and interactive AI art. Learn more about Weidi here.

Worlds for Change Challenge is a worldbuilding contest inviting aspiring XR creators to prototype their vision of the future for a chance to win a scholarship worth $60,000 to attend one of ASU’s transdisciplinary new XRts graduate programs, or cash prizes up to $1,000 each.  

🌏 Who We're Looking For: Undergrads, recent graduates and early-to-mid career professionals with a passion for XR, immersive storytelling, and creative technology – we call these XRts. 

🌏 The Challenge Prompt:  “Show us a moment of everyday life from a future you would like to see.” How would you create this world using XR or immersive technologies to inspire positive change for the future, or shed light on an issue you care about? 

🌏 How to Apply:  Prototype your idea using whatever creative format makes sense for you – from storyboarding, 2-D and 3-D art, animation, photography, collage, soundscape or film to worlds built in a metaverse platform or a game engine.

🌏 Deadlines: Submit your idea by Jan 15, 2024. Winners will be announced at SXSW in March 2024, where ASU is presenting sponsor for the XR Expo.

Worlds for Change Challenge Website | Application | Overview & Instructions | Contest Rules

Photograph: Experiencing “ReCollection” at MIX Center’s one year anniversary celebration.