We are a community building tools for movement artists of all ethnicities, cultures and abilities to create immersive performances online.
What is Volumetric Performance Toolbox (VPT) ?
Our starting question was, “How can we radically reinvent live performance and dance creation during a global pandemic? In direct response, Volumetric Performance Toolbox was born under the vision of making a new way for artists to collaborate remotely and safely from their own living space, using minimal equipment. In a collaboration between performing artist Valencia James, digital experience creator Sorob Louie and spatial interaction lab Glowbox, VPT is a project aimed at amplifying the stories of diverse voices.
Led by the shared values of decolonization and liberation for all who have been harmed and/or excluded by the media and various systems of oppression, VPT prioritizes using emerging technology as a new way for artists to both strengthen and sustain their craft. This is accomplished by providing performers with 1) boundless imagination in creating positive digital environments, 2) making low-cost equipment and custom software accessible via workshops and onboarding tutorials and 3) building a community of creators working with volumetric performance. The toolbox consists of low-cost performance kit hardware and custom 3D video live-streaming software for use in Mozilla Hubs and Spoke, a free social virtual reality platform and virtual environment builder.
VPT is made possible through the generous support of Eyebeam’s Rapid Response for a Better Digital Future Fellowship program.
VPT Pilot Residency
VPT ran its first artist residency between Dec. 9th, 2020- Jan. 29th, 2021. The program brought together a fantastic cohort of 7 multidisciplinary artists from BIPOC, LGBTQ, and disabled communities to envision a decolonised, decentralised future for online performance. It has been a time of co-learning and co-creation in which these artists have created an evening of innovative live streaming performances to be experienced within Mozilla Hubs virtual social space.
Built in just two intense weeks of remote collaboration by artists who have never worked together before, the performers appear in 3D from their own living spaces, using the low cost performance kits developed by Volumetric Performance Toolbox.