Artists

Valencia James

Artistic Director, Performer

Valencia James is a Barbadian performer, maker and researcher interested in the intersection between dance, theatre, technology and activism. Valencia’s work explores remote interdisciplinary collaboration with creative technologists and how emerging technologies like machine learning and computer vision might enhance creativity in her contemporary dance practice and vice-versa. This research has resulted in collaboratively built, novel open- source software tools that push the boundaries of live performance. She has presented her work at several international forums such as the 2015 International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Buenos Aires, ISEA2015, TEDxGoteborg, SIGGRAPH and Gray Area Festival. She was a 2020 Rapid Response Fellow at Eyebeam and a Spring 2021 Remote Resident for Open-Source Art Tools at Carnegie Mellon University.

Thomas Wester

Technical Director

Thomas Wester co-founded Glowbox, a spatial interaction lab based in Portland, Oregon. Through Glowbox, he builds shared reality experiences that blend physical and digital to connect people to ideas, nature, and each other. He has worked with The Royal Shakespeare Company, Library of Congress, Hermès, Microsoft, Nike, MoMA, MFA Boston, and exhibited at Tribeca and Sundance.

Simon Boas

Head of Production

Simon Boas investigates technology, culture, and aesthetics through socially engaged art and design, often working under the collective moniker Midgray. His work has been exhibited internationally through SIGGRAPH, Eyebeam, Gray Area, the Institute of Network Cultures, Neural, and Digicult. His art and research have received awards from the Oregon Arts Commission and the University of California. He received his M.F.A. degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz and is currently based in Portland, Oregon, where he works as a creative technologist and educator.

Holly Newlands

Technical Artist

Holly Newlands makes games and other playful experiences. Their work has been exhibited at festivals including Currents Virtual, A MAZE. / BERLIN, XOXO, and IndieCade. Holly recently graduated from the University of Oregon’s art and technology program with a B.F.A. They currently reside in Portland, Oregon, where they work at Glowbox as a technical artist and developer.

Marin Vesely

3D Artist

Marin Vesely is an interaction designer and creative researcher working at the intersection of art, technology, and environmental / geopolitical research. On behalf of her creative XR studio (Love Death Design) and independently, Marin collaborates with other artists, scientists, and cultural leaders + orgs to generate emergent frameworks for digital storytelling, like mobile-based adventure games that engage modern users, but are ultimately educational and based on real stories. Marin hopes that the combination of art, storytelling, science and technology can invite empathy and connection that can help humans bind together to fight for our collective future. Marin lives and works in Los Angeles, CA, where she manages a High School design and fabrication lab and works on majority grant-funded indie game, web, and VR design projects.

Sandrine Malary

Experience Guide, Visual Artist

Born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Sandrine Malary is part of a new generation of Haitians who maintain close ties to their motherland and its culture. She earned her Psychology degree from the George Washington Univeristy and turned it into the life of an artist, dancer, writer, vegan chef, model, world traveller and mother of 4 children. With self-sustenance as a life approach, Sandrine has homeschooled her kids, built home gardens and created home-based on-line businesses as an artist and educator.  Keeping her roots strong, she dances Haitian folklore, teaches Kreyol and her art is very inspired by Vodou and the divine feminine.  Much of her focus is to uplift, not just Ayiti, but women, black people, and our planet. Ms. Malary advocates for green, sustainable living with a focus on health. Sandrine is what you would call a “wellness muse”, inspiring people to manifest their best selves.  Her creative wares can be found at www.houseofalouba.com and her adventures are journaled on IG/adventureliciousness.

Terri Ayanna Wright

Rehearsal Director, Sound/Visual Effects

Terri Ayanna Wright (multimedia artist) hails from Baton Rouge, Louisiana by way of Houston, Texas, and has called New York City her home since 2011. She is an honors graduate of the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, with a major in dance and minor in computer science. Immediately after graduating, Ms. Wright toured internationally as a company member with Ailey II, where she was completely enthralled by the wide-range of live production teams, theaters, and audiences from city to city. She has since been granted opportunities to choreograph and teach all over the world, most notably as an Ailey Extension Instructor in Italy for Orsalina28's Summer Intensive. After performing with Carolyn Dorfman Dance for two seasons, Ms. Wright joined The Met Opera, as an ensemble dancer in Porgy & Bess, choreographed by Camille A. Brown. Through this experience, she began exploring the many facets of live production, beyond the performance act itself. She is a recent honors graduate of Parsons with an MFA in Design & Technology, which has allowed her to expand her storytelling capabilities through the marriage of dance, digital video, and visual effects.

Carlos Johns-Davila

Sound Design

Carlos Johns-Dávila is a 360o video maker and interactive technologist based in Brooklyn, NY. His work involves movement and gesture to control projections and sounds in open improvisation structures. He develops these methods with theremin, quenacho, and dance to create hybrid performances that capture multiple dimensions of reality. His current interests are in 360o video and site-specific installations that create a feedback loop in the sounds of the natural environment and the ones being composed.