Diorama

To accompany the Gray Area Festival 2021: WORLDING PROTOCOL program, curator Wade Wallerstein presents an immersive virtual exhibition in New Art City. Titled DIORAMA, the exhibition features new media works from artists whose work relies on simulation to engage in a holistic worlding praxis. These thinkers and creators critique the fabric of our reality—the material conditions of our existence, the protocols that define us—and propose new alternative possibilities.

New Art City

Housed within a virtual architecture designed by New Art City Gallery Director Sammie Veeler, portals to artist-created worlds are posed in neat dioramas. Replicating this exhibiting technique employed by museums for centuries, DIORAMA’s installation offers a new immersive experience that critiques and expands upon the material limitations and affordances of web-ready simulated exhibition formats. Underwater caves, balmy coastlines, warped starfields, cyberpunk cityscapes, and more converge in a kaleidoscopic panorama of what is, and isn’t, possible.

Augmented reality

In collaboration with Adobe Aero, a number of the works on view as part of DIORAMA have also been installed in augmented reality. Markers will be placed around the Gray Area physical environment in the Mission District of San Francisco, allowing audiences to experience these works in-situ alongside the neighborhood’s iconic public murals and street art works. Virtually, visitors online can view the works in augmented reality at home via the exhibition catalogue view in New Art City and Adobe Aero App.

Featured Artists

Auriea Harvey
Heesoo Kwon
Huntrezz
Jeremy Couillard
Joey Holder
Keiken
LaJuné McMillian
Nathan Shafer
Peter Wu+
Qianqian Ye
Rodell Warner
Sammie Veeler
Shu Lea Cheang
Sister Lady Bianca
Skawennati
Tabita Rezaire
Tiare Ribeaux
Valencia James