Created and directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker, Whitney Dow, the second installment of the Whiteness Project series was simultaneously as an interactive installation at the Tribeca Film Festival: Storyscapes in New York and on the whitenessproject.org. By encouraging Americans to become participants in the ongoing debate about the role of race in American Society, Whiteness Project aims to foster discussions that will ultimately lead to improved communication around issues of race and identity.
The interactive installation and website were produced in collaboration with John Kudos, principal of KUDOS Design Collaboratory, an interdisciplinary design and technology consultancy.
The Storyscape installation is divided into two projection walls before audience members who sit on a triangular bench platform facing the projected content. As the audience enters the installation, they have their skin photographed and their skin patch added to a color wheel, and automatically placed within the spectrum of dark to light, questioning the perceived color of their skin and the public perception of their racial identity.
On the Interview Wall, a grid of people is visible next to their quotes and names. To encourage discussion, audience members take the provided microphone and call out a person’s name to activate the interview. The Data Wall displays three types of information designed to connect Storyscape audiences with the Internet and the Twitter-sphere, showing Tweets with #whiteness project and @whitenessproj, updated live. Analytics showing live website visitors around the world, and cumulative data of the website are also displayed.
