Kamay SE Asian Arts and Music Festival 2022

Kamay’s mission is to fight anti-Asian hate by telling the stories of heroes from Cambodian and Filipino folklore to bring awareness to Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This event was the bridge between two cultures across the ocean. 

I was consulted to integrate an AR experience into a local SE Asian and Music arts festival known as Kamay, and I received the opportunity to collaborate with five local artists.

Design Questions

  • What is the purpose of integrating AR into this event?

  • How can each event artist have their unique AR experience while keeping in mind time constraints?

  • How can I make this AR experience meaningful and memorable for attendees?

Design Answer

The purpose of integrating AR into this event was to experiment with new media technologies in a physical space and to increase activity/interaction. We wanted the event to give attendees an opportunity to experience local art in not only real life but also the digital realm. Since the event consisted of showcasing and networking with local SE Asian Atlanta artists, we wanted to utilize AR as a way to increase connection with the artists. The AR possibilities were plentiful, but I moved forward with an image-target based AR experience. Working with that direction fit nicely with the project since each artist already owned existing images of their art.

This gave an open opportunity for artists to send over images as well as animations to include in the interaction.

Iteration I: Large Posters 📜

The concept of decorating walls with large posters of AR interactive art around the festival felt like a good idea since the posters would be visible; however, after fleshing out the idea a bit more, we realized that this would 1) encourage crowding 2) did not feel very personable or meaningful 3) would be difficult to work with the low lighting in Underground Atlanta (where event took place). This brought up additional questions of how can we avoid people crowding in one space and also give attendees more control over where they experience the AR.

Iteration II: Water bottles 💧

To avoid crowding and to give people more control, we considered a personal object they could carry around the festival as well as even take home — a water bottle. I felt like an AR water bottle would be a big hit and also keep people hydrated and safe, but printing over 500 water bottles with each artist’s art would push the event over budget. So what would be feasible, yet portable and meaningful?

Iteration III (Final): Stickers 🫶

Our final idea was stickers! Stickers are portable and can be sized very easily. Giving each artist a special AR sticker to pass out to people would increase connection and engagement while also allowing the event to stay within budget. I considered mini temporary tattoos, but stickers won the vote!

Additional Iteration for fun (mainly for me): AR Festival Maps

One worry I did have with the stickers was the chance of not everyone receiving one. So, in addition to stickers, I came up with the idea of festival guide maps that gave attendees a special underwater surprise when a phone camera was hovered over the map. This ensured that every person entering the event would have the chance to experience a second level to the Kamay arts and music festival.

Implementation

Each AR experience was implemented within 8th wall AR platform, using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Challenges

  • Introducing the concept of AR to attendees and artists

  • First time working with AR

  • Compatibility with both Android and iOS devices

Takeaways

  • Just because it works with one device, it doesn’t mean it will work 100% of the time

  • Marketing is equally as important as designing and implementing

  • AR is still a fairly new concept for many people

  • Get bigger stickers next time and maybe play around with tattoos!

Event Reflection

To witness so many SE Asians feel represented at this event meant the world to me and the rest of the Kamay Team. I am so proud to have had the opportunity to advise and implement the AR experiences, and to have met all of the artists and attendees that helped make this event a reality.

Tools — 8th Wall AR Platform, A-frame, SketchFab for 3D Koi, HTML, CSS, Javascript