Saturday, April 12, 2014
The Freedom Project: How Artistic Expression Transcends Real Life Challenges
This panel was talking about a project used for people with disabilities through a project called "The Freedom Project." People with varying disabilities would express themselves through art in second life as well as outside. It was mentioned that art ha the power to decrease recovery time from any sort of illness, in fact, it was stated that the person did not even have to author any work, just enjoy artwork while they are infirmed, or if it is permanent just incorporate it into their lives to give them more meaning. It is therapeutic for the individuals doing the work. The project culminated in a finished show in second life of the artists work, and the project thankfully had enough funding to create a printed book containing all the work to be sent to each individual involved as a memory of the project. The speakers said they were worried at the start that they would not be able to find enough people with disabilities to participate, or that the work at the end would have to be viewed through a lens that disabled people made it. In the end it was a great, and high quality work was presented. Unfortunately, I did not go to the event after the panel, and figured I could just go see it myself on my own, but it was not available through the website, and if it is available at all I can't find it (it lists on the website that it ran through February so I think I missed the boat tonight when they left.) It's great learning about new things possible in second life. Previously in the business program I was in, I took a class entirely on the economics/business of second life, and I didn't venture out or even really think there was much more. I'm glad I heard that there are projects like this one around, and that people are doing good things with second life that are very creative. They read a fair amount of quotes from those in the project,a dn many said it saved their lives, whether it be in the literal sense or in that it gave them happiness and meaning again.
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I like this idea of creating art in SL. Though people could create art outside of SL, creating it in SL has some added benefits. For people who have limited mobility (perhaps hospitalized), they can still feel a sense of community as they create their art. They can still share their art with others through SL.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to hear that you took a whole class on the business/economics of SL. Before this class, I had never heard of SL. Since we've been so focused on using SL for education, I haven't even thought of any business potential there.