Projected : A Creative City Project Special Event

The Projected event was held at the City Beautiful Church (1220 Alden Rd, Orlando, FL 32803). And was a fundraiser for the Creative City Project which shuts down Orange Avenue in Downtown Orlando each year to showcase some of the cities most amazing talent.

Six projection artists came together to create an immersive world of light an sound.
Each artist brought a unique, interactive installation that allowed patrons to experience digital art in a whole new way.There was live music and dance presented with responsive light installations which cropped up throughout the evening.

Live performance elements brought the entire evening together for a compelling art experience unlike any other.

I decided to sit on the edge of the stage to look back at the room full of projections. Green and purple lasers cut through the air and a dual wall installation featured alternating stripes of vibrant color. People stood on tip toe to wave their hands through the bright green laser beams. When Pam Schwartz and I first entered, our eyes were not accustomed to the dark. A long hallway lead to the main room, but a line of tables covered with black tablecloths blocked a straight approach to the room. I had to tap the table tops with my hands to figure out what the best way in might be.

We wandered down a hall illuminated by a projection of thousands of moving points of light. Several children crouched at the end of the hall looking back at the beams of light that caused every wall to flicker with moving points of light. Later that night I saw Cole Nesmith in the hall using a red light bar to illuminate couples who posed for photos in the sea of moving points.  

Becky Lane had a room set up that was an installation that was built around the experience of her long commute to Tampa. One whole wall had a projection that showed the Florida landscape flying by shot from the side window of her moving car. Palmetto fronds were scattered throughout the room. And when I glanced in at first I saw people waving the fronds in the air. The space incorporated movement, viewpoints and puppetry to give an interactive feeling for her commute.

Outside that room was a projection that used a sensor to track a persons movements. Pam and I were standing in the area looking at Becky’s installation when we were scolded for disrupting the sensors. Only one person could be in the space at a time. Basically that person could create an image on the screen built up from a series of triangles of varying sizes. By waving their arms triangles would appear. I lost interest.

Nathan Selikoff had a projection that looked like a colorful cloud which people could manipulate by waving their hands over a sensor on a table near the projector. Some people couldn’t figure out how to manipulate the cloud because they always had their hands too close to the sensor. Eventually most people figured out the proper distance to get the digital storm to brew.

On the stage wall behind me a series of movies were projected on the wall. The brightest image was of a cloud formed after an explosion. Dancers took to the stage and improvised. One dancer held a laser and projected the point of bright light on the floor. Dancers would follow the light like a cat. The same dancers later dances behind the dual wall of bright striped colors. Their silhouettes wold break up the wall of color dramatically.

The event was very well attended, and I am sure more people kept arriving as the night progresses. This year The
Creative City Project will present their annual event, IMMERSE, on October 19
and 20, 2018. More than 1,000 artists and performers will bring the heart of
the city of Orlando to life! It is possible to book tickets early.

One thought on “Projected : A Creative City Project Special Event

  1. This event was a lot of fun, I'm glad we got to check it out! Becky's thing was really cool, and my girlfriend and I actually really enjoyed the triangle thing! I liked that it was one person at a time because I have a background in dance so I really enjoyed being able to create images through physical movement, and being able to understand how certain movements translated visually. Having the open space to move around and experiment with different movements was one of my favorite parts!

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