Video: Ghosts of Solid Air: Using AR to engage with contested monument debates

Rodney Harrison is Professor of Heritage Studies at the UCL Institute of Archaeology. His presentation was given as part of the UCL Institute of Archaeology Autumn Seminar Series 2023.

Abstract 

Ghosts of Solid Air is an innovative augmented reality (AR) experience designed for smartphones and based in and around Trafalgar Square in London which launched in October 2023 as part of the BFI London Film Festival for Black History Month. Co-developed with a group of young people who identify as Londoners of colour, it responds to and engages with debates regarding colonial monuments and dominant historical narratives and how these might be contested and protested in the public sphere. In this talk, Rodney Harrison, one of two academic co-leads on the project (with Colin Sterling, UVA), which has been co-developed with the award-winning immersive design specialists We Are Anagram, reflects on the process of developing the app, and the potential for such immersive augmented reality experiences to transform engagements with contested heritages globally.

Watch again

YouTube Widget Placeholderhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW_c6zBqjo0