MOAD MDC Awarded $120,000 To Implement Immersive Technologies

Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) at Miami Dade College (MDC) was awarded a $120,000 grant to implement immersive technologies related to their upcoming exhibition, Forensic Architecture: True to Scale. Awarded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Microsoft, MOAD's proposal was selected among a pool of more than 500 applicants responding to the Knight Foundation/Microsoft immersive technologies in the arts call for ideas. Distributing a total of $750,000 to four winners, MOAD is the only Miami-based institution selected for this prestigious grant.

Composed of architects, software developers, filmmakers, lawyers, artists, and scientists, Forensic Architecture is a research agency that uses architectural software and an architectural sensibility to investigate human rights violations. On view from Feb. 19, 2020 - Sept. 27, 2020, MOAD's Forensic Architecture: True to Scale exhibition will be the first U.S. survey of their extraordinary work uncovering evidence of state and corporate violence.

The agency employs machine learning, digital simulations, 3D models, augmented reality, and cartographic platforms to research, analyze, and present their findings. Their work has unraveled scores of human rights abuses, bringing bad actors to justice in courts across the world.

MOAD's exhibition will immerse audiences in reconstructed environments of the conflicts they investigate, while explaining their methodologies and creating a localized call to action.

"This exhibition offers a blueprint for rethinking the agency of design museums," said curator Sophie Landres. "It suggests that beyond installing one-off immersive spectacles or providing remote access to an art collection, museums can use sophisticated design technologies to play an active role in the pursuit of social justice."

The grant highlights Microsoft's and Knight Foundation's arts and technology focus, which aims to help arts institutions better meet changing audience expectations and use digital tools to help people better experience the arts. In addition to the $120,000 grant, MOAD's leadership team will receive mixed-reality mentorship, technology access and training from Microsoft.