NMC Campus Observer - Visual Arts Symposium , Digital Story Telling

The most recent postings in the NMC Campus Observer cover two events, one past, and one future. I have made regular visits to the NMC Campus since my arrival in SL but never found anything going on. It looks like another large and lovingly rendered build not being put to use. The quiet is deceptive.

The upcoming Visual Arts Symposium, NMCConnect, will feature "artists, educators, designers and researchers in a visual symposium for Second Life: NMCConnect. Structures of artistic expression in every medium will be linked and combined to tell new stories on how we bond within our shared new worlds." It will take place on NMC's four new islands, and will include interactive installations, live performances, and forums for discussion. This looks like it will be a spectacular event, I will certainly be there as much as I can. They have not yet published exact location and agenda. I will post details here once they are available.

The past event was an NMC Teachers Buzz Session with Gudand Hao from the Center for Digital Storytelling. The discussion on digital storytelling was attended by 65 participants.

"I think in second life you could have media exchanges, as in sharing already created stories or you could have folks collaborate to create and perform stories here. My main interest is could you hold story circles here. Could you get people to reflect on a considered narrative and find a way to get intimate about the story? The issue for those folks who have taken our workshops is that we are trying to peel back layers of meaning and that I have believed requires reading body language as much as words and expressions. Can you do that in the virtual environment?" ~ Gudand Hao

On reading the review and transcript I am kicking myself for not being there, but there are ample links to transcripts, photos, an audio interview of Gudand, and other resources. The group meets every other Monday, with times alternating between 6 PM and 9 AM PST. The next meeting is Digital Storytelling Part Deux - Mon Feb 19, 6.00 PM PST.