(Tourism/Destination marketing + AR +art + photography)
The city of Fredrikstad, Norway and the Open Augmented Reality Cloud announce the opening of ‘Golden Weeks’, a Japan-themed photography exhibition by Stephen Black.
With this exhibition, the charming historical town of Fredrikstad becomes a huge gallery, a backdrop for over 80 images. Taken over a five week period in the Spring of 2023, the photos are a portrait of Japan, including Sapporo in the far north and tropical Okinawa. Intimate scenes, traditional festivals, food, landscapes and portraits: all captured with an eye for beauty and wonder. Not only a respected photographer, videomaker and writer, Stephen Black is the spatial cinema artist of the Open Augmented Reality Cloud, an international group of volunteer professionals committed towards making the spatial web open and ethical.
Viewing the artworks is simple! Just download the free app, and point your camera at the scene in front of you. Instantly the photos appear, some as as small as playing cards, some as large as billboards. All of the photos visually interact with the scenery of Fredrikstad itself.
Imagine cherry blossoms and ninja-filled castles suddenly appearing over Fredrikstad’s cobblestone streets! A giant robot over Glomma river! Photos of colorful Japanese pastries floating in air, air that smells like cinnamon! The fresh ocean atmosphere makes this art experience unforgettable. And, of course, there are selfie-spots and other surprises as well!
To see ‘Golden Weeks’ an app is required. You can learn more here.
Open Augmented Reality Cloud website: https://www.openarcloud.org/
Information about Fredrikstad and Hvaler: https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/eastern-norway/fredrikstad/
Stephen Black has lived in Asia most of his adult life. He wrote books in Singapore and Bali, worked as a producer for Cartoon Network in Hong Kong, and researched AR in Malaysia, Thailand and Shenzhen, China. In Tokyo he exhibited all kinds of artworks, worked with dancers, actors and musicians and ran a small gallery. In 2015 he committed himself to AR. Soon after that, with Sayuri Okayama, he created Bubiko Foodtour, the cutest chef in all of AR. Stephen has a BFA in Photographic Illustration from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He has given presentations at MIT( twice), Columbia University, Hong Kong PolyU, VRTO, TED Youth Singapore, and the VIEW Conference.
His commitment to AR now includes a commitment to realizing the potentials of scanning and digital twins.
Note: ‘Golden Weeks’ is a reference to the Japanese holiday period called “Golden Week”.
