Virtual Street Corners
Live video and microphones connect two Boston neighborhoods in a new community project
In an effort to bridge gaps between two neighborhoods of Boston, digital media artist John Ewing created the public art project Virtual Street Corners. The project, set to unveil June 2010, uses live video feeds between Boston locales Brookline and Roxbury to encourage neighborly affection between the predominantly African-American and Jewish neighborhoods.
Social action site Dowser highlights Ewing’s effort, which his experience creating public murals around town inspired. In conversations with the public he found people kept to their own neighborhoods, rarely venturing beyond familiar stomping grounds. Virtual Street Corners aims to mediate that disconnect by using video and microphones to encourage virtual dialogue.
The project has already gained attention for its forward-thinking ideals and technology—Virtual Street Corners won grants from the Black Rock Arts Foundation and the Knight Foundation, and is a finalist for a Cambridge Arts Council grant.
