Vol. 10: Exploring The New Virtual World

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How will the arts survive as the Covid-19 pandemic continues? This question no doubt lingers for every artist struggling to stay afloat during these times. Perhaps you have seen the news that Cirque du Soleil recently filed for bankruptcy protection. If not, read more about it here. This announcement certainly sets the stage for the state of the arts amidst a pandemic that rages on. Despite the dark skies ahead, however, the sun will rise again, and like Cirque du Soleil illuminates, the arts will find a way to shine brighter once again. The arts, after all, are an expression of the soul, and it is human nature to adapt.   So how are the arts continuing to facilitate meaningful shared experiences in a post-covid, #NewNormal world?  Welcome to the Virtual-ity. There are now no shortages of virtual concerts, virtual music festivals, virtual theatre, and overall virtual experimentation. Check out some highlights from when Lightning in a Bottle Music Festival went DGTL. With VR integration, performances from artists all over the world, and well executed visual layering and streaming, it certainly took festivals to a whole other (digital) level. Next stream will be Sat. July 4 here. Playing music to empty seats just isn't quite the same as playing to a live audience. But what about plants? Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu Opera House did just that. We'd like to think that the plants enjoyed it. We certainly did, even if the human audience had to be supplanted. ;) As cities tackle the challenges of reopening safely, Hollywood takes social distancing to the red carpet. The indie comedy, aTypical Wednesday, premiered the first post-covid premiere at the Montalban Theater Rooftop Cinema last Wednesday night. Limited attendees, face masks, and temperature checks were some of the new procedures implemented to keep people safe while still being able to enjoy a celebratory premiere, a staple event within the Los Angeles film industry. While the actual screening went straight to video on demand rather than inside a theater, the outdoor, mask-wearing format gives us hope that these (albeit smaller) live events can take some shape while also keeping people safe during the pandemic. Learn more about the aTypical Wednesday premiere here. J. Lee at  ‘aTypical Wednesday’ film premiere, The Montalban Theater Rooftop Cinema, Los Angeles, USA – 24 Jun 2020, Michael Buckner/Variety/Shutterstock Regardless of the tactics various artists are taking to keep people safe, we can at least take comfort knowing that creativity is not cancelled, even if some of the larger events near and dear to us need to be postponed for a while longer. In the meantime, we will be anxiously awaiting the results of this study. For more resources on or to donate to artists relief fund organizations, click below: Artists Relief Resources Join us TODAY for the official book release of Well Played with award-winning poet Beau Sia! Watch Beau perform poems from the book live, which is always a fantastic experience whether in person or digital, and then join us for a conversation and Q&A with Saul Williams after! (Our team had a sneak peek of the book and some select pieces during one of our Lunchstreams and we promise it'll be a great night.) Beau Sia is a Tony Award winning poet and world-renowned performer, featured on all seasons of HBO's Def Poetry, and is the author of Well Played. Through his poetry, he explores the possibility of metaphor beyond the poem. Through his poems, he expresses the potential of metaphor to develop out of hurt, rise from being bound to role, and to teach purpose more potent than power.  Learn more at beausia.com While we have all been getting quite familiar with the inside walls of our boxes - our homes, our zoom calls, etc. - experiential events and entertainment have had to think outside the box to survive. Everything from virtual cons to the resurgence of drive-in theaters to virtual sporting events and races, experiential life is rapidly evolving in ways we likely would not have seen without the pandemic.   Welcome to the new experiential virtual-ity - where human creativity, ingenuity, and community prevail! Who would have predicted that the future would hold a return to icons of the past, a la drive-thru movie theaters? And more surprising yet, who would have predicted that it would be Walmart to take charge in converting parking lots to drive-in theater locations? Over 160 Walmart lots are being transformed... what will be next? Typically this time of year is when the experiential events industry is losing sleep over back to back events following E3 and Anime Expo and going into Comic Con. Luckily, not all is lost within the new Virtual-ity, and virtual cons and events are expanding interaction from the safety of everyone's homes! For all you gamers and lovers of role-playing out there, Dungeons & Dragons continued to immerse players into the fantastical world of D&D live, which occurred June 18-20. With remote participation that was available via the D&D Live Event Portal and discord, fans saw live games, panels, and announcements as the latest D&D storyline came to life. Check out some archive footage from mid-June: Meanwhile, fans of anime celebrated as Anime Expo Lite livestream brought in over 500,000 views from around the world over Fourth of July weekend. In less than a week, Comic-Con will host their own virtual edition, Comic-Con@Home! The virtual event will feature over 350 panels, activities, cosplay challenges, and more. Plus, this year, for the first time ever, there will be no impossible-to-navigate-through crowds! Silver linings, right ;) Can sporting events go virtual? The USA Cycling Race League certainly says so! Check out the USA Cycling Virtual Race League via Zwift every Wednesday. Cyclists can sign up on Zwift here, and anyone can watch the races live! Welcome to the new experiential virtual-ity.  It may not be the same as live events, but it sure is innovative and exciting! We certainly do live in interesting times, and we look forward to more of these events to come. For all you Comic-Con lovers out there, you may be missing those long, meandering strolls around Artists' Alley. With so much fantastic art and creativity, it's easy to get lost for hours admiring artists' work.  Unfortunately, it is also easy to forget that many of these artists rely on events like Comic-Con for income, and like so many artists dependent on the live events industry, they are hit particularly hard by the event cancellations due to the pandemic. The good news is that you can still support the artists! GreatCo's good friend and artist, Jerry Ma, curated the list below featuring some incredible artists. Feel free to reach out to them! Say hello, check out their art, writings, cosplay, and any other creations they may have. Perhaps you'll discover a new favorite, or better yet, perhaps you'll want to order a commission, print, or book! Don't forget to check out the stunning artwork of Jerry Ma himself! And if you would like to see the full list of Artists' Alley exhibitors who were confirmed to be at Comic-Con this year, click here! Comic-Con@Home goes live Wednesday, July 22 and ends Sunday July 26. Check it out for an interactive version of the floor plan, complete with exclusives, promo links, panels, challenges, and more. See ya in the (virtual) alley ;) With all this talk about virtual realities, how would you like to get immersed in one? Join us for the bi-weekly LunchStream today at 12pm PT to get an in depth look at Frame, an immersive meeting and presentation tool from VirBELA Labs. Led by the ever so creative Dyan Jong, today's stream will be best viewed via a computer if possible. For lovers of VR and immersive technologies, this is one LunchStream you definitely won't want to miss! RSVP HERE! If only there was somewhere you could go to see a showcase of immersive virtual realities all in one place.... turns out the Museum of Other Realities is just that!  See how far virtual realities have come: Ready to EXPLORE more? Enter the Museum HERE! Enjoying our newsletters? Check out our website updates for all past monthly issues! #InGreatCo