LaJuné McMillian:
The Portal's Keeper
July 1-September 26, 2024
LaJuné McMillian: The Portal's Keeper is a new site-specific commission for the exterior video façade of the Mandeville Art Gallery. Building on the artist's interest in stewarding spaces for liberated Black realities and the Black imagination, McMillian will conduct a movement and meditation workshop with UC San Diego students using extended reality and physical computing to translate participants' movement data into visuals for this new artwork. In the artist's words, "The Portal's Keeper is a reminder that movement not only represents our individual experiences, but it also represents our collective memory, transcending space, time and oppressive social structures. It allows us to connect to each other, our ancestors, our deepest selves, and gives us space to communicate to our future. Movement is a technology, holding the stories of our existence globally."
[Image: LaJuné McMillian, The Portal's Keeper, 2024]
Co-sponsored by the Black Studies Project
Artist Biography
LaJuné McMillian is a new media artist, and Creative Technologist creating art that integrates performance, extended reality, and physical computing to question our current forms of communication. McMillian has shown and spoke about their work at Pioneer Works, National Sawdust, Leaders in Software and Art, Creative Tech Week, and Art && Code’s Weird Reality. The artist was previously the Director of Skating at Figure Skating in Harlem, where they integrated STEAM and Figure Skating to teach girls of color about movement and technology. They have continued their research on Blackness, Movement, and Technology during residencies at Eyebeam, Pioneer Works Barbarian Group, and Barnard College.
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Public Programs
All events are free and take place in person at the Mandeville Art Gallery, unless indicated otherwise.
Artist Talk by LaJuné McMillian
Tuesday, May 28, 2024, 6:30-8 pm | RSVP
Location: SME 149, Structural & Materials Engineering, UC San Diego
LaJuné McMillian is a Multidisciplinary Artist, and Educator creating art that integrates performance, extended reality, and physical computing to question our contemporary forms of communication. They are passionate about discovering, learning, manifesting, and stewarding spaces for liberated Black Realities and the Black Imagination. McMillian was previously the Director of Skating at Figure Skating in Harlem, where they integrated STEAM and Figure Skating to teach girls of color about movement and technology.
The Portal's Keeper
Workshop led by artist LaJuné McMillian
Wednesday, May 29, 2024, 1-5pm | SIGN UP
Location: Performance Space, Visual Arts Facility, UC San Diego
UC San Diego students are invited to a movement and meditation workshop using extended reality and physical computing. Participants' created avatars and motion capture will be integrated into visuals for a new site-specific commission exploring liberated Black realities for the exterior video façade of the Mandeville Art Gallery.
In this workshop, participants will:
- Explore issues of cultural representation and exploitation present in digital tools/softwares.
- Have an introduction to motion capture, rigging and 3D environments.
- Move! We will use a series of movement and embodiment techniques to develop our personal movement libraries to record digitally.
- Journal how movement currently shows up in our bodies.
Students should wear comfortable clothing and bring a laptop and a journal.