Boomsatsuma is collaborating with the Iconic Black Britons project by reaching out to locals in the city of Bristol and understanding what they wish to be included in an Augmented Reality tour which will be centred around the city’s iconic Seven Saints of St Pauls’ murals.
The Iconic Black Britons project which created the murals was launched in 2018 by local artist Michele Curtis. Originally intended as an exhibition, the murals celebrate members of the Windrush Generation who came to the city of Bristol and strove for political and social change.
The Seven Saints of St Pauls’ pays homage to the accomplishments and contributions of those among the Windrush Generation who founded the 1968 St Pauls’ Festival.
In partnership with Iconic Black Britons, boomsatsuma has been provided with funding to design and create a prototype that will bring the murals to live through an augmented reality experience. This will foster much more positive engagement with those who visit the murals and help provide them with a new narrative about the history of the local area and its people, using digital animation and audio to convey the information.
The project forms part of the wider Bristol and Bath Creative Digital Placemaking Pathfinder initiative, which is aiming to build on the existing history and culture of the murals. It will also act as an AR evolution to the existing St Pauls’ Art, Culture and Heritage Trail, which underwent the first two stages of its development in 2019.
An all-female team of creative technologists and animators will develop the technology which will augment visuals and audio on the current tours to enable greater audience engagement with the murals and help people understand the saints' individual stories and the impact they have had on the city. The team will be led by Iconic Black Britons founder Curtis and Lyndsay Davies, boomsatsuma’s creative projects manager.
To ensure that the developed prototype is fit for the purpose of serving the local community, boomsatsuma and Iconic Black Britons are reaching out to Bristolians with a short survey, asking for feedback about the content they feel should be augmented.
The prototype is scheduled to be finished by October, with members of the public able to take part in the tour before the collaboration will look to source extra funding for the completion of the project.
