In an unexpected turn of events, it seems I cannot move forward with the Dynamic Addis.
So I am redirecting current explorations and revisiting the graveyard of ideas and projects from my past.
I’m sure every artist has one. The place where you keep those projects that were “finished” but never met your standards, or the great idea that didn’t fit the pitch outline, or a concept that was too big or too complex for that time and place.
These ideas are saved on napkins, sketchbooks, notebooks… digital or analog, it doesn’t matter, because we have sparks like these a million times a day and the only hope of ever making them a reality is to save them for the right moment.
This was one such moment. More than 20 years after the original research project, I have finally found the solution to my biggest peeve about my original presentation.
Trying to present something like the Lahore Fort in a book form, with a selection of (comparatively) tiny photographs was the greatest limitation of that time.
Now, years later, it finally hit me. I am no longer constricted by the size of a printable page, or a printable photograph.
As an animator, I can present this world on a big screen.
Even better, I can make it a 360 or VR space and really immerse my audiences into this experience!
And what better time to do it, when the need for positive representation of Islamic cultures is at the forefront of every conversation!
Working on this project was an eye-opening experience for my teenage self.
I learned so much about my culture that was never taught in a classroom (and it should have been).
Now, as an educator myself, I realize the onus is on me to educate the students of today.
I have to remember that I cannot treat teaching like a job where I just demo some tools and call it a day.
Teachers/Professors can make more than worker drones, they can create and nurture thinking, breathing human beings!
And the only way to do that is to show them the possibilities and connect them to their past.