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A joint project between the Arts and Culture Council of Strathcona County (ACCSC) and students at MacEwan University has given new life to the stories of local artists.

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Using virtual reality technology, a group of students in arts, journalism, business, anthropology, social work, and political science at MacEwan created an immersive experience sharing the stories of residents through the lens of the hero’s journey, known as the Artistic Horizons.

“We recognize that every artist has a story… in our organization we’re looking at the arts, culture, and heritage, that’s all in our ballpark,” explained president of ACCSC, Ken Duncan. “We look at artists, whether they’re visual artists, performing artists, and we look at a lot of people who are in the heritage field, an interpreter is a storyteller, so that makes them an artist… perhaps our role in the community is to help those artists and cultural practitioners tell their story. What’s happening now is there are so many ways of telling a story that sometimes it gets splintered and it doesn’t get heard.”

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The early phase of what is hoped to be a long-term project, approximately 20 students and members of ACCSC worked from September to December to capture the stories before presenting the virtual reality experience on Dec. 18 at the Community Centre.

“One of the technologies that’s coming up strongly is virtual and augmented reality and if you’re in the position of telling stories, you really need to be able to tell them in a variety of ways,” explained Duncan.

Covering 15 or so stories at the showcase in December, Duncan said the team at ACCSC are excited to see the project continue next year and hope to be able to add the stories of those who lived in Strathcona County before it became what it is today. A prequel of sorts, the next stage will go back to the roots of the area, uncovering the stories of Indigenous peoples in the area. However, ACCSC is waiting to hear back on grant funding to support the project.

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But beyond capturing the stories of local artists, Duncan said the partnership with MacEwan is part of what he feels is the duty of older generations to share their knowledge and experience with younger generations.

“We initially became aware of (MacEwan’s) programs, work integrated learning and community partnerships and we thought this makes a good fit for us because we have knowledge, we’re more than willing to share and we have projects,” said Duncan. “We’re thrilled to bits with MacEwan and what they’ve been able to help us with and also, the opportunity to give back.”

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