Portals are a “global public art initiative”. They are live, full-body audiovisual environments hosted by communities around the world that enable face-to-face dialogues between people who will likely not otherwise meet. Inside, students converse with someone in a distant Portal as if in the same room. Participants can make eye contact and talk in real-time. Many have described feeling like they were “breathing the same air.” Shared_Studios has a network of 40+ sites around the world, each with a local curator who can connect extraordinary and every-day people to meet with and talk to our students.
In April, MVRHS had an opportunity to participate in this global initiative, and we’re planning more in the fall, thanks to funding provided by Mass Humanities. Read more about the project here, and in recent news stories by the High School View and the Vineyard Gazette.