Indigital – a portmanteau of “Indigenous” and “digital” – is an Australian startup that creates mobile phone apps that use AR for Indigenous cultural storytelling (Questacon, 2017). Founder Mikela Jade said she grew up not knowing about her heritage and felt disconnected from her culture; working as a park ranger made her aware of the hypocrisy of viewing the cultural sites through archeological and anthropological lenses without considering the Indigenous ones (Barbaschow, 2019). I find that it is often tensions like these that inspire and compel creators to innovate and develop something that is responsive to cultural and educational needs. Jade expresses a strong enthusiasm in AR technology, as it can be used on a cultural place or object to obtain a deeper understanding of it from the traditional owner (Barbaschow, 2019); through the app, artwork comes alive in different languages through 3D animation and artists have direct input on its design and interactive capabilities (Questacon, 2017).
Although Jade initially had difficulty explaining Indigital’s purpose and capabilities, she was adamant about engaging youth in cultural knowledge translation (Questacon, 2017). The company leverages drone and image recognition technology, 4D mapping software, and cultural law to bring life to cultural sites, and Internet access is not required (Barbaschow, 2019).
Questacon (2017, July 7). Indigital – Using AR for Aboriginal Storytelling [Video]. YouTube.
References
Barbaschow, A. (2019, October 8). Indigital using augmented reality for traditional storytelling. ZDNet. Retrieved from https://www.zdnet.com/article/indigital-using-augmented-reality-for-traditional-storytelling/
Questacon (2017, July 7). Indigital – Using AR for Aboriginal Storytelling [YouTube Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noPFpWMdWcA
What an amazing concept-augmented reality is for traditional oral-storytelling, and I really like the term “Indigital”!! I love play on words 🙂 Also, the main speaker talks about the “mom and dad” test to ensure that when she introduced her innovative idea, that she explained it in a way that any generation could comprehend what she was creating with AR in order to connect with the Indigenous peoples cultural knowledge with the whole community through this amazing tech platform. Artwork coming to life is such an amazing way to learn and comprehend.
Thank you for sharing such an insightful blog and link Amy 🙂