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i4 — Virginia Tech Residency for Improvisation, Inspiration, Incubation, and Immersion

July 24-30, 2022

Please Note: This event is not open to the public

Virginia Tech Residency for Improvisation, Inspiration, Incubation, and Immersion

In the summer of 2022, we invited 18 creative individuals from various fields to join a unique community of practice. During the week of July 24-30, the scenic town of Blacksburg, Virginia became a haven for interdisciplinary collaboration as the participants of i4 worked on existing projects and brought new ideas to life.

The Cube

Coming together in an area of unparalleled beauty, i4 residents shared a slow-time week of creativity and conversations with individuals from diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, and nationalities. Each participant joined with an eclectic background in research that ranged from human-computer interaction, education, architecture, business, and psychology to hip-hop, spatial audio, immersive environments, visual art, and video games. As they delved deeper into their own pursuits while in the company of others working widely diverse areas, i4 residents saw their work being transformed through conversations and collaborations.

This residency had only two criteria for selecting participants. First, was an intense commitment to a personal practice oriented toward bringing new things into the world. This could be a creative practice, a unique business, a philosophical project, a scientific research project, or an unclassifiable hybrid practice. Second, was an intense interest in learning about the work of others in widely disparate fields. It was a week for contemplation, experimentation, improvisation, inspiration, and intellectual cross-fertilization.

Inaugural Virginia Tech Residency for Improvisation, Inspiration, Incubation, and Immersion
Inaugural Virginia Tech Residency for Improvisation, Inspiration, Incubation, and Immersion

Throughout the week, there were structured opportunities such as shared meals, workshops, artistic performances, and outings for interacting with other participants in the residency as well as ample free time to focus on the attendees’ own work, or carry on conversations with other participants. There were opportunities to explore the natural beauty of the New River Valley. Virginia Tech offers some of the most advanced immersive environments in the world, which were available to participants for experimentation. Various labs and facilities at the university were made available to participants for experimentation with creative technologies. There were opportunities to engage with a similarly varied group of individuals from the Virginia Tech and Blacksburg communities. The residency also provided lodging, breakfast, and dinner for all participants. 

Inaugural Virginia Tech Residency for Improvisation, Inspiration, Incubation, and Immersion

We recognize the tremendous value of diverse perspectives, views, backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We are particularly sensitive to the voices that have been historically marginalized, silenced, or rendered invisible based upon their intersecting identities. We seek participants that represent the diversity of racial and ethnic backgrounds, and also those representing multiple genders, expression of gender, and gender identities.

See InclusiveVT for more information.

Virginia Tech Residency for Improvisation, Inspiration, Incubation, and Immersion

Inaugural Virginia Tech Residency for Improvisation, Inspiration, Incubation, and Immersion