The Nikki Giovanni Immersive Experience
December 9, 2025
December 9 • 10am – 5pm
The Cube at the Center for the Arts
Open to the public
The Nikki Giovanni Immersive Experience combines her poetry (as recorded by Giovanni at different times in her life) with audio soundscapes and motion graphic projections. This is an interdisciplinary collaboration between a composer, designers, literary experts, embodied performance artists, and creative technologists, converging to create a multi-sensory experience. Each projection will be crafted to capture the essence of Giovanni's poetry, drawing inspiration from its themes, imagery, and rhythmic cadence. Additionally, we utilized the library's motion capture studios in collaboration with faculty and students from the School of Performing Arts to develop visual avatars featured in select final motion graphic works. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with the art on a deeper level, allowing themselves to be enveloped by the interplay of sight and sound, word and image.
Last June, we displayed the poems "Ego Tripping" and "Nikki Rosa" as part of the Black Love is Black Wealth remembrance event. This December will include revised versions of this work as well as additional poems.
Poetry and Readings: Nikki Giovanni
Poetic Arrangement: Brittney S. Harris and Charles Nichols
Music: Charles Nichols
Embodied Movement: Brittney S. Harris
Motion Capture: Trevor Finney and Alice Macanga
Motion Graphics and Graphic Design: Meaghan Dee, Trevor Finney, Demetrya Dye, and Lexy Altieri
Project Advisor: Gena E. Chandler, PhD
Project Management: Meaghan Dee
ICAT Technical Support: Gustavo Araoz, David Franusich, Brandon Hale, and Tanner Upthegrove
Additional Thanks to Kelsey Hammer, Ella Shaffer, and Morgan Weidling for participating in creative brainstorming sessions.
Special thanks to Virginia Fowler for permission, time, and poetry consultation.
Additional thanks to Virginia Tech, President Sands, the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT), and the Center for the Arts for supporting this project.
And thank you to Nikki Giovanni for her incredible life and legacy.