{"686760":{"#nid":"686760","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Artist-in-Residence Program Bridges Art and Technology Through Immersive Performance","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s Institute for People and Technology (IPaT) artist-in-residence program recently concluded a new collaboration with Corian Ellisor, a distinguished educator and performer in concert dance and theater. The residency explored the intersection of art and technology, resulting in an innovative, multi-layered experience that invited audiences to engage with themes of joy, peace, and community.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project began when Clint Zeagler, principal research scientist and IPaT\u2019s director of strategic partnerships, invited Ellisor to \u201cthink big\u201d and imagine how technology could amplify his artistic vision. \u201cThis was definitely a moment for me to step out of my comfort zone and to think on a bigger scale,\u201d said Ellisor. \u201cComing from a poor artist background, we\u2019re always just struggling to make anything. This was an opportunity to dream.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cArtist residencies within Georgia Tech\u2019s research centers and interdisciplinary research institutes help to drive innovation in our research enterprise, to discover new applications of our research within the arts, to build strong connections with community partners, and \u2014 most important of all \u2014 to create impactful new works of art,\u201d said Jason Freeman, associate vice provost for the arts at Georgia Tech. \u201cIPaT has long been at the forefront of GT\u2019s initiatives to collaborate with Atlanta-area artists. I am thrilled to see the success of this latest collaboration between Clint Zeagler and Corian Ellisor.\u201d\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EEllisor, an Atlanta-based performance artist with a focus on dance theater, was selected as the IPaT\u2019s \u0026nbsp;2025 artist-in-residence. Ellisor has worked with arts communities locally and internationally including Georgia, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, Washington DC, New York, Guatemala, Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany and The United Kingdom. He was awarded the choreography award at the University of Houston, The Walthall Fellowship through WonderRoot, \u201cTop 20 people to watch in 2013\u0022 by Atlanta\u2019s Creative loafing, an Atlanta Beltline Grant in 2014, an artist in residency award with the Lucky Penny in 2015, and the Best Choreography Award at the Houston Fringe Festival in 2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWorld Building Meets Performance Art\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EEllisor\u2019s concept centered on world building, a technique often used in gaming but adapted here for live performance. The goal was to create an immersive environment where audiences could interact and react, while maintaining an uplifting aesthetic. \u201cI wanted something that leaves the audience feeling good\u2014something hopeful,\u201d Ellisor explained.\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003ETo develop the project, Ellisor and Zeagler hosted workshops with Georgia Tech students and community members, encouraging free-form creation and dialogue around the question: How do people find joy and peace in a chaotic world? Three teams of Georgia Tech undergraduate students were assigned to collaborate with Ellisor and make an avatar of him. The first team was assigned to reproduce Ellisor\u2019s voice. The second team was assigned to generate a visual likeness of Ellisor. The third team worked on the outside aesthetics of a story booth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Story Booth: Technology Meets Emotion\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EA highlight of the residency was the Story Booth, a tech-enabled installation designed to collect personal narratives about joy and solace. Outfitted with full-body scans and voice capture, the booth featured a digital representation of Ellisor and used sentiment analysis to translate stories into color projections. \u201cIf someone shared something happy, the booth glowed orange; if it was sentimental, it turned blue,\u201d Ellisor noted. These dynamic visuals illuminated both the booth and its surroundings, creating a striking display of emotion through light.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAn Hour of Galleries Time\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EThe residency culminated in \u201cAn Hour of Galleries Time,\u201d an event combining video installations, interactive storytelling, and live dance performances. Dancers engaged with projected visuals before joining together for a collective performance against a massive, illuminated backdrop\u2014transforming the space into a living canvas of movement and light. The interactive performance was held November 23 at the Goat Farm Arts Center, a visual and performing arts center housed in a 19th-century complex of industrial buildings in west midtown Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EReflections on Collaboration\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EEllisor described the experience as transformative, \u201cI am very happy to have met this community of technologists that I would have never met because our worlds just do not cross at all. Another enlightening experience was trusting myself and trusting the vision\u2014and then letting other people do what they\u2019re supposed to do. Usually as an artist, we are sort of a solo factory. But having the trust in other people to make your vision happen\u2014and it happening\u2014was a really lovely experience.\u201d\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EHe added, \u201cI am very grateful to have gone through this with Georgia Tech. There are some tech folks there that were very happy about the final product, which makes me happy.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s Institute for People and Technology (IPaT) artist-in-residence program recently concluded a new collaboration with Corian Ellisor, a distinguished educator and performer in concert dance and theater.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech\u2019s Institute for People and Technology (IPaT) artist-in-residence program recently concluded a new collaboration with Corian Ellisor, a distinguished educator and performer in concert dance and theater. "}],"uid":"27513","created_gmt":"2025-12-05 17:44:08","changed_gmt":"2025-12-05 17:44:57","author":"Walter Rich","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-12-05T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2025-12-05T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"678769":{"id":"678769","type":"image","title":"Corian Ellisor ","body":"\u003Cp\u003ECorian Ellisor performs at the Goat Farm Arts Center, November 23.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1764956493","gmt_created":"2025-12-05 17:41:33","changed":"1764956581","gmt_changed":"2025-12-05 17:43:01","alt":"Corian Ellisor ","file":{"fid":"262844","name":"Corian-dance1.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/05\/Corian-dance1.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/05\/Corian-dance1.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1743614,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/12\/05\/Corian-dance1.png?itok=OJr26v4P"}},"678768":{"id":"678768","type":"image","title":"Corian and fellow dance artists","body":"\u003Cp\u003ECorian Ellisor and fellow dance artists at the Goat Farm Arts Center event.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1764956117","gmt_created":"2025-12-05 17:35:17","changed":"1764956478","gmt_changed":"2025-12-05 17:41:18","alt":"Corian and fellow dance artists","file":{"fid":"262843","name":"corian-dancers.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/05\/corian-dancers.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/05\/corian-dancers.png","mime":"image\/png","size":3279942,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/12\/05\/corian-dancers.png?itok=bvuZrkQ7"}}},"media_ids":["678769","678768"],"groups":[{"id":"69599","name":"IPaT"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"188084","name":"go-ipat"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWalter Rich\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["walter.rich@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}