Kent Larson; Gabriela Bila Advincula

This is a story about connection. With(in) presents an immersive window into the worlds of three women in three settlements: Eva in Guadalajara, Mexico; Gihan in Cairo, Egypt; and Mama G in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The installation takes visitors to the fringe neighborhoods and community centers in Guadalajara, the vertical slums and bustling restaurants of Cairo, and the tiny homes and crowded markets of Port Harcourt. In the lives of each individual we examine the micro and the macro, from the gentle care of fixing one’s hair each morning to the cultural swells of holidays, religious ceremonies, and funerals. In these places, far from our own, we learn and inquire, we gather and we listen, in the hope of better understanding the complexity of the world and possibilities for how we will live together in the future. As extreme urbanization unfolds at an astounding pace, all three locations reflect the chaos and the importance of community. One woman’s journey can be both individual and global when viewed in the context of the others. How does rapid urbanization impact the community we seek, and how do intimate domestic activities such as food preparation and celebration reflect a larger cultural context?

Image 1 – How will we live together?
This is a story about connection. We present an immersive window into the worlds of three women in three settlements: Gihan in Cairo; Eva in Guadalajara; and Mama G in Port Harcourt.

Image 2 – Sneak peek of the project
Through immersive projection mapping and sound scapes, we experience activities from vertical slums of Cairo, fringe neighbourhoods in Guadalajara, and crowded markets of Port Harcourt.

Pioneer Material Precision Tech. inc.

Project funded in part by the Council for the Arts at MIT.

MIT City Science: Guadalupe Babio Fernandez, Luis Alonso Pastor, Maitane Iruretagoyena, Margaret Church, Nicolas Ayoub, Thomas Lengeling

Special thanks to the nonprofits in each location, who helped to make this work possible: Dawar Kitchen, Ruwwad; Círculo de Amigos Treffpunkt, Universidad de Guadalajara; and Chicoco Cinema
With(in) was also made possible by the following people: MIT City Science Team: Markus ElKatsha, Leticia Izquierdo, Cristina Panzarini, Suleiman Alhadidi, Ariel Noyman, and Jason Nawyn
Head of Nonprofits and Institutions: Ana Bonaldo, Michael Uwemedimo – Chicoco Cinema, Port Harcourt; Edith Sauer - Circulo de Amigos Treffpunkt, Guadalajara; Mayra Gamboa - University of Guadalajara; Nada Al Shazly - Dawar Kitchen, Cairo
Film crews: Ashley Fell and Charles de Graaf (Guadalajara, Mexico); Menna El-Azzamy, Sarah Riad(Cairo, Egypt); and: Gloria Dandison, Grace Timi, Imanny Cleverstone, Prince Peter, Promise Sunday, Tammy Dasetima, Tekena Fubara (Port Harcourt, Nigeria)
Video Editing: Lucas Seixas, Pedro Ribeiro (Brasilia, Brazil)
Music: Holger Prang (Hamburg, Germany)