The OYA Black Arts Coalition (OBAC), a major Ontario-based organisation promoting talent from Black and minority groups, has partnered with the Canadian Film Centre’s Media Lab (CFC Media Lab) and immersive firm Dark Slope to open applications for its second cohort, it was recently revealed in August.
The selection process for the joint effort’s Scale Up Immersive accelerator kicked off on 28 August and is set to close on 7 October, with the cohort’s projects launching in mid-November.
🚨OBAC in partnership with @cfcmedialab and @darkslopexr are happy to announce an Accelerator for Black Creators and Producers in Immersive Media Calling for Applicants for Cohort 2.
Applications are now open
📲Visit: https://t.co/pW6xQpDHtj@FedDevOntario pic.twitter.com/0Xh4svneEc— OYA Black Arts Coalition (@OYAblackarts) August 26, 2022
The programme will leverage funding from the Canadian government’s Black Entrepreneurship Programme (BEP) Ecosystem Fund and aims to upskill Black immersive content creators and producers.
Canada’s Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) launched the funding programme in late May last year, which will provide up to $265 million over four years’ time.
The upcoming, five-month accelerator will take place virtually and in-person, allowing ten founders of Black-owned firms to earn direct mentorship and networking opportunities via expert consultations, workshops, and case studies, leading to a prototyping project worth $50,000 USD with Toronto-based Dark Slope’s cutting-edge media technologies.
Following the programme’s first cohort in April, the organisations reported those selected had left the programme with greater knowledge of the industry, business, storytelling workflows, and a working XR prototype.
Ngardy Conteh George, Programme Co-Lead and Co-Founder of the OBAC, said that the second cohort would have a “deep industry impact” in Canada’s XR landscape, adding it welcomed “the opportunity to nurture the capacity for more Black Canadian creatives” into the immersive media production pipeline.
She continued stating,
“Equally, we are grateful to our program partners at the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) and Dark Slope Studios, who understand the importance of diversifying Canada’s immersive media spaces”
Nataly De Monte, Director for the CFC Media Lab, added that the first cohort had “seeded a community that was almost non-existent in Canada,” referring to Black content creators.
She explained further,
“During the program, guest speakers like Young Guru, Lisa Jackson and Alton Glass spoke about their creative process and shared their insights. We took field trips in VR to group immersive experiences. All to maximize exposure and expand their storytelling canvases. We’re already seeing successful outcomes – it’s inspiring and I can’t wait for Cohort 2!”
OBAC, Black Metaverse LLC Parallel Efforts
The news comes as the Black Metaverse LLC announced on Tuesday it had launched its three pillars outlining methodologies for positive social impact and growth for its 5,000-strong community.
According to the organisation, its three pillars include,
- Building up PEOPLE with knowledge, collaboration, and opportunities
- Building a PRESENCE for people of African descent to positively represent their culture in the tech industry
- Building a PLACE for Black people to share ideas, engage in projects, and develop a metaverse ecosystem
The company, founded by Raleigh, North Carolina native Stefan Youngblood, is the largest such ecosystem and aims to upskill people of the African diaspora in metaverse and Web3 competencies in a bid to increase ownership, technologies, and innovations among the demographic.
The efforts come as figures in an SHRM article found that Black professionals only accounted for roughly 12 percent of the total US workforce and just 8 percent in the tech industry. Black Metaverse LLC has begun tackling this disparity with a series of bootcamps, conferences, and events.
We’re really excited to see your success Ken. Global impact for sure. https://t.co/KmVUxcBjxq
— Black Metaverse (@BlackMetaverse) July 10, 2022
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In a statement, Youngblood said that his company’s focus was to support and work with Black Metaverse communities to help them start their journey or find greater success in the tech world.”
He concluded,
“In this supportive community, even successful business owners will find, as they become well-versed in this exciting frontier, the greater their opportunities for increased success”
Founded in June last year, it also focuses on developing many of the emerging technologies vital to securing the Metaverse, including blockchain, Web3, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Similar initiatives, including the CyberXR Coalition, XR Bootcamp, Women’s XR Fund (WXRF), and Saudi Arabia’s Ithra Center have launched similar programmes aimed at exploring, building, and developing immersive technologies for minority, women, and underrepresented creatives.
For more information, kindly visit https://www.oyablackarts.org/ or https://www.blackmetaverse.io/.
