VMF Winter Arts spotlights empathy in digital spaces with online talk series
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An online talk series highlighting the importance of creating welcoming and inclusive digital spaces is taking place this month as part of VMF Winter Arts 2022.
Positive Gaming: How to Create Better Online Experiences for Everyone and How can Digital Spaces Increase Empathy? are happening on Tuesday, February 22 and Wednesday, February 23 at 7 pm.
Presented by Electronic Arts (EA) and hosted by Vancouver Public Library in partnership with VMF Winter Arts, the two virtual discussions feature a variety of artists and video game industry leaders.
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According to Julia Bruk, Creative Director at Future Arts Co. and VMF Winter Arts Curator, the online talk series will explore some very important topics.
“Digital spaces and technologies that transport us to such spaces are not always helpful in our lives,” said Bruk in an interview. “As creatives and artists experimenting in these fields, it is of utmost importance to develop and design digital spaces that encourage and reflect the kinds of worlds we dream of, not just consume within.
“Viewers that attend this talk will hopefully leave with a trickle of curiosity in their bones to leave their couches and experience VMF Winter Arts and the immersive experiences it offers. If they can’t attend the festival in person, the conversations between creatives working in digital spaces will hopefully spark intriguing perspective shifts for how we can connect better as a society.”
Bruk will be moderating the “How can Digital Spaces Increase Empathy?” panel, which includes Eliot White-Hill, Coast Salish artist and storyteller; Tim Lewinson, Senior Producer for Apex Legends at EA; Doaa Magdy, Afro-Indigenous interdisciplinary artist; and Paisley Smith, filmmaker and virtual reality creator.
Eliot White-Hill, Kwulasultun/Submitted
“I think that fundamental to empathy is a sense of connection with each other as individuals and human beings,” said White-Hall. “Whether it is conversations that we have with each other, moments spent together, or even just standing together looking at something on the street, shared experiences cultivate empathy in a powerful way.
“This pandemic has seriously disrupted our connections with each other on an individual to individual basis. But at the same time, I have seen an overwhelming outpour of empathy for one another. There is care and concern for each others’ wellbeing, and we are still finding ways to connect. We are connecting at a distance, in some cases virtually, and through the arts and entertainment.”
The pandemic has also encouraged many people to connect through gaming, though the virtual realm isn’t always a welcoming place. That is why VMF Winter Arts invited Colum Slevin from Positive Play Group at EA, Vivian Ortenzi Alfinito, UX/UI Designer at Relic, and moderator Shannon Liao, video games reporter for The Washington Post, to discuss how better online experiences for everyone can be created.
Colum Slevin/Submitted
“This is an important topic because as technology expands the way we are all able to experience gaming and other art forms in a more visceral way, the ability to curb toxicity becomes even more urgent,” said Slevin. “At EA, we know it’s more important than ever to make players feel welcome, safe, and rewarded whenever they play. This opportunity provides a great way to expand on that conversation at a local level in Vancouver.”
According to Slevin, EA made a long-term commitment to its gaming community with the creation of the Positive Play Charter. It included an updated set of community guidelines with clear consequences for players who engage in racist, sexist, homophobic, and abusive acts in their games and channels.
“I hope viewers of the panel will see the great potential of gaming to provide everyone with fun and positive experiences, and how we are all working together to build an even better version of that experience.”
Alfinito agrees that creating a diverse environment where all gamers can thrive and have fun is a top priority.
“The talk is a relevant topic for all participants of games or virtual experiences, from developers to gamers, who want to combat abusive behaviour such as cyberbullying, harassment, and more,” said Alfinito.
She adds developers need to take responsibility for abusive player behaviour so that online experiences can reach their real potential.
“Creating games with a broader mindset and empathy to improve character diversity, better reporting systems, and designing flexible tools to give people control over situations against bullies are a few of the many resources we have to combat this issue.”
Vivian Ortenzi Alfinito/Submitted
Alfinito shared that Relic strives to provide a workplace environment for employees to learn, grow, and communicate in a way that’s respectful and open. Thus setting an example of what the team expects from its players.
“I hope that viewers are inspired to get involved and take action because cultural changes among gamers and direct measures taken by developers are critical to creating better, inclusive, online experiences.”
Winter Arts Talk Series
When: February 22 and 23, 2022
Time: 7 pm
Where: Online
Cost: Free, register online
Daily Hive is a proud media partner of the VMF Winter Arts
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