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Loci

A citable evidence platform built from community interpretation and museum stewardship needs.

2025 - Ongoing LiberiaEvanston, IL, USA Emerging Technologies Lab, Northwestern IT
Screenshot of the Loci public interface homepage with search and collection browsing.
loci.threedeezy.com

Woman shaped wood spoon | Loci public evidence object

Community interview in Sanniquellie, Liberia about Field Museum Spoon.
Community interview in Sanniquellie, Liberia about Field Museum Spoon
210486.nosub[1] Field Museum Catalog Card.
210486.nosub[1] Field Museum Catalog Card
Open full object interfaceLoci public evidence page

Overview

Loci is a 3D-enabled digital heritage platform that turns recorded interpretation into durable public evidence. It links objects, named knowledge holders, video moments, transcript passages, spatial annotations, collection context, and citations.

The platform grew from VR-supported fieldwork in Liberia and collection stewards’ need for infrastructure that could carry community knowledge into research, teaching, exhibitions, and future stewardship. I developed Loci during my residency in Northwestern IT’s Emerging Technologies Lab.

The current pilot connects six collection objects with 42 interpretation clips, 18 spatial annotations, source recordings, searchable transcripts, consent-aware attribution, and citation tools. A private authoring environment supports research, rights review, and curation before approved materials enter the public platform.

The essay Building Loci: Restorative Stewardship for Material Culture and Community Knowledge traces the fieldwork, museum research, and development process behind the platform.

Supporting Media

Project documentation, process views, and field context

Loci evidence page for the Loma Konia medicine pot.
Loci evidence page for the Loma Konia medicine pot.
Collaborators from the National Museum of Liberia and the University of Liberia conducting a VR-supported interpretation session in Sanniquellie.
VR fieldwork in Sanniquellie.
Loci evidence page for an Iroke object interpretation.
Loci evidence page for an Iroke object interpretation.

Related Locations

  • Liberia

    Liberia-based research linking fieldwork, immersive interpretation, heritage collaboration, and 3D documentation.

  • Evanston

    Research, exhibition, and interface-design base linking Northwestern collaborations to public scholarship and immersive projects.

Related Publications