Summary
During 2025 fieldwork with colleagues from the National Museum of Liberia and the University of Liberia, I recorded VR-supported interpretation sessions across eight towns and villages. Participants encountered 3D models of Liberian objects held in U.S. collections and contributed memories, identifications, and culturally grounded interpretations.
The resulting archive brought together 3D models, documentary video, transcripts, and community knowledge. Collection stewards valued the method for research, access, and public engagement while identifying a need for infrastructure that could connect these materials to durable museum and scholarly workflows. Loci became my response.
The essay follows Loci from that research need through its development during my residency in Northwestern IT’s Emerging Technologies Lab. It presents the platform’s approach to named attribution, spatial annotation, searchable transcripts, precise evidence links, and citation, then looks toward its continued development through teaching and research at The University of Texas at Austin.
Source Links
- Read the essay at Northwestern IT
- Explore Loci Open the public platform and browse published objects and interpretations.
- View Fatu V. Kamara's interpretation Explore the evidence moment featured in the essay.