The OYA Black Arts Coalition (OBAC) has announced the participants of the 2023 OYA Scale Up Immersive Media Lab.

The cohort of 11 Black-owned content creation companies will take part in this year’s lab, which has been co-developed with the Canadian Film Centre, according to a news release.

The Immersive Lab is designed to amplify Black content creators and producers working with immersive media.

This year’s participants include Alicia Richins of Alicia M. Richins Consulting; Christopher Bernard of Meta Font Productions; Earl Monero of Almost Paradise; Fūnk-é Joseph of Fūnk-é; and Jeannine Charles of And Action! Media.

Rounding out the list of participants are Karimah Zakia Issa of Karimah Zakia Issa – KZI Films; Keda Edwards Pierre and Masaaba Mwambu of Broken Whole Media Group; Patrice Murenzi of Seruka; Shana McCalla of Salemscript Productions; Sheldon Shaw of Potential Films; and Toluwa Fayemi of Streetlight Theory.

During the five-month lab participants will work in teams to create innovative working prototypes in virtual reality, augmented reality, or mixed/extended reality. The lab includes expert industry consultations, practical mentorship, networking opportunities for the participants. OBAC’s program partner Dark Slope will also provide a “state-of-the-art” rapid prototyping lab.

The cohort will have access to industry memberships, as well as guest speakers, such as filmmakers Tamara Shogaolu and Michele Stephenson, music producer Young Guru and director Alton Glass.

OBAC is supported by a non-repayable Government of Canada investment of $3 million through the Black Entrepreneurship Program Ecosystem Fund, delivered by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

Photo courtesy of OYA Black Arts Coalition