Increasing black participation in the VR industry
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Funded by Corporation for Public Broadcasting, New York State Council on the Arts, MacArthur Foundation, and others, Black Public Media supports black filmmakers and funds content about the African diaspora. In an effort to increase the number of black storytellers working in VR and AR–mediums in which black voices are vastly underrepresented–BPM launched BPMplus mixers in New York City in June 2018 and Pop-up VR Theaters at Essence Fest in July 2018. The goal of BPMplus programs is to lower or eliminate barriers preventing black talent from participating fully in the XR industry. To date, BPM has hosted 10 VR Mixers and 12 Pop-up VR Theaters in Los Angeles, New York, New Orleans, and Las Vegas.
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About The Speaker
Lisa Osborne
As Black Public Media's Director of Emerging Media, Lisa Osborne introduces black creatives to VR, AR, and AI storytelling through the organization's #BPMplus programs. Based in Harlem, New York, BPM has funded and supported black, independent filmmakers for 40 years. Lisa's career started in print journalism and quickly pivoted to digital media when she joined a Turner Network Television startup. Next, she moved to Germany to run adidas.com, where creating microsites for the Winter Olympics, the French Open, FIFA World Cup, and Rugby World Cup became her focus. At American Film Institute, she produced digital experiments for ABC, NBC, Cartoon Network, Independent Lens, PBS NewsHour, and MTV, among others. She also freelanced for Sundance's New Frontier team regularly for a decade. Lisa greatly enjoys teaching, whether it's creating a course for Carnegie Mellon or doing guest lectures at UT-Austin, OTIS, Loyola University-New Orleans, and MIT. She was delighted to serve as a juror for the immersive competition at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.
