Michele Cheng: "Multiverse: Reframing Vulnerable Realities through Intermedia Storytelling and Fluidity"

Michele Cheng, a graduate student in the Creative Practice and Critical Inquiry program, had her paper "Multiverse: Reframing Vulnerable Realities Through Intermedia Storytelling" published by Leonardo through MIT Press. Leonardo is the leading international peer-reviewed journal on the use of contemporary science and technology in the arts and music and the application and influence of the arts and humanities on science and technology. The paper is available through MIT Press Direct and Harvard HOLLIS.

Abstract: 
With sociopolitical conflicts, burgeoning technologies, and environmental crises, our reality is so extreme and polarized that the in-between is obliterated. The hollowing of the middle ground, the in-betweenness, collapses the vision of a peaceful future. The author explores these matters through a case study of her intermedia work Multiverse. This paper examines the intercultural nature of intermedia projects, discusses the technical and cultural barriers that emerged during the creative process, and details how improvisation and fluidity are significant in transcending and transforming vulnerable realities.

Michele Cheng:
Michele Cheng is an interdisciplinary composer, multi-instrumentalist, improviser, and puppeteer intertwining music, visuals, and theatre to engage with social issues and cultural identities. Through a journalistic approach, she develops creative work that shines light on underrepresented narratives. She collaborates with artists across cultural practices and builds custom instruments and puppets.