Golden Mile Memories (AR)

Inspiration

Back in 2022, I had the opportunity to work with the City of Toronto's Cultural Hotspot Program to create a public art initiative - turning a local park into an outdoor photo gallery. Due to city policies, the installation was only up for a couple of months until November 2022. AR allows me to bring back the project for the public to enjoy in a new way!

What it does

Originally curated by local youth, Golden Mile Memories showcases photographs that represent the 'golden memories' of the neighbourhood - reflecting on the past, present and future.

How we built it

Adobe Aero provides a fast and simple environment to place photographs at the installation location, along the Meadoway Trail in Ashtonbee Reservoir Park. Using the Geospatial Creator feature, I was able to leverage the same data we all use in Google Maps and Google Earth to locate and place each image.

Challenges we ran into

As the software is in beta, there were a lot of redos with the project file, even resorting to reinstalling the program. But when it works, navigating the platform is incredibly simple and will definitely reduce the barriers for others looking to create their own AR activations.

What's next for Golden Mile Memories (AR)

Building off a previous Google-related open-source project by Sidewalk Labs, I am aiming to map out more archival and community stories across parks in Toronto. Visit itsneerby.ca to follow the journey!

Built With

• adobe
• aero