2021 | Senior Thesis
The Gathering at The Poet’s ShackThe Gathering at The Poet’s Shack was a one-night immersive experience inspired by Percy MacKaye, the poet and dramatist who served as Miami University’s writer-in-residence from 1920 to 1924, in the first role of its kind at an American university.
MacKaye’s original shack was built as a writing studio in Bishop Woods: a simple place with a fire, where faculty and students could gather to talk with him and hear new work. Our project returned to that idea of the shack as an open gathering place for art, writing, and exchange.
On the same grounds, the installation centered on a reimagined shack structure we designed and built as both a monument and a projection canvas. For one night, light, poetry, and mixed reality artworks transformed the surrounding woods into an invitation to gather and participate.
As Creative Director, I led the concept, narrative direction, experience design, companion app design, and visual approach. The experience celebrated the past, present, and future, using artworks and poetry from the Myaamia tribe, current students, and notable Miami graduates to connect generations of voice and place.
A companion web app let visitors move through the experience: reading and submitting poems, accessing mixed reality artworks scattered throughout the woods, and seeing their own words become part of an in-app feed or live projection installation. For one night, the project extended MacKaye’s original invitation outward, using experimental tools to create a new way for visitors to gather, write, and leave something of themselves behind.