Augmented Reality might be the perfect medium to apply to the current socio-political climate. It is a mind-bending way of making juxtapositions that can comment on a place or situation—like the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, for example. The app-based technology plays a role in the Artists Against Injustice Rally from 5 to 8 pm Friday June 19th –Juneteenth–at the courthouse (1 West Lakeside Avenue) in Downtown Cleveland.

Cleveland-based organization The Sculpture Center is working with muralists Robin Robinson and Gary Williams (of Sankofa Fine Art Plus), supported by the augmented reality app 4th Wall, created by California-based AR artist Nancy Baker Cahill, to present the virtual installation of Robinson and Williams’ mural, Our Lives Matter, on grand scale. It will seem to float in the air in front of the Courthouse, dominating that stretch of Lakeside Avenue.

Augmented Reality refers to an interactive experience created by combining virtual imagery or other information with real-world locations. The installations are accessible through applications downloadable to cellular phones and tablets. On location, viewed through the app, the technology makes objects seem to appear in real-world locations where they do not actually exist

Sankofa Fine Art Plus is a non-profit organization dedicated to developing, educating and advocating for African Americans and other underrepresented visual artist through collaboration.

Nancy Baker Cahill describes her introduction to and use of the technology in her TED Talk, Augmented Reality as an Artists Tool for Equity and Access.

In this case, a mural created by Robinson and Williams will seem to magically hang, suspended in the air on an architectural scale in front of the County Courthouse. The installation is visible by looking at the space through the 4th Wall app. The application can be downloaded free.

Robinson and Williams’s mural contains the message that “Our Lives Matter.” They originally created the Our Lives Matter mural in 2015, with support from the Ohio Arts Council and the United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland.

Artists in all disciplines—visual artists, theatre artists, musicians, dancers and every other discipline—are encouraged to download the app in advance and join the rally from 5 to 8 pm Friday night at the Cuyahoga County Courthouse.

Robinson encourages participants to “bring signs, make noise, and be heard.” Creative masks are encouraged.

The 4th Wall app is available as a free download. Participants are encouraged to use #battlegroundCLE and #4thWallapp when they post on social media.

Disclosure: Gary Williams is a member of the Collective Arts Network Board of Directors.