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Our latest winners in the interactive and immersive space demonstrate the stunning variety of topics that new technologies can tackle, from the daily life of a struggling band and a fictional mystery in the 16th-century Bavarian Alps to art in a time of real war in Ukraine and the history of racism in New York City. As we open the submission period for this year’s awards in this category, here’s a look at the best interactive stories of last year.
Kahlil Greene (known as “The Gen Z Historian”) and filmmaker Ariel Viera use their social media platforms to reveal the history of race-based violence behind some of New York City’s best-known neighborhoods in this six-part online micro-documentary series. They explain how Wall Street was built by enslaved people, and how Lincoln Center and Central Park could come to fruition only after Black and Brown neighborhoods were razed to make way. Their work shows the ways that social media can be used for their highest purposes.
Where to Watch: @urbanistlive and @kahlil.greene on Instagram
After U.S. police brutality became a salient reality to millions across the world thanks to a civilian video recording of Los Angeles officers beating Rodney King in 1991, musician and activist Peter Gabriel, the Reebok Foundation, and the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights joined to found WITNESS, a global organization that aims to put technology into ordinary citizens’ hands to expose human rights violations. The group has since empowered those fighting for Afghan women’s rights, forcibly disappeared Indian youth, indigenous people in the Philippines, and others. WITNESS also, crucially, developed online platforms and mobile apps meant to share the footage worldwide and training programs to help would-be videographers do this important work.
Where to Learn More: Witness.org
“Inspired by illuminated manuscripts and printed woodcuts in a time when Europe is at a crossroads of great religious and political change,” as its website says, Pentiment is a game centered on the character of Andreas Maler, a master artist investigating a deep conspiracy in a small town in the Bavarian Alps. This unique adventure sends players through a mysterious web of murders and scandals in the 16th century, building a narrative full of colorful characters that intertwine with the social, political, and religious layers of the time.
Where to Play: Available on Several Gaming Platforms
Join a virtual band in this moody and touching five-episode video game, complete with original indie pop music (which was also performed at live shows across the country last year). Their story showcases intersectional queer identities, the challenges of creative life, friendship, mental health, and grief. We Are OFK is video game storytelling at its best.
Where to Play: Available on Several Gaming Platforms
In a country under attack, museums must hide their precious works, street artists must face the reality of their art being destroyed, and musicians may find their performances interrupted by sirens warning of an attack. This 25-minute virtual-reality documentary explores how Ukrainian art and culture are being targeted in the country’s war with Russia and profiles the people working to protect it. The resulting portrait shows the vitality of art even in war, and maybe even more so because of it.
Where to Watch: Meta Quest
Kahlil Greene’s Peabody Acceptance for ‘The Hidden History of Racism in New York City’
“It’s almost ironic that my fantastic collaborator, Ariel, and I are receiving this award at a time when social media is thought of as a place of rampant mis- and disinformation,” Greene said. “But we see this series that we poured our heart and soul into as an example of what social media could be, a place full of truth. And not just any kind of truth, the most important kind of truth: the hard truth.”
Where to Watch: PeabodyAwards.com