This project takes the idea of the mixtape and combines it with Alexander G. Weheliye’s notion of a “virtual sounding space” that is marked by the circulation of culture via technological reproductions—records and tapes, mixing, and the use of music production centers, or MPCs.

We can see and hear this development in ‘sampling’ and ‘remixing,’ common electronic music production techniques in that use purposeful appropriation, repetition, riffs, splices, and interjections from a variety of sources.

By using the human senses of touch, sight and hearing, Electrofunk Mixtape uses physical computing and visual imagery to layer conflicting rhythms and effects on top of physical objects such as walls to create complicated sound and image patterns. In this space, participants will create and wear gloves that layer audio samples with their fingertips, convert colors to musical notes, and “Play” magnetic tape on walls with wireless sound transmitters. Participants can also activate 3D projection mapping with the sounds.

Participants immerse themselves in a virtual sounding space, to generate new modes of learning, producing, and making. Participants explore sense, which is the physiological capacity of organisms that provides data for perception. This includes topics studied by neuroscience, cognitive psychology (or cognitive science), and the philosophy of perception. Participants learn about how sense relates to physical science, i.e. wave properties, electromagnetic radiation, and information technology.

Included a Full 3-day workshop prior to PASEO.

About the artist: Dr. Nettrice R. Gaskins is an African American digital artist, academic, cultural critic and advocate of STEAM fields. In her work she explores "techno-vernacular creativity" and Afrofuturism.

Dr. Gaskins teaches, writes, "fabs”, and makes art using algorithms and machine learning. She has taught multimedia, visual art, and computer science with high school students. She earned a BFA in Computer Graphics with Honors from Pratt Institute in 1992 and an MFA in Art and Technology from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1994. She received a doctorate in Digital Media from Georgia Tech in 2014. Currently, Dr. Gaskins is a 2021 Ford Global Fellow and the assistant director of the Lesley STEAM Learning Lab at Lesley University. She is an advisory board member for the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech. Her first full-length book, Techno-Vernacular Creativity and Innovation is available through The MIT Press. Gaskins' AI-generated artworks can be viewed in journals, magazines, museums, and on the Web. Her series of 'featured futurist' portraits are on view at the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building through early July 2022.