cityist.qxp_Layout 2 24/06/2021 12:54 Page 1
ist
THE CITY
My
BRISTOL Meet digital designer and creative Okori S. Lewis-McCalla
My mother moved to Fishponds from St Pauls when I was born. I liked that it had variety; Vassals Park, the high street, an after-school club called Harry Crooks (if I remember correctly). Eastville Park wasn’t far either.
A world first? Bristol could soon be host to the world’s first augmented reality zoo, based within Bristol Zoo’s historic 12-acre gardens, which currently appear to be destined for private housing development. OurWorld Bristol – a collective of organisations and people including the Eden Project and universities of Bristol and Exeter – is committed to creating an inspiring educational visitor attraction space, and convinced the site’s future should be as a resource for discovery via immersive experiences. They want visitors to experience animals in their natural habitat, even going back millions of years, plus a city garden full of birds, bees, bugs and butterflies; a viewing tower offering sights across Clifton Downs; augmented reality for visualising the distant past and possible future; and a ‘wild island’ where no humans can go, to allow nature to take its course. The brainchild of film director Stephen Daldry; architect George Ferguson, founder of the Tobacco Factory; and Stuart Wood, executive director at boomsatsuma, OurWorld would be a ‘an oasis of learning of global significance and international reach, forged from Bristol’s long-established place in the world as the Hollywood of natural history film-making’. It would make the most of the city’s capacity for digital innovation, its ‘restless appetite for radical social change’ and international leadership in creative storytelling. There is “no better national or, indeed, global destination more suited to this project,” said Sir Tim Smit, co-founder of the Eden Project. “We want to create something that brings together the UK’s best qualities – creative, collaborative, spirited and environmentally conscious – to create a place for people to learn about the world around them, just as the zoo has done for generations,” said Stephen. “We believe it is deliverable if the support exists for it to happen.” • ourworldbristol.com
10 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE
|
JULY 2021
|
No 200
Okori is working on decentralising police data
I’ll read before starting work, which will likely involve wireframing/designing/building a website or web application. Then I’ll go for a walk, do some work for my start-up Voicera, probably try some puzzles, chess or maths, write a little, lift weights and go to bed. I’m working on decentralising police data, starting with complaints, and creating a platform to facilitate public participation in the police decision-making process. We have been meeting with police and want to engender a culture of collaboration on community issues, of accountability, of accessibility, and make the UK a safer space. If I was mayor I’d work with police to make police data more accessible. I’d look to our tech sector to explore the potentialities of blockchain, and decentralised finance – I’d ask in what ways these nascent technologies can foster new opportunities to better the lives of Bristol people, bolster our creative scene and allow more people across the UK more access to non-custodial financial markets, and those across the world insurance against inflation. My good friend Nasra Ayub has done nothing but brilliant work ever since we left sixth form. An award-winning activist, writer, speaker and campaigner, receiving a Diana Award in 2020, she’s put in extensive work safeguarding against FGM, honour-based violence and extremism on national and international levels. Having had the pleasure to grow up with her, it’s been amazing (yet no surprise) to see how far she’s come. Stacey Olika is another bright, talented star; a multi-disciplinary artist in film, photography and graphic design. Channel 4’s recently appointed her as a creative diversity coordinator which has her responsible for increasing representation on and off screen – something she’s always been passionate about and, no doubt, will give her best to achieve. I recently stumbled upon Idles and Birthmark. Idles’ sound and message is great. Their latest album Mono is my favourite. They speak to unity, the plight of immigrants/minorities, the power in standing with what you say and believe in. They’re also pretty humorous and
get you pumped up! They’re in my top five bands. Birthmark is a cool underground artist I found through a Boiler Room System Restart show at Bristol Museum. The guy was performing the coldest, hard-hitting, introspective spoken word to these ambient beats, with a saxophonist. I needed to know more. I also found out about talented collective Young Echo who, I think, Birthmark has worked with. He served as a gateway to a sound that I never knew existed. The best Italian meal I’ve had? Prego, near Westbury on Trym. I also like Aluna and the Everyman; I spend way too much time there. I launched a newsletter called Think Again to share fresh points of view and ideas. It serves to introduce interesting ideas, topics, books and links. I plan to drop occasional think-pieces of my own in. I just love to share. I’ve been interviewing people from all types of academic fields, creative practices and backgrounds: mathematicians, artists, scientists, philosophers, dancers, pianists, authors, computer scientists. By the end of 2021 I want to have launched the Voicera MVP, have grown my newsletter to 500 subscribers and officially launched the podcast. I want to end the year a better friend, family member, and leader for my team. I have two or three swimming awards from junior school lying around in my mother’s house – and yet I cannot swim. • hiokori.substack.com
