PAM CUT

SYMBIOSIS

NOVEMBER 12, 2022 – FEBRUARY 12, 2023

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a plant? Perhaps a frog, a slug, or an orchid-butterfly hybrid? Or maybe you’re not an organic lifeform at all! This fall, the PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow building at 934 SW Salmon St. will come to life with the U.S. debut of Symbiosis, a performative, multiuser, and multisensory installation in which the human body will be redesigned to merge with technology and nature itself.

One of the first fully sensory Extended Reality (XR) storytelling experiences—including individualized haptic suits, soft robotics, VR audio and visual, as well as taste and smell-based story elements—Symbiosis takes immersive storytelling to a whole new level. The latest from Dutch experience design collective Polymorf by directors Marcel van Brakel and Mark Meeuwenoord, in partnership with Studio Biarritz, this XR experience for multiple users and multiple senses will transport you to 200 years into the future where a rich biosphere of mixed life-forms has taken over earth: human, animal, and machine hybrids. Allowing for each participant to embody one of these symbiotic life forms, our audience will transform into entirely new beings and envision a post-human world where there is no competition, only symbiosis. “Polymorf’s experiential and immersive works— and their clever use of scent especially—have blown my mind for years,” said PAM CUT Director Amy Dotson. “Symbiosis is the kind of transformational interactive storytelling that really reflects who we are and what we want to do with artists and partners. We are so psyched that they have trusted us with the U.S. premiere and can’t wait for our audiences to snuggle up in their haptic suits, strap on their VR glasses, and travel into this brave new world of storytelling with us.”

How multisensory is this, you ask? All five senses are engaged as you are transformed into a post-human hybrid creature, and PAM CUT is the only place in the country where this can be experienced. When you arrive at the Center for an Untold Tomorrow, you will be welcomed in the front lobby and fitted into a suit specially designed for this exhibition. The suit contains custom-made fixtures that respond to the atmosphere once you are inside Symbiosis. The VR headsets are also equipped with olfactory fixtures that will emit specially designed aromas to release in sync with your experience, and your sense of taste will be activated with vegetarian snacks designed by master chefs.

Symbiosis is inspired by Donna Haraway’s book Staying with the Trouble, in particular a chapter in which the noted ecofeminist scholar imagines a post-humanist future with humans and monarch butterflies symbiogenetically joined. Talented actors such as Maya Hawke from Stranger Things voice the characters, which include variations on a Colorado river toad, a slime mold, a flowering camellia, and anglerfish, among others.

How It Works:

PAM CUT staff will monitor and assist participants throughout the entire experience. Each session runs for roughly 45 minutes and up to six people can participate at a time. Group sales and corporate or partner reservations are available upon request at development@pam.org. Tickets available at pamcut.org.

PAM CUT ARTIST SERVICES

Sustainability Labs support creative visions

In 2021, PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow kicked off the first Sustainability Labs with a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts and generous contributions from Joan Cirillo and Roger Cooke, The King Family Foundation, and the Reil Foundation for Arts and Creativity. Over the course of one week in October 2021, five mid-career multimedia artists met with creative minds from Shadowmachine, Nike, Dark Horse, Venice Biennale and more; worked with a renowned media industry life coach; and were paired up with mentors specific to the fellows’ creative visions. Over the course of nine months, these fellows focused on creating sustainable practices for their business, creative, and personal growth, successfully reaching their individual goals of opening an animation studio, selling their project to distributors, receiving representation, making their first feature, and scaling their business model and creative output.

This year, nearly three times more applicants submitted to take part in this year’s program, which begins October 17. We are pleased to introduce the 2022 Sustainability Labs Fellows.

JAMAL ADEMOLA

LOS ANGELES, CA ANIMATION, PERFORMANCE, DOCUMENTARY

ARIEL BASKA

CENTREVILLE, VA NARRATIVE FILMMAKING, PODCASTING

BARRI CHASE

PORTLAND, OR NARRATIVE FILMMAKING, TELEVISION

ROLAND DAHWEN

PORTLAND, OR NARRATIVE AND DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING

CARLA FORTE

MIAMI, FL NARRATIVE FILMMAKING, PERFORMANCE, XR

Fiscal Sponsorships provide new funding source for artists

PAM CUT is also thrilled to be offering fiscal sponsorships as part of its roadmap for artists. Fiscal sponsorships provide an avenue for taxdeductible fundraising that is often not available or feasible for individual creators and small production teams in our community. The first project that has been selected by PAM CUT and Portland Art Museum staff is Fogtown, a TV series and video game project that blends handmade finger-puppets with innovative 3D technologies. The project was chosen because of its forward-thinking approach and alignment with PAM CUT’s mission to challenge for whom, by whom, and how cinematic stories are told. For more information about Fogtown and how to submit a project proposal for fiscal sponsorship, visit pamcut.org