Entry Description

Most of us are more than willing to say we’re anti-racist. But how can we actively and successfully fight racism if we don’t know what it sounds like? VoiceOfRacism.co.nz allows anyone to feel the burden of relentless racism. Thousands of real microaggressions were gathered for the experience, and each user is given a completely unique, unpredictable and endless experience. Voice of Racism is now used as a learning tool in government, sports, business, education and media.

Brief

Most of us are more than willing to say we’re anti-racist. But how can we actively and successfully fight racism if we don’t know what it can sound like? We needed to expose the spectrum of racism that exists in New Zealand, to allow people to see how they were contributing to harm.

Design Solution

VoiceOfRacism.co.nz allows anyone to hear and feel the burden of relentless racism. Thousands of real microaggressions were facial-captured and rendered in Web GL. A non-descript character was designed to represent the voice, which reacted in real-time to the live audio, coming in and out of darkness and varying in intensity. Each user’s immersive audio and visual experience was unique and endless.

Cultural Context

Racism in New Zealand tends, overall, to be less ‘extreme’ than in many parts of the world, but our systemic, unintentional and ‘small’ racism is not only prevalent, but leading to unequal mental health outcomes and reduced life expectancy. The campaign was designed to show the harm of lots of ‘small’ moments of racism, particularly when lived along more overt and aggressive examples.