T&DA Invite You to Walk with Pride and Discover Sydney’s Queer History

Sean Simon and Malinda McGuire from T&DA recently attended the Meta Connect with Pride launch event with Sean as one of the guest speakers providing a sneak peek of our LGBTQIA+ and First Nations historical preservation filter, Walk with Pride. 

Using Real World Scale AR technology, we have brought to life various sites tied to Sydney's queer and First Nations history by anchoring quotes and information onto their surfaces. Users can take their time to read and discover Sydney's rich and diverse cultural history of the LGBTQIA+ and First Nations communities. 

“We have created a way to capture and retell LGBTQIA+ and First Nations history in an innovative, respectful and non-destructive way for future generations. I am hoping this is just the stepping stone that’ll pave the way for more powerful AR experiences that preserve the beating heart of our communities’ history.” Sean Simon, Lead Technical Artist at T&DA.

People visiting the Sydney Worldpride 2023 festival can discover these stories as they follow the historical trail. The filter is a way to support the work of the Pride History Group, a volunteer community with over 15 years’ dedication to researching, writing about, and recording memories of Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ history. 

To ensure the dimensions of the virtual site accurately match up, T&DA visited each location and LiDAR scanned, optimised, and remodelled them to perfect scale. They wanted to make this filter accessible for anyone, so gave users the ability to resize the virtual sites so they could fit it anywhere. Using Meta Spark’s Real World Scale technology, they are able to bring to life various sites through virtual projection mapping of stories, information and images supplied by Pride History Group and City of Sydney.

"We're always looking to collaborate with inspirational partners for projects just like this groundbreaking filter Walk with Pride," Raymond Leung, creative director of T&DA.

2023 sees Sydney Mardi Gras and Sydney WorldPride unite for a truly global festival - and a first for the Southern Hemisphere. We believe Walk with Pride to perfectly match this year’s theme of GATHER, DREAM, AMPLIFY as well as an opportunity for us to support and celebrate the wider First Nations and LGBTQIA+ communities and preserve and share their history.

Follow at @t_da.io on Instagram to watch us showcase more of our Walk with Pride. 

Try the filter here:  https://www.instagram.com/ar/880243076542741