Invisible Ground brings history to life with new augmented reality marker
SHAWNEE, OH- History came alive in Shawnee as Invisible Ground unveiled its newest immersive historical marker today.
In the heart of the small Appalachian town attendees had a firsthand experience with the marker, which uses digital storytelling to highlight the rich and diverse history of Southeast Ohio. Guests had the opportunity to test out the augmented reality features, hear from project leaders and enjoy food and live music after a brief presentation.
“Our missions is we’re a multimedia project that focuses on history and storytelling telling in Appalachian Ohio, and so usually focusing on stories of communities and place based kind of storytelling often with underrepresented communities, so a lot of black history, a lot of labor history, a lot of indigenous history and also just the idea of kind of connecting communities to their past in different ways,” said Brian Koscho, Founder and Director of Invisible Ground.
The project, which began as Koscho’s MFA thesis at Ohio University has expanded into a network of interactive historical markers across the region.
“I think having a better idea of what connects us to our space around us is huge and it’s not just in our actual community but in the stories that go beyond that, there’s a lot of different philosophies that are behind it, but I think this idea of connecting people in different ways to each other and to their sense of space and thinking about the impact that all of these places have had out in the world not just in our region but the way that people from all these communities in Southeast Ohio and places have connected to other places far beyond us,” said Koscho.
Invisible Ground has been installing markers throughout Athens County and plans to continue expanding its reach. For those interested in exploring these historical sites or learning more about the stories behind them, visit findinvisibleground.com or check out the Invisible Ground podcast, which is available on all major podcasting platforms.
