Tag: Art and Media

While initiatives like Mapping for Equity document what exists (or doesn’t exist) in public spaces, these gaps must be communicated or demonstrated so that community demand for invisible, unbuilt amenities can be recorded. Open Streetmap has a few ways to note desire or proposed amenities, but civic media can also help. inCitu, a NYC-based augmented reality company, proposes AR as a tool to bridge this gap: by combining data from projects like Mapping for Equity and Spatial Equity NYC with augmented reality (AR) visualization, communities can create compelling artifacts, like AR videos and mockups, that advocate for repair, preservation, and creation of public space infrastructure where it’s needed most. This session will present a sample workflow, from scanning an existing amenity to creating an AR video of it in a new location, and will be followed by open discussion on civic design considerations how this method might contribute to existing efforts.

Open Data Week 2026 March 22-29, 2026 (and more!)

Join the CUNY Graduate Center for a pre-Open Data Week keynote featuring Rahul Bhargava, the author of Community Data. Presented by the Masters in Data Analysis and Visualization and the Masters in Digital Humanities programs.

Datafication has driven the adoption of new quantified processes in civic contexts, but our tools and methods haven’t adapted to be more participatory and empowering. The traditional toolbox of surveys, spreadsheets, and charts wasn’t designed for community settings. Artists, planners, designers, non-profits, journalists, and others are pushing the boundaries of data representation in order to meet audiences where they are with impactful multi-sensory data stories. Physical data sculptures, embodied data theatre, participatory data murals, data sonification performance—these are the new practices we need to cultivate in order to engage larger groups of people around data in community settings. Join us to explore how we can hear, feel, smell, and taste our data to create more inclusive data experiences.

This event will now be held in room C201/202/203 on the Concourse level of the Graduate Center. Attendees should come in through the main entrance and take the elevator down to the C level.

What’s your Queens story? Join Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons and other No, YOU Tell It! producers to discover the personal stories behind the public places we share. Participants will use writing prompts to interact with the Queens Name Explorer, an interactive digital map developed by Queens Memory and Urban Archive, alongside data gathered from numerous New York City and State sources. Together, we will learn the historical significance behind the people’s names that grace Queens streets, parks, monuments, and more, including luminaries who will be honored at the Women’s History Month exhibition on view at Culture Lab LIC, where this workshop will be held.

Participants will explore their place in Queens through a series of written and visual prompts, including a scavenger hunt through the exhibition to engage with the personal stories of these historic Queens women. The program will culminate in a story-sharing activity that invites participants to pick a point on the map and trade tales of their experiences on that spot to enrich local history with our shared and unique stories.

Register here.

NYC School of Data is BetaNYC’s community conference that demystifies the policies and practices around open data, technology, and service design. This year’s conference helps conclude NYC Open Data Week and features 40+ sessions organized by NYC’s civic technology, data, and design community! Our conversations and workshops will feed your mind and inspire you to improve your neighborhood.

To attend, you need to purchase tickets. The venue is accessible, and the content is all-ages friendly! If you have accessibility questions or needs, please email the BetaNYC team at [email protected].

Thank you to Reinvent Albany for their support as Lead Partner and helping cover conference costs to make it possible to meet in 2026. Additional sponsors include HaydenAI, SVA Masters in Data Visualization and Communication, Nava, The Center for Urban Science + Progress (CUSP) at NYU Tandon. and Cyvl. 

If you can’t join us in person, tune into the main stage live stream provided by the Internet Society New York Chapter. Follow the conversation #NYCSoData on Bluesky.

Purchase your tickets here.