Virginia Tech honors Nikki Giovanni through immersive exhibit

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BLACKSBURG, Va. ( WFXR ) – Virginia Tech is set to honor the late poet Nikki Giovanni , in two different ways this weekend. On Sunday at the Cube in the Moss Arts Center , a new exhibit will be open to the public to fully immerse yourself inside of Giovanni’s poems, and it’s completely free.

“Ego Tripping” and “Nikki Rose,” are the two poems the immersive exhibit will focus on. Virginia Tech professors and students in multiple departments have been working for months to honor her legacy.

(Photo Credit: Meaghan Dee , Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Virginia Tech)

“One of Nikki’s greatest contributions to Virginia Tech was her teaching,” said Meaghan Dee , Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Virginia Tech, who is leading the exhibit, “She was a huge part of the community, but she was an incredible teacher, and so much of who she was was in giving back and lifting up voices.”

“For me, it’s more than just art: it’s about lifting up voices, sparking conversations, and creating a space where people feel seen and heard.” – Brittney Harris: Assistant Professor of Applied Theatre

The Cube will feature Giovanni’s voice in surround sound, as well graphic design and on-screen choreographed movements, all complimenting her poems.

(Photo Credit: Meaghan Dee , Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Virginia Tech)

“Then on top of that, Charles Nichols , who is a creative technologist in music and also in the school of performing arts at Virginia Tech, created these audio soundscapes for it to really compose them all together,” said Dee, “Then because you can have that locational audio, it can feel like it’s moving in the space as well.”

The exhibit has been in the works for months, getting both Giovanni and her long-term partner, Jenny Fowler’s, blessing.

(Photo Credit: Meaghan Dee , Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Virginia Tech)

“It does feel as though it’s shifted some in light of her passing. So we wanted to really honor her memory, honor her space, and particularly what Jenny was wanting during this time. We still had her support for this project, which we were tremendously thankful for,” said Dee.

However, they say this is just the beginning for the exhibit.

“We were hoping to really launch this beta version to kind of get some feedback. But also we’re inviting audiences to share their own photos, written experiences, memories about Nikki, so that we could maybe weave those into future exhibits as well,” said Dee.

The exhibit will be running at the same time  as Giovanni’s celebration of life Sunday at the Anne and Ellen Fife theatre .

They hope the next time they have an exhibit will be in December, marking one year since Giovanni’s passing.

Giovanni’s celebration of life will be on Sunday June 8th at 2 p.m. and the Nikki Giovanni exhibit will be from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

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