Megan Young spent the duration of her Akron Soul Train residency embedded within the Northeast Ohio shelter system. She made part of a collaborative design team developing temporary housing solutions with an emphasis on human dignity and collective safety amid the COVID-19 health crisis. That experience formed the basis for a series of workshops exploring public space, personal privacy, andour relationship to tools of mass surveillance.
The upcoming experimental film screening compares communal, care-based methods of surveillance to contemporary, technology-based systems. This work asks if we can re-tool emerging technologies to better serve our most vulnerable populations. It combines performance elements, clips from community workshops, creative writing, and algorithmic iconography. Contemplative opportunities provide space to consider personal boundaries and expectations around these timely topics.

This event provides an introduction to the SIGN STEALING project, directed by Megan Young and informed by collaborative contributors. /SS/ considers drone surveillance and predictive policing through public performance and digital archives. In combining kinesthetic exploration and political activism, it reflects visions for a free and limitless future.