Peace Play in Virtual Reality

Peace Play in Virtual Reality is a VR application co-created by Emerson College students alongside members of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute's survivors network. It is inspired by the LDBPI's Peace Play in Urban Settings healing modality, which invites participants to create a concrete world to express the feelings and emotions they may not have language for by creating scenes using miniature figures in a tray of sand.

Peace Play in Virtual Reality immerses users in a virtual beachscape, from which they can interact with symbolic objects of special meaning to Janice McCoy, whose son was murdered in 2018, while learning about her healing journey with the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute.

“Since our project is about, and for the community we are working with, their feedback is invaluable to our work. I think any and all of the feedback they gave for all different aspects of the project should be used to reconsider and revise it and make this the best version we can make it.”

— Tamara Hamdalla, Student

Social Impact Studios, facilitated by the Engagement Lab, give Emerson students and faculty the opportunity to work directly with local grassroots changemakers to co-create media projects that will make an impact in Boston and beyond.

Peace Play in Virtual Reality was co-created in Fall 2022’s Social Impact Studio in immersive media, in partnership with the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute.