Looking Outwards – 11

One project that I admire is “Bot Party,” helmed by Phoenix Perry and aided by Freida Abtan, both women artists. The project is a game that requires the players to help the robots communicate with each other through audio interaction. They utilize a ‘bot to skin and skin to bot’ communication protocol – the user physically connects the bots so that they may send encoded messages to each other. I admire that the project is both thoughtful in its simplistic message, while simultaneously is efficient as well as aesthetically pleasing. It also utilizes robots for a considerably unique purpose. Phoenix Perry amusingly calls herself a cultural engineer, game designer, instigator, as well as “feminist killjoy.” She was educated at NYU Tandon. I admire her in that while she has evidently found personal success, she has used that success to help others – she founded the Code Liberation Institute, which teaches women how to program games, as well as Dozen Eyes Games, a studio aimed at games and installations that generate social change. She also gives lectures, and in general, her active pursuit of positive change in the world of a male dominated profession is really inspiring.