Funding for this project was generously provided by Stetson University’s College of Arts and Sciences and Creative Arts Department.
This project was created for educational purposes only.
Oak: Choosing Survival is a Digital Arts Senior Project aimed at raising awareness of violence against women. Exhibition of the project takes place in two locations, Stetson’s Hand Art Center and at site-specific oak trees near Stetson’s Palm Court. In the museum, users interact with an augmented reality book and gallery images. When doing so, they may choose to hear audio recordings of poems and view images or a video. Just outside the museum, users participate in a walking tour of oak trees and poetry by interacting with QR codes on signs near the trees.
The project’s main goal is to give encouragement to women who suffer from hurts in their past, offer them hope, and show them that healing is possible — to let them know that they are not alone! The video portion of the project features voices of survivors and others who care, and soothing nature imagery. The central theme of the project is based on the Bible verse: “For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease.” Job 14:7
There is hope!
Cynde Puckett-Valenti 