Jillian S. Estrella (she / her)

Project Artist / Project Lead

My previous projects:

• Cathedral
• Cornucopia

Resistance and the Flow Bats (RatFB)

An intentional collective.

We value:

• Education
• Active Allyship/Anti-marginalization
• Consent
• Harm reduction
• Flow arts skill-share
• Art Engagement &
• Counterculture as community support

You can find more on MegaloTorus at

https://jillian.dev/projects/megalotorus/

https://www.facebook.com/MegaloTorus

You can find a copy of this presentation at

https://megalotorus-elsewhence-art-grant-proposal-2022.jillian.dev/

You can learn more about RatFB at

https://www.facebook.com/ResistanceandtheFlowBats/

What *IS* MegaloTorus?

MegaloTorus is a toroid(donut)-shaped immersive art structure.

1600 digitally addressable RGB LEDs are meticulously hand-sequenced to sets of curated music.

Goal:

To create an immersive and relaxing environment that fuels the imagination, nurtures creativity, and fosters community.^*

^*Art as a place.

Structure

Made of 16 concentric arches.

Completed structure without the cover.

Cover

• A templating and coordinate system were used to translate the designs onto heavy-duty "tarp" material (six oz., 12 mil poly fabric).
• Pieces were sewn together using a sewing maching.

LEDs

• 1600 ws2811 LEDs spaced approximately 3" apart along the entire length of each of the structure's "spines".
• Controlled by an AlphaPix Flex controller.
• Modeled and sequenced with xLights.^*

^*This is our "canvas".

Interior

• 616 sq ft - Room for "cuddle puddle", chairs, and dancing^*
• Used during the day for workshops, yoga, and other community events.

^*It may look small in the photo but it is cavernous in real life - roomy enough for comfortably spinning poi. The center is monolithic and has been compared by patrons to a large tree or something from Avatar.

What we will do with an art grant

Self funded: $4871.22^*

Inflation sucks 😖

We learned some hard lessons:

• Structure + cover - wind sucks 😭
• Efficiency - setup / teardown needs to be less demanding 😩

^*MegaloTorus is coming to Elsewhence 2022.

Structural improvements

Priority: High

Cost: $600.00

• Stronger rebar: we used #4 (1/2 inch), grade 40 which isn't strong enough - it bends 😞
  • We are working on obtaining thicker, higher grade rebar from a steel supplier
• Inter-arch connectors:
  • Will add rigidity and stability
  • Maintain proper inter-arch spacing

Efficiency improvements

Priority: High

Cost: $200.00

This Goliath is a labor of love. We are actively working to identify where we can gain efficiency in the setup / teardown process and remediate

• 400 x 6 in. bungee balls for hanging the LEDs

Cover improvements

Priority: Medium

Cost: $200.00

• Magnetic screen doors - hand-sized moths love this place! 👐❤️
  • The moths are beautiful to observe but we do not want them gettinng trapped.

Falcon Pi Player (FPP)

Priority: medium

Cost: $150.00

An FPP will allow us to

• queue sequences
• Run sequences independent of an external laptop computer (no more ridiculously long wires!)