XRchive: (Hi)stories and Visions of Block 14 at Lone Fir Cemetery

The people buried here were primarily Chinese immigrants and their families—laborers and railroad workers—whose role in building this city remains unacknowledged, whose stories were erased, and whose bodies were interred with no visible headstones or marking. A hundred years ago, many of the men were disinterred and sent to China but some of the women and children’s bodies remained—another forced displacement and family separation. 

CETI, in collaboration with a broad and diverse community of participants and partners, will create a series of immersive and interactive experiences using emerging technologies and the creative imagination and fragmented memories of a collective of artists, technologists, storytellers, and community members, to tell the stories of these Chinese communities so integral to the creation of our city; to acknowledge, to remember, and to celebrate their contributions. We will center the voices and stories of the communities involved and collaborate with and draw upon the work done already in planning a potential physical memorial and use these ideas as inspiration.