Bringing photography to life with Meta Spark

Instagram is presenting an exhibition to amplify the work of Tomás Karmelo Amaya using augmented reality. The exhibit, “Embracing Our Sovereignty,” offers a glimpse into the lives of Amaya’s Indigenous family, friends and collaborators.

For Amaya — a writer, director and multidisciplinary artist who is A:shiwi, Rarámuri and Yoeme — AR is a new space. In collaboration with Hayato Kuno, a visual and technical artist in Japan, Amaya used Meta Spark to add layers of meaning and storytelling to three of his images.

In all of his work, Amaya aims to produce what he calls visual medicine. “Every frame that I create is like a word in a poem,” he says. The feeling he hopes people take away from his body of work: “The feeling of being loved, and that we all deserve to be loved.”

“Embracing Our Sovereignty” opens Dec. 1, 2022, between 6pm - 8pm, at 145 Plymouth Street in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more about the show, which is presented in partnership with the Brooklyn non-profit Photoville with support from Two Trees Management. This exhibition will be on view until December 16 and is free and open to the public.

AR is one of the fastest-growing tech industry sectors used broadly across communication, shopping, entertainment, creative expression and more. It’s expected to become a $98 billion market by 2028, and as it grows, Meta is committed to empowering artists and creators by introducing new ways to express themselves with AR technologies like Meta Spark.

Today, mobile AR offers an immersive, interactive way for people to connect with friends, express their perspectives and explore storytelling in a more personal way. For artists and creators, AR effects also offer an engaging way to extend their craft and bring their community closer together.