Operation Ear Gem

Operation Ear Gem is a site-specific, immersive installation and audio experience. Part scavenger hunt, part story, and part musical meditation, it uses locally-embedded, wooden QR code tiles to lead users through a 7-part audio journey engaging their senses, imagination, and location.

Designed by filmmaker/musician Brent Bishop and artist/meditation facilitator Alexis Cohen, this experience will be accessible and free to anyone with a smart phone…and an adventurous spirit!

Each station will feature an attractive, laser-cut, coaster-sized QR code. These tiny “gems” will be installed (with permission) in seven public spots—all within walking distance in a TBD neighborhood in Orlando (If possible, we’ll do the same in Oviedo).

These gems ain’t thirsty. They crave not attention. While easy to find…they’ll be equally easy to miss for those preoccupied with…ya know…non-adventurey stuff.

But for those intrepid souls who walk the world with eyes peeled and hearts open, the gems will leap right out…beckoning with their intriguingly etched catchphrase—Adventure, anyone? Those bold enough to scan the code will will be taken, via smartphone, to the first station in their imagination-fueled audio adventure.

Each station will launch a unique, 3-5 minute audio track that blends music, storytelling, and guided meditation. The uplifting, playful, all-ages content will focus on nature, connection, and the user’s specific location. The series will touch on their immediate vicinity, their broader region, their continent…and their place in the Milky Way.

Each gem will conclude with directions to the next gem in the series. Together, they’ll form a rough geographical hexagon, with one gem in the center. Regardless where a user starts, they will be able to complete the entire circuit. Operation Ear Gem’s simple, doable format will lavish a fun, free, unique, localized experience upon anyone sharp enough to spot it and bold enough to try it!

Funded by Orlando, FL (May 2024)