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an immersive XR atlas of justice, memory and possibility

nature, texture, iceland, moody, photography, otherworldly iceland, underground, underworld, otherwordly, woodland,

what if justice wasn’t a dream but a direction?

Written and directed by Dela Wilson, JD, MPA, The Hope Gap is a virtual reality experience and public installation that integrates archival storytelling, immersive technology, and speculative design to engage communities in collective healing.

This powerful tool for public education uses imagination as a lens for reparative justice.

By articulating history through a future-facing lens, the experience transports viewers across three cities with active reparations policies in practice: Evanston, Illinois - Windhoek, Namibia - and Auckland, New Zealand - bridging indigenous wisdom, diasporic roots, and imagination merged with possibility.

A large, decorative archway with vibrant orange, black, and green tribal patterns stands in a desert landscape with mountains in the background and a blue sky with scattered clouds.
Colorful illuminated depiction of Earth showing continents and oceans against a black background.
Man with beard wearing a white shirt and a virtual reality headset in a room with other people, some also wearing VR headsets, and a woman sitting on a chair in the background.
An elderly woman in white clothing and sunglasses is smiling while floating against a black background with colorful confetti surrounding her.
A woman wearing a floral dress and a virtual reality headset is interacting with a virtual environment, raising one hand and looking ahead.

“isn’t the foundation of activism faith in what could be?"

- anana curtis

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immersive reality takes on reparations

People participating in a virtual reality experience in a room, seated in a circle, wearing VR headsets.
A man with gray, curly hair and a beard wearing a dark blue shirt with white dots, is adjusting a white virtual reality headset labeled Atlantic Fellowships, while holding it with both hands.
Three women wearing virtual reality headsets sitting in a room with a cork wall decorated with whiteboards. They are engaged in a virtual experience, with the woman in the center and the right holding their hands up, showing gestures.
Group of people sitting in a classroom or workshop, wearing virtual reality headsets, with a corkboard and posters on the wall behind them.

the hope gap xr premieres in oxford, uk

In July 2025, The Hope Gap XR work-in-progress premiered during the Atlantic Institute’s Global Convening, held at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. This experience tested concepts of immersion as empathy, storytelling at scale, and embodiment through hope.

A collage with a black and white photo of a group of people sitting on benches in front of houses, a map, a businesswoman with jewelry, and the words 'Reparations: The US town paying its black residents.' There is a QR code and a note about reparations as a solution to economic disparity.
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An informational poster about 'Windows of Opportunity,' a mobile augmented reality installation exploring reparative justice, including event details for May 1-2 in Los Angeles, and a call for supporting donations.
A woman speaking at a podium with a microphone during a presentation at an event titled 'RIOT T' organized by Black Future Newstand. The background features banners from USC Annenberg and Free Press.

Before producing The Hope Gap XR, Dela first piloted a concept artifact, “Windows of Opportunity,” as a mobile phone-powered, augmented reality experience that transforms your surroundings into a portal of reparative justice.

Inspired by Linda Bilmes and Cornell William Brooks’ research on “Normalizaing Reparations,” visitors encountered actual reparations recipients, visual imagery of Evanston, Illinois, supported by a soundscape of federally-mandated legislation that sets a clear precedent for the design and delivery of reparations in the United States.

proof of concept: windows of opportunity

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The Hope Gap is a fiscally-sponsored project of Due Goodies Foundation Inc., a 501(c)-3 based in the United States.

Colorful artistic representation of Earth with exaggerated continents and textured surface, set against a black background.