ConvergenceLA is an exploration of the diversity and creative energy of Los Angeles, a synergy of place and culture, and a reflection its people. It captures invisible and visible forces that shape the city, contextualized within a history and culture that make Los Angeles unique.

Our process began with analysis, documentation and digital mapping of the city. From this we constructed a visual framework revealing interconnections in the day-to-day experience of Los Angeles. Both factual and personal, subjective and objective, ConvergenceLA layers streaming data with glimpses of the people and culture of Los Angeles to create a visual narrative that reflects the real-time activity of the city, exploring new ways of storytelling through technology.

The artwork processes 4 million points of data per hour. It converts demographic, astronomical, oceanographic, tectonic, traffic and climate data streams, social media posts and news feeds into digital representations, and frames them within fragments of cultural and historical visuals of Los Angeles. An intelligent timeline uses the incoming data to inform the visual sequencing. While a reflection of the ongoing rhythms of the city, the collected data also holds the historical chronology of Los Angeles for the life of the artwork.

ConvergenceLA can also be explored virtually through an interactive website at http://www.ConvergenceLA.com. This allows visitors to navigate through the data and experience the artwork with an audio track composed from everyday sounds of Los Angeles and its data streams.

ConvergenceLA evolves in tandem with the city itself, a digital simulacra that parallels the complexity of ongoing natural and cultural phenomena to create a convergence of physical and virtual. As the city and community experience continued growth, our intention was to reflect that spirit of change and opportunity, presenting a portrait of the evolving story of Los Angeles as a city and of its people.

Susan Narduli