Wednesday, August 27, 5:30-7:30pm
Showcase + fundraiser for a visionary virtual reality artwork with artist Summer Powell
Location: The Wortham Center for the Performing Arts, Asheville, North Carolina
All are welcome
RSVP
Showcase and fundraiser for:
Black, White + the Sacred Third
Join me for a special evening to experience the vision behind this new artwork, and support its creation.
WHEN: Wednesday, August 27, 2025
5:30 - 7:30
WHERE: The Wortham Center for the Performing Arts, 18 Biltmore Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
WHAT: A public showcase, presentation, and fundraiser for Black, White + the Sacred Third – an original virtual reality artwork currently in development by immersive artist Summer Powell. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the creative vision, inspiration, and process. All are welcome.
WHY: It’ll be fun, inspiring, and unlike anything you’ve seen. Contributions to the fundraiser are welcome but not expected.
Seating is limited - RSVP now!
This is a headset-free presentation – a personal talk by the artist about the vision behind Black, White + the Sacred Third. No virtual reality equipment or immersive hardware will be used or required.
Scroll down for more event details.
Black, White + the Sacred Third is a virtual reality artwork at the intersection of creativity, technology, spirituality and the psychedelic.
It’s a labor of love.
And a vision I feel deeply called to bring into the world, especially now.
It’s a surreal, playful and expansive adventure in black-and-white that blends symbolism, storytelling, and mystical themes. Imagine a virtual reality medicine journey, or a guided meditation crossed with a rollercoaster in the style of op art and Escher.
Inspired by my own path – from living in NYC during 9/11, to traveling the world, surviving Hurricane Helene, navigating personal loss, and moving through deep grief, ecstasy, and transformation – this work is both intimate and archetypal.
Emotional, unusual, beautiful, alive, and unlike anything else, Black, White + the Sacred Third is part of the next wave of immersive storytelling.
Can’t join us in Asheville?
An online version of the showcase will follow not long after, so you can still experience the vision and support the project from wherever you are. Stay tuned!
To be notified, just sign up for updates using the “Stay in the Loop” form on this page.
Who…
Hi. I’m Summer (aka Libra Zebra), the creator of Black, White + the Sacred Third.
I’m an artist and designer based in Asheville, North Carolina. I’ve always loved combining art, design and technology in innovative ways to create new things, whether it was an innovative screen-based digital clock I prototyped in NYC, or a line of 3D printed fashion jewelry created in San Francisco. My time as Director of Visual Design at Magic Leap, a Florida-based augmented reality wearable device company, expanded my creative vision; I realized there was so much untapped potential within XR technologies for visual beauty and storytelling.
Now I’m following that vision.
“It’s a surreal, playful and expansive adventure in black-and-white that blends symbolism, storytelling, and mystical themes. Imagine a virtual reality medicine journey, or a guided meditation crossed with a rollercoaster in the style of op art and Escher.”
– Summer Powell, Creator of Black, White and the Sacred Third
The “Why” behind this artwork
I’m sharing my gifts with the world through this creation – my love, beauty, peace, passion, playfulness, fun and weirdness. I’m sharing my grief, wisdom, healing and power. I’m sharing my medicine with the world.
This work is a virtual reality psychedelic medicine journey. It is an activation, an invitation and a living alchemy. It’s about facing your fears, having fun with it, and is a window to transformation.
This artwork is about paradox and pattern – weaving a life from contrasting threads. It’s about recognizing old patterns and having the courage to shift, break or dissolve them. And to create something entirely new.
Through this art, I share my own journey through the polarities of “light and dark.” I explore my shadow, dance with, confront, wrestle with, play with, befriend and ultimately transmute it.
This alchemy of grief and shadow into harmony and power speaks to what so many of us are moving through, both individually and collectively. In a world of contrast and division, this artwork asks, “How do we hold it all? How do we alchemize the polarities of our current realities?” I hope this artwork helps people to gain new perspectives; see things in a different light.
This creation has been a portal of transformation for me. It has taken me through an unraveling and a new becoming. It has helped me to alchemize life-changing experiences, including surviving Hurricane Helene, and my father’s passing. This work is deeply personal. It is both intimate and archetypal, and I hope it also serves others, offering resonance, reflection and inspiration for their own journey.
“Black, White + the Sacred Third is a groundbreaking fusion of art, technology, and storytelling – symbolic, surreal, and emotionally alive. It invites us into a new kind of immersive experience, where the mystical meets the modern.”
Asheville Showcase + Fundraiser
What to expect
Join me at an in-person showcase and fundraiser for Black, White + the Sacred Third in at The Tina McGuire Theatre at Wortham Center for the Performing Arts, in Downtown Asheville at 18 Biltmore Ave.
This special evening is a chance to learn about the vision behind Black, White + the Sacred Third – why I’m creating it, and why I believe this work belongs in the world right now.
I’ll share an inside look at the creative process, including storyboards, visual imagery, and mood boards that hint at the world I’m building. I’ll also walk through the production plan: how I intend to bring this virtual reality artwork to life, along with the timeline, budget, and exhibition goals.
It’s a fun and one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn about a new form of storytelling – symbolic, surreal, and spiritually charged –that doesn’t yet exist.
All are welcome.
Come if you feel curious, inspired, or called to help bring Black, White + the Sacred Third to life.
The event is free to attend, and if the project moves you, your contribution, of any amount, will make a real difference in helping bring this vision to life. You’ll be able to give at the event via PayPal, credit card, cash or check, or online anytime.
Refreshments will be available for purchase at the concession stand, and there will be time to mingle and connect.
Parking
Biltmore Avenue Parking Deck (16 Biltmore Ave) is right next to the theatre, with street-level entrance to the main lobby and garage‑level access to balcony seating
Aloft Hotel Garage (51 Biltmore Ave) is just a block away across the street
Metered street parking and other public garages are nearby.
With Gratitude
Thank you to the visionary supporters helping bring Black, White + the Sacred Third to life.
I appreciate you so much.
Interested in supporting Black, White + the Sacred Third as an individual or corporate sponsor? I’d welcome your support. Please get in touch by email at blackandwhite@librazebra.vision to discuss options.
Say hello
Curious about the project?
Interested in supporting it?
Want to explore collaboration, sponsorship, or press opportunities?
Or just want to say hi?
I’d love to hear from you.
Fill out the form or reach out directly at blackandwhite@librazebra.vision, and I’ll get back to you soon.