Mapping Ararat - An Imaginary Jewish Homelands Project

Welcome to Mapping Ararat: An Imaginary Jewish Homelands Project. Using augmented reality, this project animates Major Mordecai Noah's 1825 unrealized plan to transform Grand Island, New York into Ararat, a "city of refuge for the Jews." Explore. Take a Tour. Learn. Imagine.

AR Walking Tour
View tourist shots -- Download a map -- Visit points of interest
Vernacular Culture
See our simulations of statehood -- stamps, postcards, money, flags
Site Visit Photos and Videos
Images of AR Walking Tours Videos of AR Walking Tours
Virtual Ararat
View the demo of the interactive installation that explores Ararat's virtual cartography
Historical Research
Learn about Mordecai Noah and Ararat's historical roots

Mapping Ararat Team

Melissa Shiff

Lead Artist and Project Director, Research Associate, Sensorium Centre for Digital Art and Technology, York University.

Louis Kaplan

Chief Historian and Theorist, Professor, University of Toronto.

John Craig Freeman

New Media Artist and Augmented Reality Specialist, Associate Professor, Emerson College Boston.

Site Visit Photos and Videos