The Back to School Issue
There is definitely a back-to-school feeling at Immerse and we are BUSY. We are about to celebrate our 5th birthday. We are trying to figure out the metaverse for our next, big anniversary issue (watch this space). And like everyone else, we are attempting to plan and create in very uncertain times. Thank you for coming along for the ride over the past 5 years as readers, writers, and supporters! We really love being part of this interdisciplinary and ever-evolving community of people.
If you are accredited at Venice VR Expanded and have access to a PCVR headset please join us at 3pm EST today for a meetup and world hop in VRChat (scoll down to today’s date for more details and join the event host to participate) to celebrate our 5th birthday and our upcoming issue on the metaverse.
The latest in Immerse:
Ambar Reyes interviews Tamiko Thiel on the guerrilla potential of AR, dramatic arcs, and the politics of visibility.
Sarah Wolozin interviews Lara Baladi on the politics of public spaces, documenting protest movements, and AR as a way of healing collective trauma.
This month we bid adieu to our amazing engagement editor Ngozi Nwadiogbu. Thank you for everything Ngozi, you will be much missed. Take a look at her latest ICYMI installment.
What we’re reading and watching
An oral history of the Ethereal Empyrean Experience, Burning Man’s first VR temple.
Kent Bye has created an essential archive of the last 7 years in virtual reality with his Voices of VR Podcast. Episode #1000 of the Voices of VR podcast is a special, three-hour retrospective featuring over 100 of the best answers he received about the ultimate potential of VR. If you are interested in VR he’s also worth following on Twitter.
No Proscenium’s Noah Nelson on what he means by “immersive”
The case for salaried artists.
CQDE: A feminist manifestx of code-ing is a really impressive list of work connected to cyberfeminism, code, and technology.
Shippenfreude? The disastrous voyage of Satoshi, the world’s first cryptocurrency cruise ship.
Projects we’re eyeballing
Punchdrunk are working on staging an epic, dystopian Trojan war project, The Burnt City, in an old London arms factory.
ANAGRAM’s Goliath launches on Oculus this week.
Superblue, the immersive art experience offshoot of Pace Gallery, is bringing projects to New York and London this fall, focusing on climate change.
The Infinite is an immersive experience that transports you into space, aboard the International Space Station, through a breathtaking journey that lasts 60 minutes. In Montreal till November 7.
Coming Up
Festivals and Events
Venice VR Expanded is on till September 11. In addition to all the VR projects you can view from anywhere in the world or at their satellite locations, they are also showcasing a series of really fascinating worlds that have been built in VRchat as well as events and experiences. Don’t forget our Immerse event at 3pm EST today if you are accredited!
Ars Electronica is running in Linz, Austria, online, and in 86 other spaces around the world until September 12.
Unity for Humanity Summit is online October 12. Free to attend but you must register.
If you work in the immersive experience space don’t miss The Next Stage, January 7-9 in Pasadena, California.
Submission Deadlines
The European Creators Lab deadline is September 12.
The final deadline to submit to Sundance New Frontier is September 13.
If you are an artist working and living anywhere in Africa and would like to expore XR nonfiction storytelling, take a look at the application for Electric South’s New Dimensions Lab. Deadline October 4.
Immerse is an initiative of MIT Open DocLab and Dot Connector Studio, and receives funding from Just Films | Ford Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation. The Gotham Film & Media Institute is our fiscal sponsor. Learn more here. We are committed to exploring and showcasing emerging nonfiction projects that push the boundaries of media and tackle issues of social justice — and rely on friends like you to sustain ourselves and grow. Join us by making a gift today.
Publisher: Jessica Clark (Dot Connector Studio)
Editor: Abby Sun (MIT Open Doc Lab)
Associate Editor: Carrie McLaren (Dot Connector Studio)
Engagement Editor: Ngozi Nwadiogbu
Editorial Collective: Sarah Wolozin (MIT Open DocLab), Ingrid Kopp (Electric South), Kat Cizek (MIT Open DocLab)
Producer:Claudia Romano (MIT Open DocLab)
Editorial Board:
Zeina Abi Assy, Mark Atkin (Crossover Labs) , Ruthie Doyle (Sundance Film Institute), Caspar Sonnen (IDFA DocLab), Julia Scott-Stevenson, Amelia Winger-Bearskin