Atmospheric Forest VR Experience
You are kindly invited to the opening reception of Atmospheric Forest by artists Rasa Smite and Raitis Smite (RIXC Center for New Media Culture Riga, Latvia), featuring an immersive screening and VR experience, and apéro, taking place on Wednesday, March 8, 2023
in the Immersive Arts Space.
The VR Experience event is following the public lecture by Rasa Smite On Atmospheric Forest taking place a day before – on Tuesday, March 7th 2023.
Immersive Arts Practices (Autum semester 2023)
Immersive Arts Practices Doubles, Twins and Avatars
Tuesdays: 26.09. / 03.10. / 10.10. / 17.10. / 24.10. / 31.10. / 14.11. / 21.11. / 28.11. / 05.12.2023
Immersive Arts Space (1.J30) | 18:45-20:30
The Immersive Arts Practices aims to provide a general introduction to the current use of doubles, twins and avatars in films, games, the arts, and social media. Using the technologies that are available in the Immersive Arts space, the course also provides a basic understanding of creating 3D representations of humans and integrating avatars in digital media environments and immersive experiences, such as virtual and augmented reality (VR, AR) photogrammetry and 3D scan, volumetric capture, motion capture, and projection mapping. In small interdisciplinary groups, the participants then develop their own projects and implement their double, twin and avatar within the range of their own capacity and the available technologies.
Registration via Vorlesungsverzeichnis
Lecturers: Stella Speziali and other members of the IAS
Immersive Landscapes in the Arts and Film (2023)
Module from 11th to 15th September 2023
In painting, photography and film, landscapes are transformed into dream images and stylized into archetypes. Landscapes are contemporary witnesses of collective longings and dystopias.
With immersive technologies such as video mapping, virtual reality and spatial audio, these become multimodal experiences. In interdisciplinary groups the module aims to work on scenes for spatial or object projections in the Immersive Arts Space and test possible interactions with the motion capture system. Getting to know the workflows and experimenting with immersive media are the main focus. In this short week, experimental installations, sketches and small projects will be created, exploring diverse approaches and perspectives on digitally designed landscapes through immersive media.
Team: Eric Larrieux, Valentin Huber, Stella Speziali, Thomas Isler, Miriam Loertscher
Tanz der fliegenden Lichtobjekte
Module from 4th to 15th September 2023
The module is aimed at students from all departments at ZHdK who want to artistically explore the available technology in Immersive Arts Space and in particular the potential of three-dimensional media installations.
Autonomous flying helium drones will be realized within two weeks. Students will work in groups composed of as many different disciplines as possible to cover as broad a range of expertise as possible. The groups will have time for experiments, for the development and construction of a helium drone (airship or balloon with drone control) and for the development of a spatial installation concept.
The team of lecturers from different disciplines (Scenography, Industrial Design, Spacial Projection) is available to advise on the concept development and support the planning of possible further developments.
Lead: Martin Fröhlich, Roman Jurt
Further lecturers: Stella Speziali, Mariana Grünig, Melody Chua
Public Lecture Series (Autumn semester 2023)
Immersive Arts: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
This lecture series investigates questions of immersion from perspectives outside of the immersive arts. Guest lecturers come from curating, computer music and DIYelectronics, embodied human-computer interaction, animation and theater and scenography. Topics will include composing interactive systems, new concepts of extended animation, curating immersive experiences, disability and human computer interaction and new concepts of XR-based performative scenography in urban contexts.
Dr. Marije Baalman | September 26th, 2023 | 17:15-18:30
COMPOSING AN INTERACTION: A PRIMER ON BUILDING EXPRESSIVE INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS
José Luis de Vicente | October 10th, 2023 | 17:15-18:30
DRAMATURGIES OF THE ANTHROPOCENE: RHETORICS OF IMMERSION, PARTICIPATION AND AGENCY IN CONTEMPORARY ARTS
Livia Nolasco-Rózsás | October 24th, 2023 | 17:15-18:30
BRAINS IMMERSED IN A VAT. UNMASKING THE POLITICS OF IMMERSION
Dr. Katta Spiel | November 21st, 2023 | 17:15-18:30
LEISURE IMPOSSIBLE – PLAYING WHILE DISABLED
Dr. Shauna Janssen | December 5th 2023 | 17:15-18:30
AUGMENTED SCENOGRAPHIES AND PERFORMATIVE URBANISM: LESSONS FROM THE FIELD
COMPOSING AN INTERACTION: A PRIMER ON BUILDING EXPRESSIVE INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS
Dr. Marije Baalman is an artist, researcher and co-founder/co-director of Instrument Inventors Initiative (Den Haag/NL)
DRAMATURGIES OF THE ANTHROPOCENE: RHETORICS OF IMMERSION, PARTICIPATION AND AGENCY IN CONTEMPORARY ARTS
José Luis de Vicente is curator and cultural researcher. Most famously, he is the director of Disseny Hub / Design Museum in Barcelona.
BRAINS IMMERSED IN A VAT. UNMASKING THE POLITICS OF IMMERSION
Livia Nolasco-Rózsás is curator and researcher at the Zentrum für Kunst und Medien (Karlsruhe/DE) and University College London (UK).
LEISURE IMPOSSIBLE – PLAYING WHILE DISABLED
Dr. Katta Spiel is an assistant Professor in Critical Access in Embodied Computing, Human Computer Interaction Group, Technische Universität Wien (Vienna, AT).
AUGMENTED SCENOGRAPHIES AND PERFORMATIVE URBANISM: LESSONS FROM THE FIELD
Dr. Shauna Janssen is an associate Professor and research chair in Performative Urbanism at Concordia University (Montreal/CAN).
Public Lecture Series (Autumn 2022)
This lecture series investigates the concept of immersion in art and design from aesthetic, historical and political perspectives. Guest lecturers come from digital arts, curating, media studies, and the histories of science and technology from the ZHdK, Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (New York), Haus der Elektronischen Künste (HEK, Basel) and the Technical University in Dresden. Topics will include contemporary artistic practices in multi-sensory immersion, extended reality and history of VR and the arts, and art and artificial intelligence.
Christopher Salter | September 27th, 2022 | 17:15-18:30
THE ARTS OF IMMERSION: SENSING, BODIES AND RESPONSIVE ENVIRONMENTS
Kristof Timmerman | October 11th, 2022 | 17:15-18:30
BREAKING THE FIFTH WALL: IMMERSION BETWEEN LIVE PERFORMANCE AND VIRTUAL SPACES
Sabine Himmelsbach | October 25th, 2022 | 17:15-18:30
VIRTUAL WORLDS-INTERACTIVE ENVIRONMENTS: ART AS AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
Michael Century | November 8th, 2022 | 17:15-18:30
CONTESTING A “NEW MEDIUM”: VIRTUAL REALITY AS CULTURAL PROBE
Orit Halpern | November 22nd, 2022 | 17:15-18:30
THE SMARTNESS MANDATE: AI AND UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING`S IMPACT ON ART AND DESIGN
Public Lecture Series
The Immersive Arts Space hosts every semester a public lecture series with national and international guest lecturers. The lecture series aims to address artistic as well as theoretical aspects of immersion.
The current lectures are available via live stream.
Spring Semester 2024
Immersive Arts: Performative Perspectives on Immersion
This lecture series investigates questions of immersion from the perspectives of the performing arts including dance, theater and even real time animation. Our exciting list of five guest lecturers includes a world renowned choreographer and collaborating dance artist working with real time motion capture, the head of the theater program at the ZHdK and an expert in contemporary performance and digitality, a journalist and long-time editor of tanz, the most important dance magazine in the German speaking world, the head of the Ars Electronica animation jury and an Egyptian born, Greek computer scientist and dancer working on digital performance in Virtual Reality.
Prof. Juergen Hagler | March 5th, 2024 | 17:15-18:30
THE ART OF PERFORMANCE AND EXTENDED ANIMATION
Arnd Wesemann | March 19th, 2024 | 17:15-18.15
PLAYFUL SIMULATIONS
Corinne Soland | April 2nd, 2024 | 17:15-18:30
PERFORMING 3D CHARACTERS FOR DIFFERENT MEDIA FORMATS
Prof. Dr. Chris Salter | April 16th, 2024 | 17:15-18:30
IMMERSION: FOUR MODELS FROM ART HISTORY, INDUSTRY, MEDIA ARTS AND COMPUTING
Gilles Jobin and Susana Panadés Diaz | April 30th, 2024 | 17:15-18:30
COSMOGONY: NEW AVENUES BETWEEN XR AND DANCE
Autumn Semester 2023
The Autumn Semester 2023 lecture series investigates questions of immersion from perspectives outside of the immersive arts. Guest lecturers come from curating, computer music and DIYelectronics, embodied human-computer interaction, animation and theater and scenography. Topics will include composing interactive systems, new concepts of extended animation, curating immersive experiences, disability and human computer interaction and new concepts of XR-based performative scenography in urban contexts.
Dr. Marije Baalman | September 26th, 2023 | 17:15-18:30
COMPOSING AN INTERACTION: A PRIMER ON BUILDING EXPRESSIVE INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS
José Luis de Vicente | October 10th, 2023 | 17:15-18:30
DRAMATURGIES OF THE ANTHROPOCENE: RHETORICS OF IMMERSION, PARTICIPATION AND AGENCY IN CONTEMPORARY ARTS
Livia Nolasco-Rózsás | October 24th, 2023 | 17:15-18:30
BRAINS IMMERSED IN A VAT. UNMASKING THE POLITICS OF IMMERSION
Dr. Katta Spiel | November 21st, 2023 | 17:15-18:30
LEISURE IMPOSSIBLE – PLAYING WHILE DISABLED
Dr. Shauna Janssen | December 5th 2023 | 17:15-18:30
AUGMENTED SCENOGRAPHIES AND PERFORMATIVE URBANISM: LESSONS FROM THE FIELD
Spring Semester 2023
The Immersive Arts Lecture Series for spring semester 2023 investigates artistic and design experiences in which humans, media and architectural spaces shape one another within the context of the built environment. Guest lecturers who come from the fields of digital arts, architecture, theater studies and the visual arts, will focus on specific artistic works from their practice, as way to open up critical discussion around emerging paradigms of bodily experience in spatial computing environments, human-machine interactions in architectural spaces, and immersive experiences between human, technical and natural systems.
Rasa Smite | March 7th, 2023 | 17:15-18:30
ON ATMOSPHERIC FOREST
Christopher Salter | March 21st, 2023 | 17:15-18:30
ON ANIMATE
Daniela Mitterberger | April 4th, 2023 | 17:15-18:30
ON DEGREES OF LIFE
Selena Savic | April 18th, 2023 | 17:15-18:30
A DATA-DRIVEN DRAMA
Kurt Hentschläger | May, 2nd, 2023 | 17:15-18:30
THE AMBIVALENT PRACTICE OF IMMERSIVE INSTALLATIONS AND PERFORMANCES
Autumn Semester 2022
This lecture series investigates the concept of immersion in art and design from aesthetic, historical and political perspectives. Guest lecturers come from digital arts, curating, media studies, and the histories of science and technology from the ZHdK, Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (New York), Haus der Elektronischen Künste (HEK, Basel) and the Technical University in Dresden. Topics will include contemporary artistic practices in multi-sensory immersion, extended reality and history of VR and the arts, and art and artificial intelligence.
Christopher Salter | September 27th, 2022 | 17:15-18:30
THE ARTS OF IMMERSION: SENSING, BODIES AND RESPONSIVE ENVIRONMENTS
Kristof Timmerman | October 11th, 2022 | 17:15-18:30
BREAKING THE FIFTH WALL: IMMERSION BETWEEN LIVE PERFORMANCE AND VIRTUAL SPACES
Sabine Himmelsbach | October 25th, 2022 | 17:15-18:30
VIRTUAL WORLDS-INTERACTIVE ENVIRONMENTS: ART AS AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
Michael Century | November 8th, 2022 | 17:15-18:30
CONTESTING A “NEW MEDIUM”: VIRTUAL REALITY AS CULTURAL PROBE
Orit Halpern | November 22nd, 2022 | 17:15-18:30
THE SMARTNESS MANDATE: AI AND UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING`S IMPACT ON ART AND DESIGN
Spring Semester 2022
In this series, guest lecturers from the Swiss Institute of Technology ETHZ, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences HSLU, the University of Zurich UZH shared their specific views along with lecturers from the ZHdK. The topics covered Architecture, Virtual Reality, Virtual Forensics, Game Aspects in Theatre and Extended Reality.
Matthias Vollmer | Recording from March 8th, 2022
IMMERSE IN THE CLOUD – VISUALIZING WITH POINT CLOUDS
Christina Zimmermann | Recording from March 22nd, 2022
CHALLENGING THE INDIVIDUAL – PERCEPTUAL CON/FUSIONS IN VIRTUAL REALITY
Lars Ebert | Recording from April 5th, 2022
FORENSICS ON THE HOLODECK
Réjane Dreifuss | Recording from April 19th, 2022
LUDIFICATION IN THEATRE: THE EXAMPLE OF “GAME-THEATRES”
Christian Iseli | Recording from May 3rd, 2022
SHIFTING REALITIES, OR: WHAT ARE IMMERSIVE ARTS ANYWAY?
Autumn Semester 2021
In this series, concepts of immersion as well as embodiment were explored from the different perspectives of fine arts, design, film, performing arts and music, with concrete examples of artistic practices and research projects.
Christian Iseli | Recording from October 12th, 2021
DOUBLE TROUBLE: DIGITAL AVATARS ON STAGE
Anna Lisa Martin-Niedecken | Recording from October 19th, 2021
EXPLORING BODY-CENTERED DESIGN APPROACHES IN MIXED REALITY SPORTS
Olav Lervik | Recording from October 26th, 2021
GAMES IN CONCERT: LESSONS FROM MUSIC IN VIRTUAL REALITY
Marie-France Rafael | Recording from November 23rd, 2021
POST-DIGITAL RELATIONALITY – EMBODIED EXPERIENCES
Melody Chua | Recording from December 7th, 2021
BLACK BOX FADING: (DIS)EMBODIMENT WITH AN IMMERSIVE IMPROVISATION MACHINE
Spring Semester 2021
Marcus Maeder | March 16th, 2021
AMBIENT: FROM IMMERSION TO IMMANENCE
Felix Stalder | April 13th, 2021
IMMERSION AS ESCAPISM, CONTROL, OR CO-EXISTENCE
Maike Thies | April 27th, 2021
ENTANGLED IN ARTIFICIAL WORLDS
Hannah Walter | May 4th, 2021
BECOMING WITH TECHNOLOGY. BECOMING CYBORG
Christian Iseli | May 11th, 2021
EXPANDED ILLUSIONS: CINEMATIC CONCEPTS OF IMMERSION
REFRESH
REFRESH is a yearly, international conference on Design, Arts and Technology. It is initiated by the Department of Design (Maike Thies) and the Immersive Arts Space (Christopher Salter) and taking place in different locations within Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK).
REFRESH#5
The interdisciplinary festival REFRESH (initiative of the Department of Design and the Immersive Arts Space of ZHdK) took place for the 5th time from November 9th to 12th, 2023. It addressed pressing issues at the intersection of the arts, design and technology in keynotes, masterclasses and a multi-layered exhibition. International designers, artists and researchers provided insights into their work and discussed it with the interested public. The critical topics of this year’s edition were «Immersive Journalism», «Design Realities», «Future Technologies», «Worldbuilding», and «New Ecologies».
With guests such as Nikolaj Schultz (sociologist, author of «On the Emergence of an Ecological Class» (2022) with Bruno Latour and author of «Land Sickness» (2023), Sarah Kenderdine (Head Curator EPFL Pavilions and Professor of Digital Museology at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne EPFL), Ian Cheng (Digital Artist), AATB (artist couple focused on experimental robotics) and Sam Wolson (Visual Features Editoris for the New Yorker and an Emmy award-winning director, photographer and journalist).
The Immersive Arts Space had two Spotlight events on November 9th and 10th.
Spotlight I featured an exhibition of three currents projects, that are developed in the lab: Possible Worlds… (Oliver Sahli, Chris Salter), Changing Matters (Lorenz Kleiser, Floris Demandt) and Friendly Fire (Manu Hendry, Florian Bruggisser, Paulina Zybinska uvm.)
Spotlight II on November 10th was be a work exhibition of Zangezi, a Russian Cubo-Futurist poem/play written by the poet Velimir Khlebnikov in 1922. Fragments of Zangezi will be performed as a work in progress that takes the form of a theatrically staged reading within the technical machine of the Immersive Arts Space itself. The work exhibition includes a Q&A with the team members, discussing the usage of AI generated meta humans, environments and characters as well as the usage of a Large Language Model in a artistic project like Zangezi.
REFRESH#4
The fourth edition of REFRESH, from 10th to 14th November 2021, focussed on the topics «Immersive Journalism», «Immersive Play», «Digital Identities», «Digital Doubles» and «Techno-Biological Futures». The conference featured keynote speeches including panel discussions with national and international guests as well as a large exhibition have been part of the conference. Photographs of the conference have been published and can me viewed in this gallery.
The Immersive Arts Space hosted the Lab Insights and a VR exhibition. Team members offered insights into the projects Shifting Realities (Chris Elvis Leisi & Olliver Sahli (Multiuser VR), Martin Fröhlich, Max Kriegleder, Joel Gähwiler, Roman Jurt, Mariana Grüning (Helium Drones/ SAR)), Neural Volumetric Capture (Florian Bruggisser), Digital Twins (development of animated digital avatars based on photogrammetry and Meta Humans) and cineDesk (Norbert Kottmann, Valentin Huber).
Further Credits:
Sound Design: Luca Magni
Lights: Sébastien Schiesser
Project Lead: Martin Fröhlich
Production: Kristina Jungic
Head of Unit: Christian Iseli
Photography: Regula Bearth
REFRESH #3
REFRESH #3 took place from 17th to 20th September 2020 featuring keynotes, workshops, performances and an exhibition. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic it was designed as a hybrid event with online presentations of many speakers. The third edition was devoted to the topics «Digital Evidence», «Digital Humans», «Immersive Worlds», «Extended Realities» and «Imagine New Tomorrows».
Selected speakers:
Eyal Weizman (Forensic Architecture)
Kiira Benzing
Derek Bradely (Disney Research)
Jakob Kudsk Steensen
Hsin-Chien Huang
Francesca Panetta & Halsey Burgund (MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality)
Thomas Oberender (Berliner Festspiele)
Susanne Kennedy
Tabita Rezaire
REFRESH #2
REFRESH#2 took place from September 26th to 28th at the
Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK, featuring keynotes, workshops,
performances and exhibitions. The second edition focussed on the topic of Experimental Futures and Immersive Experiences. In close cooperation with Digital Festival and Hack Zurich at neighboring venues.
Selected speakers:
Thomas Oberender, curator and artistic director @Berliner Festspiele
Sarah Ellis, director of Digital Development @Royal Shakespeare Company
Kevin Curran, vision director @Space10
Gayatri Parameswaran, immersive journalist @NowHere Media
Andreas Refsgaard, artist & creative coder
Galit Ariel, future tech expert @Wondarland
Yakeshi Yamada, recruiter @teamLab
Yasaman Sheri, creative director, designer and researcher
Tobias Gremmler, visual artist
