Educational Projects

The Immersive Arts Space hosts classes, modules and diploma projects from all departments of the ZHdK and conducts its own educational courses. The launch of the transversal minor program Immersive Arts is planned for autumn 2024.


Immersive Landscapes in the Arts and Film (2023)

Module from 11th to 15th September 2023

Screenshot from presentation documentation, September 2022 © ZHdK

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


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


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. 


26th September 2023 | 17:15-18:30 | Lecture by Dr. Marije Baalman


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)

Live Stream of Dr. Marije Baalman`s lecture [here]


10th October 2023 | 17:15-18:30 | José Luis de Vicente


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.


24th October 2023 | 17:15-18:30 | Livia Nolasco-Rózsás


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).


21st November 2023 | 17:15-18:30 | Dr. Katta Spiel


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).


5th December 2023 | 17:15-18:30 | Dr. Shauna Janssen


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).