Thursday, 4 April 2019

Does the answer to broadening audiences for XR lie with content or technology? It’s a challenging binary choice, but it’s also potentially limiting. Here, we unpacked the arguments, with the help of our speakers: Roderick D. Morgan, director and producer at Trajectory Theatre; freelance performer and director Silvia Mercuriali; Jack Straw, director and developer at No Ghost; and immersive experience designer Andrew Somerville. Through lively discussion with the help of everyone in the room, we were able to reach a collective understanding of what a successful content-driven ecosystem looks like.

Read the re-cap here. 

Thursday, 27 June 2019

Looking to dive even deeper into issues around emergent technology, viewed through an artistic lens, we endeavoured to tackle the Military's funding and its role in XR development.

Like most technologies, XR has seen a lot of its research and early exploration performed under the banner of the armed services. Without long term investment from governments, attempting to use it as a tool of military strength, we would not have consumer VR and AR today. Does this, then, have moral implications for the artists and makers using XR? And what should be our stance on further funding for the military?

Our chair, Jo Kerr, and Roderick D. Morgan were joined by: Bill Thompson, a technology writer, best known for his weekly column in the Technology section of BBC News Online and his appearances on Click on the BBC World Service/News Channel; Alice Thwaite, who specialises in technology and society, and frequently speaks on the topic of internet ethics and polarisation in a digital democracy; and Oliver Kibblewhite REWIND’s team member responsible for the delivery of special projects and technical activations across the globe. 

Thursday, 26 Sep 2019

Direct evidence suggests that embodiment is a key factor in immersion and presence in XR. It is important to recognise, however, that existing design principles around this embodiment betray implicit ableist and heteronormative bias. In cases where creators attempt to move past this, their efforts are often made in the questionable pursuit of empathy and the inhabiting of another’s experience. So whether extended, cross or augmented, the virtual space is as problematic as the traditional performance space when it comes to perspective and representation.

Starting with the lived expertise of makers with different or changing experiences of their own bodies or identities, this Trajectory Talk examined and debated current and future uses of embodiment in XR. We asked what insights can be inferred when decontextualising narrative and design elements from LGBTQ+ makers and makers with disabilities, and to what extent these forms of embodiment effect meaningful representation.

Led by chair Rob Eagle, PhD researcher at UWE Bristol, the panel consited of: Jane Gauntlett, whose work explores the impact of storytelling, shared experience and human connection; and Michelle Baharier, whose artistic practice brings new context to a space and gives a voice to people whose stories are hidden and unheard.