Highlights Immersive Arts Space

Zangezi, performance at REFRESH#5 festival
Zangezi, performance at REFRESH#5 festival

    «The Immersive Arts Space is a new kind of interdisciplinary, cross-departmental hybrid laboratory in the ZHdK. The IAS takes a critical approach to new immersive technology through art and design and a critical approach to art and design through new immersive technologies.»

    Prof. Dr. Christopher Lloyd Salter, Chair

      Scientific, Artistic and Creative Output and Impact

      • New research trajectories around the social-political-aesthetic effects of Extended Reality (XR) and Artificial intelligence (AI)
      • Increasing collaboration between departments such as theater, design, dance, film and music
      • Artistic projects on the local (Zurich Art Weekend, DAZ Festival), national (NIFFF, Swiss Films, Pro Helvetia) and international (Ars Electronica, Prague Quadrennial) stage
      • Conferences at Schweizerische Institut für Kunstwissenschaft (SIK-ISEA), Media Art Histories, 4S – Society for Social Studies of Science and Hochschule Luzern

      → Overview «Scientific, Artistic and Creative Output and Impact»

        Promotion of Talents and Careers

        • Increasing research training in IAS through seminars, reading groups, workshops on methods and grant writing
        • Support of IAS research associates in education
        • New IAS strategic plan with team input (2024-2029)
        • Training opportunities for IAS team on the national and international stage through professional exhibitions, international conferences and international cooperations

          Cooperation and Internationality

          • Approved new CAS in Creative Approaches to AI with University of Bern (Mathematics)
          • New Pro Helvetia artist in residence (Argentina) program
          • Dance and Technology work with Glitch cie
          • Emerging collaborations with Hong Kong (HKBU), Japan (U Tokyo), Canada (U Toronto)
          • Partnership with Swiss Films Immersive Lab – IAS presence Venice Film Festival
          • DIZH funded «Museum of the Future» with Museum for Gestaltung

          → Overview «Cooperation und Internationality»

            External Funding

            → Overview «Research Projects»

              reconFIGURE

              ReconFIGURE – installation with real time volumetric capture – premiered Ars Electronica festival and in 2024, will travel to other major media/performance festivals in Europe. How machines both see and make mistakes about how they see the world.

              reconFIGURE, installation view
              reconFIGURE, installation view
              reconFIGURE, installation view
              reconFIGURE, installation view

                Zangezi

                Zangezi – IAS’ exploration of Khlebnikov’s Russian futurist text for Refresh 2023. Nature vs technology, how language produces the world, destruction and conflict as key to history. These are some of the themes being explored in the IAS’ experimental work on this infamous poem/play from 1922 – an interdisciplinary approach that combines virtual production, sound and live performance. In preparation for a world premiere in 2024.

                  Mindspace

                  Mindspace – internal research project – AI and the stage. With the hype around Large Language Models created by Chat GPT, the IAS is preparing to go to the next step – embedding these models back into the real world. 

                  LabInsights: Exhibiting current projects developed in the Immersive Arts Space

                    PhD project

                    PhD project – The Feeling Machine – Manuel Hendry (film). What would happen if AI could read your thoughts? This PhD project investigates how movie actors and computers deal with emotions. The project observes people talking to machines. The results are papers and conferences and the installation Feeling Machine, presented at Refresh 2023.

                    LabInsights: Exhibiting current projects developed in the Immersive Arts Space