How we experience digital content is changing rapidly with the emergence of extended reality, or XR. XR brings together virtual, augmented and mixed reality to create a blended reality in which data seamlessly mingles with the physical environment.

The impact of this new integrated world is becoming evident across society in domains such as education, health care, industry and culture. Inevitably, the opportunities XR presents also introduce critical issues relating to sustainability, ethics, data privacy, and unequal access to technology, to name a few examples.

XR tools offer creatives and artists compelling possibilities for building upon and challenging existing modes of content creation and storytelling while helping to develop original methodologies for producing new artistic media. 

We consider art and design to be the appropriate experimental context for reflecting on the challenges and opportunities of XR. Art and design provide the imaginative scope to assess the impact of technological developments in a social context and investigate radical alternatives.

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During the residency at iMAL, Brussels, from 4 March to 28 April 2024, the selected applicant(s) will receive access to its XR LAB, which contains state-of-the arts equipment for creating and producing XR projects, as well as curatorial and production support. The selected resident(s) will also be provided with guidance and special mentorship by CREW and have the opportunity to work with different motion capture systems, a variety of VR HMD’s (stand-alone and PC-based), trackers, video projectors, 3D scanners, as well as full pipelines of audio and video equipment, adapted to the needs of XR. The entire process will be supported by an array of high end gaming computers and network equipment.

Towards the end of the residency, a public event will be held at which the resident(s) will present the resulting work. 

A budget of € 9.350 will be provided to cover fee (€ 2.000); development and production (€ 3.000); accommodation and subsistence (€ 3.750); and travel (€ 600).

To activate a Creative and Activist European XR community, Realities in Transition aims to support projects that reflect on alternative XR creation and promote the methodologies that are in line with the values driven by the concepts of commons and commoning. 

The call is open to all emerging creatives who are European residents. 

Applicants must be available to travel to Brussels for the residency period, which runs from March 6 to April 28, 2024. 

Applicants should have a sufficient level of English proficiency to enable them to take part in the residency program at iMAL, Brussels.