Experiential projects are story-based endeavors using the latest technology oftentimes served with beautiful artwork and sound. But what makes a good project? Oftentimes the simplest concepts are the strongest.
This year, I was invited to join esteemed members as part of the international jury. Projects represent XR experiments ranging from 360 visuals to story-narrated platforms on every platform conceivable.
Here are members of the jury: https://xrawards.aixr.org/judges/
Award Ceremonies like AIXR are important because they recognize the intense work that creators bring to the table in often surprising ways. Like mini lab stories, each project conveys a history and cultural background combining old and new voices while enabling technology to enhance human connections, empathy, ethics and awareness through directed human-centered studies and experiences.
While I cannot speak directly to the projects I've seen, I can offer my own beliefs in a manner that expresses what I feel are relevant and valuable points in the evaluation of XR experiences. And yes.... I know what it's like to be a recipient of an XR award. It's a super awesome feeling! Conversely, I am also acquainted with the stinging disappointment of loss. Experiencing both sides of the coin gives me a sense of objectivity, fairness and respect for what's been submitted. That applies to both big budget and indie represented projects.
THE HEART OF THINGS:
At the heart of my own personal practice is experimenting with technology and story in order to understand what we value as a species. Many of the best creators work with the 'why' and 'how' of the story emphasizing through tech and narrative the meaning and emotional force behind their ideas. Other creators emphasize technology like building out platforms, pipelines or even hardware catering specifically to the operational side of the story experience. Both approaches represent different user experiences but work in tandem to scale content and distribution.
Here are three interesting points that I feel make strong stories and communicate relevancy:
1) Immersive story experiences especially in the artistic realm enable us to find our own solutions free from the constrictive and rigid rules of productivity and profit. The main impetus is to create open spaces that offer freedom from judgement and self-consciousness so that we may find ourselves within 'living' spaces.
That tension and space in-between "expectation" and "letting go" reveal areas where human beings are able to interject themselves and discover something unique. The answers to the stories are not always spelled out so that human beings may discover their own selves reflected back not as afterthoughts but as unique and important parts of the story.
2)Immersive works represent art, not just innovation. Doing so helps to legitimize XR as part of our shared culture. They remind us that immersive worlds have aesthetic and emotional depth while encouraging critical thinking and empathy. XR Award ceremonies draw attention to story while giving context to how technology is used.
My work prioritizes wonder and awe, inviting active community engagement. While some projects explore the how and why through data or AI, they all share a common thread: the power to transform us from mere spectators into active and feeling participants.
3)Experiencing XR artifacts and narrated projects puts us in direct contact with a global audience enabling us to engage with media of choice both critically and creatively. What's interesting is where and how we use technology in story-making especially in reference to particular groups of people.
For example:
In parts of Africa and Asia, cellphones are often used for direct payments instead of traditional banking, offering greater accessibility and trust in situations where not everyone qualifies for a bank account. When incorporated into storytelling, audiences learn how narratives that favor certain technologies over others can convey deeper insights into how people live, including their societal, mental, and geopolitical perspectives.
CONCLUSION:
In the end, I believe that XR festivals like AIXR represent our cultural laboratories; places where imagination, technology, and ethics meet to explore what reality could become next. At the moment, AI is receiving all the attention but in the background, XR is continuing albeit slowly and steadily to come into its own.
Combining both aspects into hybrid projects will open up new forms of storytelling that will impact how immersion and ultimately design is experienced.
Am I excited about the future? Yes and no... I think that it's going to be an interesting era where 'reality and unreality' become one.
Thank you AIXR for inviting me! I wish that I could be there in Brussels to congratulate the winners!
