The DOK Leipzig festival has been programming immersive content since 2015. Quite an old hand in the field! With a dedicated section, and a market for new writing (since 2020), the German event is a real rendez-vous on the fall festival circuit. And a place to help creators consolidate their budding projects. Interview with Lars Rummel, XR Curator, and Weronika Lewandowska, DOK Exchange XR Coordinator.
Cover: NO PLACE BUT HERE by Dylan Valley and Annie Nisenson
DOK Neuland 2023, a thematic exhibition
Lars Rummel – For several editions now, DOK Neuland has been built around a theme – this year, “Nowhere Is Only Somewhere”. There’s no longer any obligation for exclusivity or world (or European) premieres, but a desire to program content around a common idea. I try to ensure synergy between each selected experience. In addition, I’m working with a scenographer and artist who is working on a real presentation based on the exhibition space, so that everything is visually coherent. It’s very modular, really, but we hope to be able to offer an exhibition that encompasses each piece presented. I call it “onion immersion”, with several layers of presentation to the public, and a real collaboration with each artist.
L. R. – “Nowhere Is Only Somewhere” is an iteration of the last two editions (“Chaos Is a Condition” in 2021, and “Thanks for Nothing” in 2022). After chaos and absence, it seemed logical to talk about a form of hope, collective feeling and responsibility in the face of the events of our time. We have selected 10 experiences that have different resonances, and a different impact (by their geography, their form…). Living in this world, with all this information, what do we make of it? We’re going to dance with our hands, for example. We want our visitors to really feel everything, to discover new perspectives.
An open-minded curation
L. R. – Our work is based on what we see throughout the year (at festivals, via distributors…), and our calls for projects. We had to consider around 200 works this year, which is a huge number. And with extremely varied intentions! To be honest, I see in most of the pieces seen a form of post-pandemic expression. Many of the authors are integrating more emotion into their stories. There’s a greater sensitivity, and a desire to explore different forms of empathy via the immersive. And this is reflected in stories with greater, more collective immersion, pushing new technologies further (including, as of this year, artificial intelligence). Narrative remains one of our key criteria.
L. R. – The main objective with DOK Neuland is to be able to reach as wide an audience as possible, while being aware of the imperatives of the VR medium. The exhibition itself is free, but we’re also limiting our audience size – and have been since 2020 for health and safety reasons. In reality, we want visitors to be as comfortable as possible to enjoy the works and meet the artists. We also need to take into account the diversity of the public, from connoisseurs to neophytes. This is what prompted us to create a 360° Area dedicated to 360° video, where visitors are encouraged to pick up the headset themselves, and settle in for the session with the freedom to sit wherever they like to view the content. We’re thinking in terms of a space that’s as free as possible, and we’re learning every year on this point to create a real atmosphere.
L. R. – XR has been moving forward with a lot of change lately. To quote Ana Brzezińska, back in 2016 at Dok Exchange she spoke of the sense of community that must endure, even at a time when more money and resources are being made available to artists. There are plenty of opportunities for everyone, and it’s great to see ever bolder and more ambitious experiments coming into being. The whole thing is becoming more professional, and institutions are paying more and more attention to us. There’s more and more competition between works and artists. Over the first 9 years, most of us created a unique group of individuals and talents. All this is changing dramatically, and I’m very curious to see in what direction.
Extended Reality: DOK Neuland 2023 (October, 10 to 15 ) – Nowhere Is Only Somewhere
- The Assembly – Charlotte Bruneau
- The Contrast or Illusion – Mariusz Borzyszkowski
- Draw for Change: Existimos, resistimos – Mariana Cadenas
- You Destroy. We Create – Felix Gaedtke, Gayatri Parameswaran (see our interview)
- This Is Not a Ceremony – Ahnahktsipiitaa (Colin Van Loon)
- Plastisapiens – Miri Chekhanovich, Édith Jorisch
- Pause – Michal Shoshan
- No Place But Here – Dylan Valley, Annie Nisenson
- Seu nome era Gisberta – Sérgio Galvão Roxo
- Elele – Sjoerd van Acker
DOX Exchange, all about AI
Weronika Lewandowska – We’re also seeing many paradigm shifts in project development, including in our XR Showcase. It’s fascinating to be able to envisage the production stages of an XR project today, as the directions are multiple, the stakes or the narrative more mature. That’s why our DOX Exchange XR now includes a presentation area for prototypes. This helps all professionals to better grasp this new environment.
W. L. – This year, DOX Exchange XR is focusing on AI and AR. Artificial intelligence, especially from the point of view of artistic installation, is a real issue. The hybridization of works is accelerating, and we’ve seen this in all the pieces received for our market. But the most important thing for us is to offer a space for discussion and exchange for project owners, and to give them as much information as possible on the state of the XR market (including ethics) and technologies. To this end, we established cooperation with the European Creators’ Lab and its Prototyping Lab in Leipzig, which takes place during the same week as DOK Exchange XR. This partnership aims to foster synergy and growth within the XR community, particularly for projects in development
DOK Exchange XR 2023 – Conferences (October 13) onsite with online stream
- There is an AI behind the scenes, by Mads Damsbo
- Generative AI: The birth of a new medium or the next evolution of tools, by Anna Giralt Gris
- Playing with AI for Creativity: The future of digital assets for games, XR and Web3 in the context of the marketplace, by Joanna frota Kurkowska
- Audio for Augmented Reality, by Oliver Kadel
- Changing spaces and minds through AR, by Barna Szász
- AI & XR: Architecture as Inhabitable Hybrid Media Object, by Cenk Guzelis & Anna Pompermaier
DOK Exchange XR 2023 – XR Showcase (October 13)
- “Haunts”, dir. Lucy Hammond, 6 DoF VR Documentary, UK 2024
- “I M U”, dir. Juul van der Laan, XR Interactive Film Installation, Netherlands 2024
- “Inter(mediate)_Spaces”, dir. Chloé Lee, Generative AI & 6 DoF VR Installation, Germany 2025
- “Ocean”, dir. Monika Masłoń, Multiplayer 6 DoF VR Installation, Hungary/Poland 2025
- “TIME MACHINE MAIDAN” dir. Roman Liubyi, Volodymyr Tykhyi, Hybrid Immersive Documentary, Germany/Ukraine 2024
- “Xhimeras”, dir. Luca Lee, 6 DoF VR, Chile/USA 2024
A unique place in Europe (and Germany)?
L. R. – Germany has many opportunities for innovation and the arts, with regional funds dedicating part of their funding to XR and new narratives around digital. There are many high-level profiles in universities too, and this is part of the evolution of the sector. But at our national level, it’s still relatively scattered and regional in nature. I hope to see our funding system move towards a more uniform support policy, as is the case in France, Canada and other countries. We’re getting to the point where a national discussion for Germany is starting, which would create a common impetus, and envisage more help at the points of project development or distribution. This is part of a more global reflection on the usefulness of our work and the use of technology – especially from an ecological point of view.
W. L. – Leipzig is an interesting meeting place for Eastern and Western European countries. Starting with the selected projects that we follow over time, but also for the projects that are not selected! I hope to be able to continue my discussions with most of the artists who don’t have the chance to come and see us, but whose creations we know about. In an ideal world, I’d like our capacity for exchange to be global, beyond our capacity to program at the festival.
L. R. – I believe in the idea of slow culture, and festivals have a role to play in disseminating these new writings, formats and events. This can guide our actions, within a very active artistic community, and perpetuate us as points of discussion and presentation for the public.
