The country focus Canada at VRHAM! 2021 with four VR experiences in the Art Program is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Canada (Embassy of Canada to Germany) and the Québec Government Office in Berlin. A conversation with the Delegate General of Québec in Germany, Elisa Valentin, about innovation and synergies between art and technologies.

VRHAM!: VR art has a high standing in Québec, there are many VR studios, festivals and a lively scene. How important is the international exchange and the visibility of this still young art form for you at a festival like VRHAM! in Hamburg?

ELISA VALENTIN: Québec is one of the pioneers in North America and worldwide in the field of immersive and interactive technologies and has a firmly established, very active and dynamic media art and VR scene, whose artistic and technological innovative power gives it a special status in the cultural and art field, but also beyond that in various other fields of application. It feeds this, among other things, from the close interaction between artists, companies and research institutions, but also from its affinity to international exchange. The VRHAM! Festival is a particularly relevant partner in this context, as it addresses both the diversity of immersive technologies and their overarching relevance for the world of culture and art, and in doing so engages local and international actors in dialogue.

V!: VRHAM! has been in contact with many Québec actors for several years, such as the Centre PHI. This year, Québec is represented with several works as part of the Canada Focus and in the international jury for the VRHAMMY AWARD with the multimedia artist Caroline Monnet. What potential do you see in the relationship between Hamburg and Québec and specifically for further cooperation?

EV: Québec is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its presence in Germany this year. During this time, close and diverse relations have developed with Germany in business, politics, science and culture. A particularly fruitful cooperation has developed with Hamburg, and Québec attaches particular importance to its further development and deepening. Due to the numerous similarities but also the complementarities between Québec and Hamburg, this cooperation has a strong potential. And this also applies to the field of media art. We are very happy about Québec’s presence at this year’s VRHAM! Festival and could well imagine a future collaboration. Both the further networking of artists, studios and media art institutions from Québec and Hamburg, the exchange of know-how and the initiation of joint cultural and art projects would be very exciting.

V!: International exchange is of particular relevance to you. Many real encounters could not take place last year because of the pandemic. Did that slow down cooperation or did something new emerge?

EV: The pandemic is also an immense challenge for the cultural and art scene in Québec and has significantly restricted the international mobility of artists. At the same time, it has accelerated digitalisation in many cultural institutions in Québec and worldwide, thus increasing the international reach and visibility of their offerings and promoting international cooperation. In this context, Québec has also been able to continue and even deepen many of its partnerships and collaborations. In addition to the now more diverse digital forms of exchange, we believe that its content has also evolved significantly in the process. The question of synergies between technology and art – in the experience of artistic and cultural content, its presentation, reception and distribution, but also in the artistic creative process itself – is nourishing the reflection with our international partners visibly and more profoundly.

Deutsche Kreditbank (DKB) continues its engagement for the VRHAM! Festival as a partner this year. A conversation with Christine Faßnacht, Head of Content Maketing, about art promotion, digitalization and virtual reality as an artistic medium:

VRHAM!: Why is DKB involved in VR art, what potential do you see in this still young art form?

CHRISTINE FASSNACHT: As a digital bank, we naturally feel particularly connected to digital art. And Corona has given digitalization another enormous boost. When we were thinking about organizing the VR ART PRIZE of DKB in cooperation with CAA Berlin, we couldn’t have known that yet. But we knew that digitalization would permeate all areas of life. The banking world as well as the art world. And: it is important that we deal with the new possibilities and opportunities. Our self-image as a sustainably operating, digital bank goes hand in hand with the fact that we take up socially relevant topics and promote promising developments on the cutting edge. We also want to reflect on the impact of digitalisation on individuals and society. And our scholarship holders have reflected this in wonderful works. Patricia Detmering and Lauren Moffatt – two of the award winners – will also be on show at VRHAM!.

VR: DKB has announced the VR ART PRIZE  for the first time in 2020 in cooperation with the Contemporary Arts Alliance (CAA). The winners have been chosen and there is currently an exhibition in Berlin. How did the idea and the cooperation with the CAA come about?

CF: Yes, the exhibition “Resonance of Realities” can be seen until 4 July in the Haus am Lützowplatz. It shows the 5 artistic positions nominated for the VR ART PRIZE by Banz & Bowinkel, Evelyn Bencicova, Patricia Detmering, Armin Keplinger and Lauren Moffatt. Lauren Moffatt, by the way, won 1st place in the VR ART PRIZE. We are very happy to be able to make these exciting works – which all deal with the medium of VR in art in very different ways – accessible to a larger audience. By the way, we had 104 submissions, all of very high quality, and that shows that VR is being used more and more as a medium in art. Now, how the idea came about: We had been thinking about reorienting our art engagement with a social added value for a while – and especially with a digital focus. We have been working with CAA Berlin for several years. The beauty is that we complement each other perfectly: CAA, as a partner, brings its network and art business know-how, and we, as a bank, have the passion to create something new and to think and promote outside the mainstream. In the course of our deliberations, we came into contact with Tina Sauerländer, our artistic director, curator and proven VR art expert. Tina also played a major role in the conception of the VR ART PRIZE. So it’s real teamwork!

VR: VR Art and DKB are now also closely linked thanks to the commitment to VRHAM! and part of the worldwide community. Are there any concepts for the future?

CF: No concrete concepts yet, but of course a lot of ideas! In the summer, we plan to take a step back and reflect on how we would like to continue our commitment. What makes sense? How can we link things intelligently? What does the post-Corona world look like? The art and culture sector in particular has suffered a lot, and I think we are all asking ourselves: What’s next?

For VRHAM! FORWARD, VRHAM! Virtual Reality & Arts Festival, together with the Institut für theatrale Zukunfsforschung  (ITZ) at Zimmertheater Tübingen, is looking for artists from Europe who are working in the field of the performing arts experimenting with Virtual and Augmented Reality.  An interview with the artistic director of the ITZ, Peer Mia Ripberger.

VRHAM!: Who is the Open Call aimed at, who can apply until 31st March?

PEER MIA RIPBERGER: For the joint Open Call, we are looking forward to receiving submissions from artistic production teams in the field of immersive art. These can be both conceived projects and artistic works in the early stages that can be continued here at the ITZ in Tübingen in a concentrated working environment. We provide one of our stages for this and the most beautiful terrace on the Neckar for breaks and evenings.

V!: The use of digital media including VR is at the centre of your theatrical work. What potential do you see in this for the artistic process and socio-political exchange? What does this mean in concrete terms for the residencies you have announced?

PMR: Our focus on developing plays on socio-political themes allows us to think together contemporary theatre approaches and innovative media art. In doing so, digitalisation and automation occupy us both in terms of content and form as a means of staging. With VREEDOM, for example, we brought out a VR production in September 2020 that focused on the shared experience of VR for several people. Reflection on the media used also always plays a role for us – like VR here. Together with the VRHAM! team and the residents, we want to build a bridge from Tübingen to Hamburg and enter into an intensive exchange with the productions in order to push this reflection further.

V!: The last year has (inevitably) accelerated digitalisation in many cultural institutions. Do you now see your expertise and experience as even more of an impulse generator and networker?

PMR: We are of course trying to use the full potential of digital technologies in the performing arts and to bring their potential out into the city and the German-speaking theatre landscape. This is particularly exciting here because Tübingen, with its ‘Cyber Valley’, is one of the best and most innovative AI research locations in the world. Face-capturing as a means of staging, social VR and innovative progressive web apps that enable audio walks without audience contact as GPS-based smartphone applications – we have dealt with digitalisation in very different areas. Our discursive and contemporary approach, the young team and the wealth of ideas and innovations at the ITZ enable us as a theatre to break new ground not only aesthetically but also structurally. However, we always confront these digital technologies with analogue settings in order to make theatrical experiences possible – and we consider this to be the way forward. So far, we have refrained from exclusively digital productions.

New World by Kerenza Harris and Alessio Grancini has been selected from the Open Call on the current situation due to COVID 19 for this year’s digital festival edition VRHAM! VIRTUAL. The experience will be shown in the festival section VRCinema.

VRHAM! VIRTUAL: Tell us a bit about your artistic approach to the pandemic.

KERENZA HARRIS: Our personal experience of isolation during the pandemic is confusing to us. We feel both happy to be safe and alive while at the same time scared and devastated by what is happening around us. It feels like we are dreaming, alone in a tiny bubble. We’ve kept this dreamlike quality in New World and tried to center the story on the conflicting emotions we are going through. While making the experience, we also felt it was important to reconnect our bodies and minds. We purposefully used Tilt Brush to build the environment and essentially used our bodies to create New World.

VV: A major theme of both the experience and the pandemic is isolation. What do you think, does VR technology lead us more into isolation or does it help us out?

KH: VR technology has the ability to directly affect our perception and impact how we experience the world as a simulated environment; It is both physical and emotional. New realities, new world, new bodies, there are no limits to what can be explored. We believe strongly that as the technology becomes more accessible, it will have a greater impact on our lives. We already see the amazing artistic experiences that are created everyday and the variety of subjects that are dealt with. It is an important social and cultural medium that we hope will continue to grow.

VV: Will the so called “virtual world” become more important for social and cultural life during and after the pandemic? If so, how? 

KH: For us, it goes beyond social and cultural life. The stakes are much greater now. Our world is moving towards more polarized thinking, there seems to be less and less common ground, less compassion.  For the past two days, the tense situation in Los Angeles (US), where we are based, highlights how far out of touch we are from each other and how important it is for us to reconnect. Creating virtual worlds and imagined stories is a way for us to question the status quo, to express new ideas and share our beliefs with others in a safe immersive environment.

VV: What does it mean to you to be a part of VRHAM! Virtual 2020?

KH: In this changing world, we are searching for ways to reconnect to others, to feel like we belong somewhere. VRHAM! has given us the unique opportunity to share our story and find hope and unity in the most unlikely places.

The experience Flow by Yao Wang is based on the Chinese fable “The Peach Blossom Spring”, in which a fisherman meets people who live completely apart from the rest of the world and its society and politics.An interview with the artist:

VRHAM! VIRTUAL: What about this story attracted you?

YAO WANG: Nowadays, everything about life is either accelerating or caving in. Living space gets smaller, the news gets bigger. I often find myself reminiscing about a time when life was slower and simpler; when there were fewer things to have but more time with loved ones. This was the sentiment when Tao Yuanming wrote this poem in 421 CE, and it still stands true today.

VV: Your work tells of nature experiences. At the same time, however, we can only experience it through high-tech means. Do you believe that VR has the power to bring nature, society and technology together in a new way? If so, how?

YW: I think there’s a beauty in that on its own. It’s very cyberpunk (laughing)

The challenge in bringing the abstract ink strokes to life with artist Jessica (Sijia) Zhai was in portraying depth, the randomness of paintbrush strokes, and syncing those strokes to musical elements. 

VV: Flow is based on the aesthetics of Chinese water paintings. Tell us a bit about the special challenges in translating a flat painting technique into an immersive 360° experience.

YW: The entire experience is drawn in traditional Chinese water-and-ink painting style, inspired heavily by the innovations of artist Wu Guangzhong (1919-2010). The ethereal mountains,  buildings, and people were delicately drawn by artist Chuantao Xu inside Quill, who overcame many design challenges as he translated a “flat” (traditionally with no use of linear perspective techniques or shadowing)  and translucent painting style into a lush landscape. The challenge in bringing the abstract ink strokes to life with artist Jessica (Sijia) Zhai was in portraying depth, the randomness of paintbrush strokes, and syncing those strokes to musical elements.

VV: For you as an artist, what is the most exciting thing about working with virtual realities?

YW: For me, it is the immersion that this medium offers. As the co-founder of ICTUS Audio, we are most excited about the development of spatial audio and spatial music within immersive experiences. Sound is a centre element in FLOW. The original ethnic score incorporates ambisonics and spatial audio technology to create an immersive sonic world. This world music score features a blend of ethnic instruments such as the Greek lyra, the Chinese guzheng, pipa, dulcimer, tap guitar and cello. It is a true artwork of multiculturalism. These instruments blend beautifully in a spatial environment, circulating around the listener.  We want to keep pushing the boundaries of merging art and music in virtual realities.