Celebrating Australian VR screens in Venice

Southern Stars: Extended Reality Narrative in Australia

I had the great pleasure of presenting a keynote lecture at IUAV University of Venice to a brilliant community of researchers, artists, and practitioners working across VR, screen media, and creative technologies. Set within the extraordinary surroundings of Venice — and, to my surprise and delight, accompanied by posters for the talk pinned throughout the university — the event became a memorable opportunity to discuss Australian XR storytelling in an international context.

Co-written with Katy Morrison, the presentation mapped a constellation of significant Australian extended reality narrative works from the early 2000s to the present. The research drew on findings from the Extending Realities Forum (Melbourne, 2022), which brought together Australian new-media practitioners, researchers, producers, and funders to discuss the challenges and possibilities facing the sector. During the Forum, participants identified key Australian XR works that had shaped their own creative and professional practices.

Our presentation introduced five of these works as case studies, arguing that Australia played an important early role in the development of extended reality storytelling. We also explored the creative, institutional, and industry conditions that enabled these ambitious works to emerge.