Engaging with Disengagement: Opting out, Slowing Down in Digital Immersive Experiences
The Immersive Experiences Lab hosts a day-long exploration of temporal and digital media experiences through practice and critical discussions.
Immersive Experiences Lab, School of Culture and Creative Arts
Date: Thursday 01 May 2025
Time: 10:00 - 17:30
Venue: Advanced Research Centre (ARC), University of Glasgow
Category: Conferences, Exhibitions, Films and theatre, Public lectures, Academic events
The Immersive Experiences Lab hosts a day-long exploration of temporal and digital media experiences through practice and critical discussions.
How are we situated in the 24/7 digital life of constant connectivity? What does slowing down and opting out feel like in the digital age? Is it a deferral from action or a break from the instant gratification culture? What role do the concepts of digital disengagement, opting out, or slowing down play in artistic practice?
This event will explore various experiences of slowing down and opting out as forms of digital disengagement, seen as both a luxury and a privilege, a necessity and even a mode of resistance. It will encourage audiences, users, and community members to reflect on the consequences and effects on individuals and the environment.
Join us for a day-long event featuring Deceleration, an hour-long performance piece by the award-winning immersive theatre company ZU-UK, alongside an exhibition of digital and VR art and research, and related discussions. We are delighted to include a keynote presentation by the interdisciplinary scholar Dr Esperanza Miyake (University of Strathclyde), a workshop by Jorge Lopes Ramos (ZU-UK), and contributions to a panel discussion from the international festival of contemporary performance, Take Me Somewhere, the IE lab co-director Dr Eirini Nedelkopoulou, along with the arts-based research duo Project Somnolence and sonic research collaborators Dr Iain Findlay-Walsh (University of Glasgow) and Dr Tristan Partridge (UCal, Santa Barbara).