Beyond Technology: Immersive Experiences as a Global Cultural Market

Immersive experience is no longer a technology sector. It is becoming a global cultural market, with its own audiences, venues and economics. In this talk, director Mathias Chelebourg presents the editorial work of immersive.paris, an observatory of the immersive transition published by Atelier Daruma. He explains why the collection is organised by theme rather than by device, and why its scope goes well beyond VR; covering dance and performing arts, gastronomy, festivals, hybrid venues, brand experiences and artificial intelligence. Three years of interviews with artists, institutions, researchers and industry leaders reveal a single shift across all these fields: the audience is no longer watching, but taking part. The talk closes on what distinguishes the European approach to this market from the Silicon Valley model of individual, at-home immersion.

SPEAKER: 

Mathias Chelebourg (CEO Atelier Daruma, Editorial Director immersive.paris)

HOSTED BY IMMERSIVE.PARIS AND ATELIER DARUMA

immersive.paris is an editorial collection and observatory dedicated to the immersive transition across art, cinema, performing arts and new writing, published by Atelier Daruma. Through interviews, essays and analysis, it documents the artistic and technological profusion designed to engage audiences through all five senses, with a lens focused on Europe. Atelier Daruma is a Paris-based immersive creation studio founded by Emmy Award-winning writer-director Mathias Chelebourg, whose work includes Baba Yaga, Doctor Who: The Runaway for the BBC, and Rencontre(s) with Chanel, presented at the 79th Venice Biennale. The studio also develops the Large Field Theater, a modular wireless multi-headset platform for location-based immersive experiences.