First VXR Festival opens in Lahore featuring 70 artists
The inaugural VXR Festival in Lahore showcases works by 70 artists from multiple countries, exploring the intersection of technology and art.
The first VXR Festival, a festival of virtual and extended reality, has opened in Lahore, Pakistan. Its debut programme, titled Between the Prompts // V.1, brought together works by 70 artists from Pakistan, Spain, France, Canada, the United States and other countries, as reported by ua.news.
The festival opened at the Alliance Française de Lahore to a full house. The project was curated by Dr Najamul Assar and Sara Rajper, with Zainab Aamir serving as curatorial assistant. The programme explores the space between instruction and image: how artists work with technologies and algorithms that are increasingly influencing the creation of visual content.
Works by 16 authors were presented at the opening, including Amna Tariq, Anushi Khalid, Asma Kazmi, Mansoor Ali, Lola Zoido, Marie Lienhard and Sandrine Dumié. Visitors explored immersive works through headsets and screens, followed by a meeting with the artists.
Co-curator Sara Rajper noted that for many guests, this was their first experience of using a headset to view art rather than a game or a technology demonstration. Festival founder and co-curator Dr Najam said the team sought to present these works in Pakistan “on their own terms”. After opening in Lahore, the programme will continue at R Space at the Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design, and on November 12 at Beaconhouse National University. From November 13 to 15, the festival will hold events in Islamabad. The VXR Festival is an initiative of the Lahore Digital Arts Festival team, which has supported digital art and creative technologies in Pakistan since 2019.
