VR Artist Discusses Immersive Arts UK Project with XR Students
Aiden Brady, an immersive artist who is in his early career, presented an interesting project exploring the potential of immersive technologies for storytelling.
Students from the MSc in Computer Animation, MSc in Computer Games and Extended Reality, and the Certificate in 2D/3D Digital Animation programmes attended the online session, where Aiden discussed his creative processes—from initial concept to final exhibition.
They had the opportunity to hear of the use of virtual reality and immersive technology can be used to tell a story that would resonate with local community, using immersive storytelling, as Aiden shared his ideas of project exploring Newry's industrial past.
"A Town Unravelled," is a multisensory virtual reality experience that examines the impact of Newry port's 1974 closure and the lasting effects of deindustrialisation on local communities. The project, which secured funding from Immersive Arts UK, was showcased at Newry Quays shopping centre, bringing immersive art directly to the public.
Aiden discussed how he used tools including Blender and Unity to create the experience, and audio recorded interviews and shared insights into user testing, research methodologies, and his experimentation with AI to augment traditional workflows as well as it challenges and opportunities for the creative pipeline. He also explored the conceptual framework behind the project, drawing on contemporary thinking about digital art and phenomenology and the readings of Giuseppe Torre’s text, “Ethico – Phenomenology of Digital Art”
Lecturer Jackie Toal highlighted
“The talk was very beneficial and provided students with practical insights into developing immersive prototypes and innovative approaches to community engagement through technology, offering inspiration for their own creative projects”
