'Immersive Media for Reinterpreting Heritage'

Agnes Michalczyk, German University, Cairo

This event took place on Wednesday 15th November 2023

About

I talk about the challenges of working in marginalised communities, specifically the lack of access to heritage (in the physical sense of restricted urban space) as well as education including a lack of educational resources and poor schooling in poorer areas. I will consider the challenges in participatory projects that aspire not to be extractive but genuinely benefiting communities emphasising the use of immersive media (AR and audiovisual performance) as tools for reinterpreting heritage and alternative education resources, their benefits and restrictions.

Event media

Slides

References 

Digital Journal article  

Shadow of the Wall (You Tube)

Agnes Michalczyk on Behance

Biography

Agnes Michalczyk is a visual artist and educator living and working in Cairo. Graduated from Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig she currently teaches at the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Arts at the German University in Cairo.

Her work is exploring the urban space of Cairo through a female perspective focusing on the city and its narratives, real or imagined. She works in a variety of media, painting, drawing and collage, between 2012-2016 mainly focusing on Street Art and since 2014 increasingly incorporating new media in her practice contributing to different art projects in Cairo and abroad. Agnes is currently pursuing her doctoral research on immersive media and heritage in historic Cairo at Freie Universität Berlin and The University of Edinburgh.

Doctoral research

Exploring the definition of heritage as a set of relationships with the past that reproduce social narratives today this research looks at obstructions in equitable access to heritage, especially for marginalized communities in developing nations dependent on global tourism.

Recent decades saw heightened interest in intangible heritage, driven by digital media's use for documenting and conveying heritage. Immersive technologies enrich on-site experiences and virtual tours, challenging narratives, power dynamics and access to heritage sites.

In Egypt, local inhabitants have frequently been forcibly removed from urban space, prevented from taking part in the economic gains from tourism and excluded from the heritage narratives, depriving them of agency, ownership and benefit from their own culture. This research investigates how immersive technologies can facilitate equitable heritage management through education, participation and diversity in heritage discourse and evaluates the risks of these technologies.

Methodologically, it reviews heritage theories to define tangible and intangible heritage notions' significance for marginalized communities. It establishes a theoretical framework for immersive technology usage within heritage studies. A comparative analysis of immersive technology projects in Cairo, developing countries and Europe evaluates their societal impact. Practice-based projects will inform further design solutions for heritage sites. Ultimately, this research aims to understand the impact of immersive technologies in fostering inclusive and integrated heritage management and tourism. The findings will serve as the foundation for a recommended practices toolkit.