Immersive Storytelling and An Afro-centric Future for XR

Authors

  • Caitlin Fisher Immersive Storytelling Lab, York University

Keywords:

Immersive storytelling, XR, VR, Afrocentric, African Digital Humanities

Abstract

This paper opens a conversation around a possible Afro-centric future for Immersive storytelling, particularly in XR, one that might challenge Western-centric approaches to XR (extended reality) technologies and storytelling methods. The author argues that African creators across the continent's 54 countries offer vital perspectives that could reshape global XR practices. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from postcolonial scholars like Trinh T. Minh-ha and Jaishree Odin, the paper positions spatial and immersive storytelling as an epistemological challenge to Western narrative traditions. It highlights successful African XR projects, including Joel Kachi Benson's award-winning VR work and initiatives from studios like Black Rhino and Electric South, while acknowledging persistent access barriers. The discussion explores the convergence of XR with Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence, proposing that diverse experimentation is crucial for the medium's maturation. The paper advocates for moving beyond mimetic approaches and mobile-centric development to embrace more varied storytelling traditions, particularly those grounded in African orality and participatory practices. This research suggests that an Afro-centric future for XR could significantly expand the medium's potential for global storytelling and cultural expression.

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Author Biography

  • Caitlin Fisher, Immersive Storytelling Lab, York University

    Caitlin directs the Immersive Storytelling Lab and is a Professor of Cinema and Media Arts at York University in Toronto. A co-founder of York’s Future Cinema Lab and a former Fulbright and Canada Research Chair, Caitlin currently serves as President of the international Electronic Literature Organization. A pioneer of electronic literature, she is the recipient of many international awards for digital storytelling including the 2008 Vinaròs Prize for one of the world’s first AR poems, Andromeda, built using software developed in her lab. Recent funded projects include work in ‘AI Storytelling’, ‘Souveillance, Humanistic Intelligence and phenomenological AR for next-generation headsets’, “Immersive digital environments and indigenous knowledges: co-creation in virtual reality environments to advance artmaking, digital poetics and reconciliation” all funded through the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). She recently directed Fiery Sparks of Light, a volumetric XR project featuring iconic Canadian women poets in Partnership with the Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry.

References

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Odin, Jaishree K. "The edge of difference: Negotiations between the hypertextual and the postcolonial." MFS Modern Fiction Studies 43.3 (1997): 598-630.

Trinh, T. Minh-Ha, director. Naked Spaces: Living Is Round. Women Make Movies, 1985.

Tschofen, Monique. “The Digital Denkbild: Caitlin Fisher’s New Media Art as Philosophy.” Theory, Culture & Society,vol. 33, no. 5, 2016, pp. 139–157.

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Published

27-11-2024

How to Cite

Fisher, Caitlin. “Immersive Storytelling and An Afro-Centric Future for XR”. Multilingual African Digital Semiotics and E-Lit Journal (MADSEJ), vol. 1, no. 2, Nov. 2024, pp. 1-21, https://madsej.africanelit.org/index.php/madsej/article/view/13.

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