Natalie Paneng's quirky and cool virtual universe
Johannesburg-based artist Natalie Paneng blends theater, digital art, and performance to create playful virtual worlds that examine online identity and self-presentation.
Kill Screen Staff
Darlene Barahona: Narrative design and the path (not) taken
Drawing from anthropology, screenwriting, and real-world experiences, narrative designer Darlene Barahona crafts interactive worlds that blend cultural understanding with compelling character design.
A.M. Darke: Games interrogate and explore power dynamics
Critical game-maker A.M. Darke examines the intersection of power, race, and interactive media through projects like 'Ye or Nay?' and the Open Source Afro Hair Library, challenging conventional gaming narratives while fostering meaningful dialogue about representation.
Jose Sanchez: Game as a dialogue
Chilean architect Jose Sanchez blends the worlds of architecture and gaming through his studio Plethora Project, creating innovative city simulators that emphasize sustainability, community care, and participatory design.
Vincent Morisset: The poetic spontaneity of interactive storytelling
Director Vincent Morisset bridges technology and storytelling through innovative interactive experiences, from pioneering the first interactive music video with Arcade Fire to creating Motto, a participatory narrative that blends user contributions with poetic serendipity.
Chlöe Bass: Without participation, the public falls apart
Through installations like "Wayfinding" and "The Book of Everyday Instruction," multidisciplinary artist Chloë Bass examines how public participation and intimate encounters shape our understanding of shared spaces and human connection.
alpha_rats: Virtual reality is a dream state
Through VR experiences like Celestial Reactors, artist alpha_rats examines humanity's relationship with technology and nature while drawing inspiration from Soviet space race aesthetics and ecological concerns.
Prashast Thapan: To live and die
Through his upcoming game "1000 Deaths," designer Prashast Thapan examines mortality and perspective by having players cycle through multiple lives in condensed 15-minute experiences.
LaJuné McMillian: Towards motion witnessing
Artist LaJuné McMillian transforms motion capture into "motion witnessing" through their Black Movement Library project, creating a vital archive of Black performers while challenging the biases inherent in immersive technologies.
Maya Man
At the intersection of dance and creative code, Maya Man creates browser-based experiences that transform human movement into data, examining our intimate relationships with technology.
Will Robertson and Alfredo Salazar-Caro: Transcending the confines of a museum
Two art school friends transformed their frustration with traditional institutions into DiMoDA, a groundbreaking virtual reality museum that challenges conventional exhibition spaces while showcasing cutting-edge digital art.
Nick Murray: The intimacy and expanse of interactive narrative
Game designer Nick Murray crafts intimate interactive experiences that bridge poetry, music, and digital art to examine the complex emotions of life mediated by technology.
Rui Hu: The infinite futures of games
Artist Rui Hu blends game engines, installation art, and memory to examine how virtual spaces infiltrate our physical world.
Lana Z Porter: Interaction revolutionizes connection
As Creative Director of R&D at The New York Times, Lana Porter harnesses emerging technologies to create novel ways for readers to connect with journalism, from 3D-modeled environments to AI-powered news interfaces.
The Rolfes Brothers put the live in livestream
Through real-time digital performances that meld VR and motion capture, brothers Sam and Andy Rolfes craft visceral experiences that transform how bodies move between physical and virtual spaces.
Skawennati: Nurturing Indigenous imagination in virtual worlds
Mohawk artist Skawennati pioneers Indigenous presence in virtual spaces through groundbreaking projects like TimeTraveller™ and CyberPowWow, while leading initiatives to empower Indigenous youth in digital storytelling
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley creates game worlds from excessive and autonomous archives
Artist Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley creates multilayered game experiences that adapt based on player identity, building autonomous digital archives that center and protect Black trans narratives.
Making Magic: The Malaysian Artists Decolonizing Fantasy Gaming
Malaysian creative duo Mun Kao and Zedeck Siew blend Southeast Asian folklore with tabletop gaming through their illustrated zine series A Thousand Thousand Islands, reimagining fantasy beyond Anglo-European traditions.
Rachel Rossin: Entropy to Infinity
Brooklyn-based artist Rachel Rossin investigates the tensions between technological infinity and human impermanence through a practice spanning VR, painting, and holography, drawing from her early experiences with programming and underwater exploration.
Mario Mu: Transforming Political Reality into Playable Space
Croatian artist Mario Mu investigates the intersection of gaming, politics, and social dynamics through experimental projects spanning LARP, game development, and participatory art, examining how game mechanics shape contemporary culture.
Gareth Wrighton: Breaking Fashion's Virtual Reality
Fashion designer Gareth Wrighton bridges digital and physical realms through projects like The Maul - a post-apocalyptic virtual shopping center that challenges traditional retail while exploring the inherent virtuality of fashion itself.
Colombian heritage shapes Leo Castañeda's gaming universes
Artist Leo Castañeda bridges painting and game design in his project "Levels and Bosses," creating innovative gameplay mechanics that challenge colonial structures while drawing from his South American artistic heritage.
Gayatri Kodikal: Excavating the ruins of history, time, and play
Artist Gayatri Kodikal transforms an archaeological mystery of a severed hand into an immersive game installation that challenges Western notions of time and history while weaving together colonial narratives, resistance stories, and South Asian perspectives.
Zahra Rasool: Immersive stories through justice and journalism
hrough AJ Contrast, Zahra Rasool leads Emmy-nominated immersive journalism that centers marginalized voices. Her groundbreaking work "Still Here" examines incarceration and gentrification through collaborative storytelling with formerly incarcerated women.
Body, Spirit, Code: Salome Asega's Participatory Digital Art
Artist and educator Salome Asega creates embodied digital experiences that bridge technology with cultural heritage, while building inclusive tech education spaces through her work at POWRPLNT and the Ford Foundation.