XR Lab 2026-27 Open Call
Digital Arts Studios invites artists and creative practitioners to take part in the XR Research & Development Lab 2026–2027.
Launched in 2024, the XR Lab is an open, artist-led space for creatives to experiment with and develop work using immersive technologies. Over the past two years, the Lab has supported artists from a wide range of disciplines to test ideas, build skills, and explore new directions in their practice through hands-on engagement with XR.
This year’s XR Lab focuses on exploring how immersive technologies can be used to create work for real-world, place-based contexts beyond the gallery. We are interested in how XR can exist within everyday environments; creating meaningful, site-responsive encounters between audiences, place, and story.
Participants will be supported to develop their own ideas within this theme, using XR technologies to experiment with new forms of storytelling, interpretation, and public engagement. The Lab offers a space for research and development, combining technical learning with creative exploration, and providing opportunities to test how immersive work might function in non-traditional settings, including through real or speculative briefs. The programme will include site visits and engagement with case studies, supporting artists to consider how their work might operate within different real-world settings.
The XR Lab is open to all; there is no application process. To take part, artists simply need to become members of Digital Arts Studios.
Participants will have access to:
Weekly XR Lab sessions, workshops, and artist talks
Technical support and creative mentoring
Specialist equipment and production facilities
A collaborative environment for sharing and developing work
Opportunities to present work through informal sharing and public showcases
We welcome artists at all stages of their career, working across disciplines, who are curious about immersive technologies and interested in expanding their practice in new ways.
Please contact richard@digitalartsstudios.com to sign up.
Quotes about the XR Lab
“Participation in the XR Lab has significantly increased my confidence in using XR technologies. Through workshops, technical demonstrations, and hands-on experimentation with professional equipment, I have been able to develop small-scale XR prototypes and explore tools such as Unreal Engine, Unity, and TouchDesigner”
“Being part of the XR lab community for me was good for networking and meeting new like minded people in this digital space”
“giving an artist talk during the Lab helped me gain confidence in presenting my work to an audience and articulating my creative process”
“Through the XR Lab, I have begun developing small-scale XR prototypes and tests, which have allowed me to imagine how my practice could operate at a larger scale. Access to professional production facilities and equipment, combined with exposure to international artists and their approaches, has increased my confidence in working with immersive technologies, expanded my understanding of what is possible in XR practice, and clarified the pathway for future projects. The experience has provided a strong foundation for experimentation, skill development, and ambition, enabling me to envision the next stage of my work in immersive and extended reality”