New digital meeting: “THE ASSEMBLY”

An Esch2022 project in collaboration with Kaunas2022 and Kaunas Gluk Media.
‘THE ASSEMBLY’ is a multi-sensory, participative installation situated on a 360° theatre stage, taking you into space. By connecting the virtual and the physical world, humans are invited to remix different digital interfaces and create a collective song with their own bodies and voices. Using the connection between the virtual and the physical world, it invites us humans to move our bodies and play with different digital interfaces to create voices. Will we be able to sing together and rediscover the most archaic means of communication through modern digital tools?

The project is composed of three elements: a multiplayer VR experience, embedded in an interactive installation space which serves as the backdrop for the third element of the project: a 360° performance. Audiences are invited to interact in different ways with this space where all three elements are displayed. The extreme speed with which technology is progressing day by day can be intimidating and create a negative perception of digital technology. Instead, ‘The Assembly’ invites audiences from a multiplicity of backgrounds to meet each other through the digital interface, using new media as a conducting surface. The installation is mobile, able to travel efficiently.

It will be displayed in different locations within Luxembourg and Kaunas.

The team is composed of a multimedia director, a performer, digital artists, an artist architect, and sound and VR engineers from Luxembourg and Lithuania.

Charlotte Bruneau is a Luxembourgish director and journalist. She is the director of ‘The Assembly’ VR experience and creative coordinator of the project. Charlotte works as a documentary filmmaker and journalist in the Middle East and is currently directing ‘The Dollhouse’, an animated VR experience produced in Luxembourg and Canada.

Catherine Elsen is a Luxembourgish performance artist working at the crossroad between dance, theatre and music. She is the sound and movement director of ‘The Assembly’, composes and performs in the project. In her artistic practice, Catherine uses different techniques to explore voice and movement throughout versatile creations ranging from electronic music production to theatrical performances.

Laura Mannelli is an architect and digital artist. She is the creator of the installation for The Assembly and leads the development of the project’s visual identity. Laura worked on a multitude of interactive mixed-media installations (‘Uncanny Valley’ , ‘The Promises of Monsters’) and on the scenography of VR experiences, developing the physical spaces for virtual experiences (‘Ayahuasca’).

Cedric Fischer and Damiano Picci are creative coders and sound engineers from Luxembourg at MadTrix. Cedric is responsible for the hardware and the physical, interactive technical infrastructure of the installation. Damiano creates and composes sounds for the VR experience. They worked on internationally-acclaimed projects such as the VR experience ‘Ayahuasca’, ‘My Identity is This Expanse’ or ‘*pfh’, among others.

Vaidas Gecevičius is a creative Lithuanian VR producer at Gluk Media. He is the executive producer of The Assembly VR experience. Gluk Media has been working with VR and 360° content since 2015. The company developed the Code of ‘Freedom 13 VR’, a 10-minute, interactive VR experience, and ‘Kamile: The Fall VR’, an interactive, sci-fi VR drama, among others.

Pouya Ehsaei is an Iranian artist residing in London. With Catherine Elsen, he is the sound artistic director and composer for the performance and installation of The Assembly. Holding a PhD in Music and an MA in Music Technology from the University of York, he has performed at major venues and festivals, such as the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Barbican Centre, and Boomtown.

Dates of performances/shows:
25.02.2022: First performance in Opderschmelz, Dudelange at 8pm
27.02.2022: in Opderschmelz, Dudelange at 6pm

From 4 to 8.03.2022 Opderschmelz, Dudelange

Booking: https://www.opderschmeltz.lu

Dates in May at L’Arche de Micheville, Villerupt
https://www.arche.lu

In Kaunas: first week of August

 Installation and RV dates: 26.02.2022 : 14h-18h