Beyond the Venue
The future of culture: physical, digital, or both? Discover it in the metaverse – July 1-3, 2025
Engage with an AI composer from the past, experience the kiss of a digital choir, discover a 100% digital K-pop band, and get lost in an online ghost experience. Four creators, one virtual space: the metaverse.
Beyond the Venue is an experimental online showcase featuring concerts, performances, and digital art. All from your own laptop, no VR headset needed. Whether you come to watch, test, or experience: this is your chance to discover the future of culture. For audiences, creators, and pioneers. That means you!
What can you expect?
Beyond the Venue is not a livestream or an online theater. You step into a virtual space where performances, installations, and encounters fluidly intertwine. You log in via your browser, you can create your own avatar, and you get to choose where you go, how long you stay, and what you experience (or don’t).
Sometimes you’ll be an observer, sometimes a participant. Not everything is finished or perfect, and that’s part of the experience. This is a place to test, play, and experiment with new forms of culture. Expect the unexpected, and most importantly, bring your curiosity..
Sleepy Hollow: ghost experience teaser
In this online teaser from Studio Immersief, you’ll delve into the mysterious disappearance of vlogger and ghost-hunter Icha Kraan. You’ll get an exclusive preview of the VR experience Sleepy Hollow (2026). Wander through his remaining content and discover what happened behind the walls of the ominous apartment complex. Will you believe everything you see?
Kissing Choir: What if a Kiss Makes Music?
In this interactive installation by artist duo Karen Lancel and Hermen Maat, twelve couples together form a virtual choir. Every kiss or touch is transformed by a clever algorithm into a melody, which is then live-mixed with other couples in the metaverse.
DV8: A Digital K-pop Band
What if you could only meet your favorite band online, but it felt like they were really there in front of you? DV8 is a virtual, K-pop-inspired band formed by students from Hanze University of Applied Sciences. They’re putting on a hybrid performance in the metaverse, where music, animation, visuals, and a hologram show come together to create a new kind of digital pop concert.
North Netherlands Orchestra: Meet the Composer
Ever wanted to speak with a composer after a concert? The North Netherlands Orchestra is experimenting with an extra layer to the concert experience: in the metaverse, you’ll engage in a conversation with an AI version of the evening’s composer(s). It’s a unique encounter where past and future meet.
Free Admission
Participation is free, but registration is required. Use the ticket buttons below to choose which day you’d like to attend. A few days before the event, you’ll receive your personal link to the virtual environment (the metaverse) via email. You don’t need to install anything or have any prior knowledge, just a laptop and an internet connection.
Claim your ticket:
Part of the European METAVENUES Project
This production is part of METAVENUES, a European project where SPOT Groningen, ECHO (European Concert Hall Organisation), and Komodal are exploring how new technologies like AI, the Internet of Things, and Extended Reality can shape the future of performing arts venues. Studio Immersief contributes its expertise in immersive storytelling and cutting-edge technology to this project. METAVENUES is funded by the European Union through Creative Europe.
