Artist Talk with Luc Courchesne

Canadian artist Luc Courchesne is one of the pioneers of interactive media art. Since the 1990s, he has been developing immersive media art installations in which visitors can move through artificial landscapes and interact directly with virtual characters. In doing so, he has explored virtual reality (VR) as both a physical and a social situation that visitors help shape. From an artistic perspective, he thus anticipated virtual reality as we know it today—as a space for experience.

His works are held in the world’s most significant media art collections, including the ZKM’s collection. Since Courchesne has often developed new technological systems specifically for his works, their preservation poses a particular challenge. He speaks with Morgan Stricot, the media and digital art conservator at the ZKM, about the development and the restoration of the interactive panoramic video installation »The Visitor: Living by Numbers« (2001) and the interactive computer installation »Portrait One« (1990).

Luc Courchesne will also present his latest work, »Wien Chiaroscuro« (2025), live. In this immersive virtual reality experience, he documents social life in contemporary Vienna through interviews with residents and visits the places where they live. Afterward, attendees will have the opportunity to experience the work for themselves.