ULRICH SCHRAUTH

Originally from Germany, Ulrich is an artistic director and programmer, working in the fields of immersive art, theatre performance and installation design. He works closely with festivals and museums curating both the physical and virtual spaces. Most recently he has worked as Artistic Director for VRHAM! Festival Virtual Reality & Arts in Hamburg in the curation of spaces where visitors can experience art together in a virtual museum setting. As part of his one-week residency at Boisbuchet, he has been working as an XR and Immersive Programmer for the selection process and curation of a virtual installation for the BFI London Film Festival, which will take place in October. During his stay, he developed the exhibition design and artistic program for the next edition of the festival using the latest VR technology, as well as designing and building prototypes for the installations which will be exhibited in the foyer of the National Theatre in London.

It is the second time Ulrich has been to Boisbuchet. Previously, he participated in Francisco Gomez Paz’s 2019 workshop The Beauty Within the Process. On speaking about the contrast between the virtual worlds he curates and the physical natural environment of Boisbuchet and its architecture, Ulrich explains that virtual reality art is all to do with space, and that the layout of Boisbuchet allowed him to contextualise the pieces that he wishes to showcase in order to elicit their inherent meanings. He explains that the haptic environment of Boisbuchet inspired him to see a different picture of what he wants to program. For Ulrich, seeing and experiencing art should be a social experience, whether it is experiencing it through virtual reality or in a physical natural environment such as Boisbuchet – or perhaps both.