NWXR 2025-26

NWXR revs up January - March 2026 with a creative and curious season of workshops, labs, and community gatherings.  

interplay_ + NWXR Community Workshops

Freya Björg Olafson

Saturday, January 17, 2026 | 11am PST

ONLINE

Register Here

Lag, Loop, Render: Digital Bodies in Performance

About this Workshop
This online session will trace Olafson’s early experiments with technology in performance and situate their work within a lineage of artists who have explored liveness, digital mediation and representation. Olafson will share excerpts of past works that integrate various technologies like 3D scanning, game development software, and MoCap. Olafson will share their current interest in webcam motion capture techniques which open questions to how these technologies reshape notions of authorship, representation, and archiving. Participants' questions can drive the direction of the session and Olafson will snapshot some technical processes used to create recent work.
About Freya
Freya Björg Olafson is an intermedia artist who works with video, audio, animation, motion capture, XR, painting, and performance. Olafson has exhibited and performed internationally at the Bauhaus Archiv (Berlin), LUDWIG museum (Budapest), and Ochoymedio (Ecuador) among others. Olafson has benefitted from residencies, most notably through EMPAC - Experimental Media & Performing Arts Center (New York) and Counterpulse (San Francisco). Recent awards and recognitions include the ‘Sobey Art Award’ longlist (2020), the 'Lumen Prize for Art & Technology' longlist (2021) and the OFFTA / Mois Multi - Hybridity Grant (2025). Olafson’s performance ‘AVATAR’ (2009) was published in 2021 as a score / script for Playwrights Canada Press’ “Long Live the New Flesh: Six Plays from the Digital Frontier”. In 2026 her chapter about performance capture will be published in the “Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Animation Studies”. Olafson was Assistant Professor in Screendance within the Department of Dance at York University in Toronto (2017 - 2021). Since July 2021, Olafson is an Assistant Professor in Digital Media at the School of Art / University of Manitoba.. www.freyaolafson.com

Chantal & Choo

Sunday, January 18, 2026 | 11am PST 

Q7 (77 East 7th, Vancouver) 

Register Here 

Seed Sanctuary Workshop

About this Workshop
Chantal and Choo will guide participants through the inspiration for their work Seed Sanctuary in the 2026 Interplay Festival. They will share how they came together and the process of working across the disciplines of dance and tech design. This will include a presentation of their collective journal mood board, a meditation and time for participants to interact with the technology, plants, and artists. Choo will share his philosophies that inform his process of building circuits that connect to plants and run through Touch Designer, and Chantal will share about worldbuilding, somatics, farming that inspired the underworld of The Seed Sanctuary.
About Chantal & Choo
Chantal Dobles Gering is a queer interdisciplinary movement artist (they/she/we). They come from mixed latinx/german lineage and much of their work has been speaking to the diaspora of growing up away from latinx culture. Chantal was born in San Jose, Costa Rica (huetar land) and currently practices on the unceded lands of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ people. They have researched, performed and created pieces in many festivals, collectives and spaces: Vines Arts Festival, Future Leisure, Still Moon Arts, The Frank Theatre, Boca Del Lupo, National Theatre School, Shapeshifter Media Collective, Queer Soul Poets, Ignite Youth Festival, Blackout Theatre, Ruby Slippers Theatre, Liberated Planet Studio, Runaway Moon Theatre, The Only Animal, Lobe Studio, The Training Society, UBC, Empire of Dirt, The Birdhouse, and the Push Festival. Their art practice gestures towards collective liberation through community movement improvisations, interspecies collaborations, ritual, sound, and poetry. Choo-Kien Kua is a music producer, visual artist and creative coder. They work by exploring the creative process with meditation, fate and Wu Wei, a natural way of being. Sometimes creating expressive interactive programs that react to sound and movement in digital space. Often taking the intuitive approach to innovate multimedia explorations. Based on the unceded lands of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ Nations.

arya

 Sunday, January 25, 2026 | 11am PST

Q7 (77 East 7th, Vancouver) 

Register Here

Particle Simulation in Unreal Engine

About this Workshop
Ever wonder how magic spells are made? VFX artists in the game industry use Unreal Engine and its built in particle system Niagara to create procedural VFX like flames, lightning and bursts of energy. In this workshop, Interplay exhibiting artist & LEGO Ninjago Technical Artist Arya Hawker guides attendees through the basics of Niagara and how to create beautiful abstract forms using math and physics with real-time particle simulation.
About arya
Arya Hawker is a multimedia artist and filmmaker. His work explores audio-visual expression and human psychology. He uses parametric mathematics, CGI and colourful abstraction to explore heavy themes based on intersectional generational trauma. Since 2009, he has been experimenting with interactive art, real time visual effects, and large scale installations around the Pacific North West.

NWXR Creation Lab

At the centre of of our NWXR season of offerings is the Creation Lab; a 5-week series bringing together dancers and  technologists to experiment, learn, and create in a collaborative, interdisciplinary space. Within this creative container participants will learn from and connect with new artists and spaces around the city that are engaging in embodied performance + technology, and explore their own creative and collaborative curiosities. Each lab will include hands-on sessions designed to spark innovation, encourage skill-sharing, and build connections across fields.

Is the Creation Lab a good fit for me? 

If you are someone who...

  • is excited to explore and weave live embodied movement / dance into their creative technology practice. 
  • OR is excited to explore and weave experimental technology into their dance/movement practice. 
  • is hungry for an artistic container to spark new innovative ideas, explorations, and collaborations. 
  • is curious to step outside of their usual circle of collaborators and investigate new connections and ideas. 
  • gets that it's all about the process, not a finished product. We will gather to explore and experiment, together.
  • Are based in Metro Vancouver area and can attend all labs in person. 

...then the answer is probably yes! We welcome folks from any stage of their studies or career who are looking for the opportunity to weave new creative perspectives and collaborations into their practice. 

Applications are now CLOSED

This application helps us understand your interests and background. All experiences and disciplines are welcome — we just want to get to know you!

Selection is based on availability, commitment and interest, not portfolio or experience. Space is limited; so please apply early!

We are committed to creating an inclusive, welcoming environment. We support participants with disabilities and encourage applications from underrepresented communities. If you have access needs, please let us know — we’re happy to accommodate.

What happens after you apply? 

We will review all submissions and notify applicants by email. Check our social media for updates. We will reach out by the end of the second week of January.

Program Schedule 

Dec 1, 2025 — Applications Open
Jan 1, 2026 — Application Deadline
Jan 8, 2026 — Acceptance Emails Sent
Feb 14, 2026 - Session 1: Gemma Crowe, 2-4 pm @ Q7, Vancouver 
Feb 22, 2026- Session 2: Olivia C. Davies, 11-1 pm @ Q7, Vancouver 
Feb 28, 2026- Session 3: Kevin Kerr & James Gnam, 2-4 pm @ Left of Main
March 7, 2026 — Session 4: Open Studio Space, 2-4 pm @ Q7, Vancouver
March 13, 2026 — Session 5: Community Sharing & Social @ Q7, Vancouver

Program Outcome & Goals

By the end of the program, participants will:

  • Develop collaborative and interdisciplinary creation skills

  • Work with new tools, technologies, and artistic methods

  • Strengthen existing skills and build new ones

  • Connect with a community of makers, dancers, technologists, and creators

  • Gain experience working on a collaborative project

There is no required final project — your process leads the way. If you do create something you want to share, that’s welcome but optional.
At the end, we will provide a certificate of completion and participation to those who attend all sessions, in recognition of your time and commitment.

Stay Connected

Not ready to apply but want to stay involved?
Sign up for our newsletter here, or follow us on Instagram @newworks_dance. 

Questions or curiosities? Email joanna@newworks.ca. 

FAQ

1Do I need previous tech or dance experience?
No. The Creation Lab welcomes all backgrounds and levels of experience! All you need is genuine interest; prior experience is simply a bonus.
2What if I can’t attend every session?
We ask participants to make their best effort to attend all sessions; however, we understand that unforeseen conflicts may arise. Let us know!
3Is the program free?
Yes — participation is completely free!
4Do I need to bring any equipment?
Sometimes a laptop may be needed. Weekly emails will outline any specific materials in advance, if necessary.
5Where does the program take place?
Events will take place at multiple venues, including New Works Q7. Additional locations to be announced, all within Metro Vancouver.
6I’ve never used XR/tech before or I’m not a dancer. Can I still join?
Absolutely! Curiosity is more important than experience.

Meet the Creation Lab Hosts:

Gemma Crowe

Check out Gemma's work here. 

Meet Gemma
Gemma Crowe works with the mediated human image: records of our bodily existence. Her work prioritizes different ways of knowing through aesthetic affect. Recent projects have integrated spatial audio technologies, XR platforms, and experimental processes to build immersive experiences. Crowe has developed her practice through an MFA and teaching at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, focusing on embodiment, audiencing and perception, and immersive media in interdisciplinary art.
Social Media
Instagram: @gistofgemma

Olivia C. Davies

Check out Olivia's work here.

Meet Olivia
Olivia C. Davies is a Contemporary Indigenous dance artist, choreographer, community-arts facilitator, producer, and emerging writer of Anishinaabe, French-Canadian, Finnish and Welsh heritage. Davies’ works often explore the emotional and political relationships between people and places. Her recent choreographic explorations are driven by a desire to explore neo-traditional aspects of her Indigeneity, story-weaving, and collaborative projects that bring about new awareness of the world around us.
Social Media
Instagram: @odela_arts Facebook: O.Dela Arts Website: www.oliviacdavies.ca

Kevin Kerr

Learn more about Kevin here. 

Meet Kevin

James Gnam

Learn more about James here. 

Partnerships 

In Partnership with interplay_2026

NWXR is thrilled to begin a new partnership with interplay_ ; a festival of live online performance based right here in Vancouver that promotes artworks that challenge and experiment with collaborative and/or multidisciplinary performance. This partnership feels like a natural parallel and compliment to our existing XR programming. If we are holding space for experimentation, play, and investigations of artistic practice through an XR lens, we also need to support space to showcase and perform this work. Creation space to performance platform is a common evolution for creative work, and we're excited to continue supporting this continuum through partnership. 

New Works will partner with interplay_2026 to help support festival artists, to get the word out to new communities, and to collaboratively create new leadership and learning opportunities in this ever evolving space. 

Learn more at interplay-arts.com. 

interplay_ is presented by Chimerik 似不像, in partnership with New Works, and supported by SummerWorks and Moberly Arts Centre. 

New Works XR

New Works XR (NWXR) supports new voices in the development and exploration of creative technologies and embodied practice. Each season NWXR offers a unique suite of opportunities for movement artists to investigate, learn, and create within the intersecting space of XR (Extended Reality); an umbrella term encompassing augmented (AR), virtual (VR), and mixed reality technologies.

First developed in 2021 between New Works, dance artist Erika Mitsuhashi, and a team of consulting artists and technologists, the program was envisioned as a process-focused space to explore, learn, and expand individual practices on and off screen. Since that inaugural season, NWXR has continued to develop and evolve as a residency, learning, and community building space under the leadership of a different artist each season. Through rotating leadership NWXR offers deepend opportunities across somatic and XR practices as led by artists who are currently creating and questioning within those same creative spaces.

In the shifting landscape of new technologies and practices, the program remains curious, investigative, and artist-led.

Meet the XR Team

NWXR has been generously stewarded by a diversity of voices who have helped to shape, push, and lead the XR program since it’s inception.

Joanna Orr - XR Program Program Coordinator & Assistant Producer 2025-26

Bio
Joanna Orr was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, and is currently a fourth-year student at Simon Fraser University, pursuing a double major in Interactive Arts & Technology and Communication. Her academic and personal background has given her exposure to interactive art, along with a strong understanding of technology and the many forms it can take as a creative tool. Joanna is passionate about storytelling through media, whether she’s creating videos or capturing meaningful moments with photography. "I’m super excited to be part of New Works and to be at the forefront of how technology shapes art and performance. I’m especially passionate about helping build a space where creativity can thrive, and where artists feel supported to experiment, take risks, and push boundaries. I can’t wait to see how it evolves and where it takes us next!"

Gemma Crowe - XR Program Director 2022-23

Bio
Gemma Crowe is a new media artist and recent graduate of Emily Carr University of Art + Design’s full-residency MFA program. Crowe holds a bachelor’s degree in contemporary dance and has ten years of professional experience in filmmaking and video art, which influences how she approaches an audience of viewers and listeners. Her thesis research is concerned with the illusory potential of sound and the sensory apprehension of movement. Crowe received Canada Council and British Columbia Arts Council funding for her research into spatial sound and the bodily experience as well as a research award through Emily Carr University. Crowe completed a residency at Lobe Studio working with world-class 4DSOUND spatial sound software and delivered a presentation on embodied sonic design at the 2022 International Seminar on Sonic Design. Crowe will continue her research in embodiment, virtual theory, and audience perception in her role as New Works XR Program Director.

Avideh Saadatpajouh - XR Program Coordinator 2024-25

Bio
Avideh Saadatpajouh is a multimedia artist and design activist who explores the intersections of technology, performance, and eco-consciousness. With the motto "Explore, Experience, Enhance," she embraces a holistic approach to her practice.

Avideh, born in the western part of Asia and now a resident of Canada, is pursuing her MFA at Simon Fraser University, School of Contemporary Arts. Her artistic work, rooted in her interdisciplinary background in architecture, industrial design, and new media art, investigates how human-centric worldviews shape environments. She explores the concepts of knowledge mobility and accessibility through low-footprint impact models.

Her interactive projects include the responsive inflatable sculpture "Pulse-Fiction," which explores making invisible frequencies visible, and "Sinusoidal Fiction," a performance art piece with a responsive stage that delves into surveillance dynamics, digital navigation, and AI image detection models. As the new XR program coordinator, Avideh aims to foster innovative XR experiences that bridge art, technology, and social engagement, contributing to the dialogue around contemporary performance art.

email: avideh@newworks.ca
Website: www.avideh.cc
Instagram: @where_the_dada_is

Photo by: Sardar Farrokhi

Sierra Megas - XR Program Manager 2021-23

Bio
Sierra Megas is an artist and arts administrator grateful to be living on the traditional and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Her practice attends to physical materials through dance, embodiment, and improvisation and has recently involved list making, long-distance friendships, collecting foods and trinkets to connect with ancestors, making ephemeral sculptures, and observing minutiae in natural environments. As an extension of her practice, Sierra seeks to work meaningfully towards greater sustainability for artists through community programming, producing, curation and outreach. She has worked with Still Moon Arts Society, The Dance Centre, Vancouver New Music, Dumb Instrument Dance, Mascall Dance, and EDAM Dance. Alongside Francesca Frewer, Erika Mitsuhashi and Antonio Somera Jr., she is a co-producer-curator of Here For Now Collective. Together they produce the bi-annual, multidisciplinary art showcase Here For Now, and co-manage the beloved DIY performance venue, Boombox. Sierra has been supporting New Works XR since its Pilot program in 2021 and is delighted to continue creating spaces for dance and movement artists to experiment with new technologies.

Alexandra Caprara - XR Program Coordinator 2023-24

Bio
Alexandra Caprara (she/her) is a queer interdisciplinary artist from Tkaranto, Ontario whose practice is grounded in performance making and design, with a focus on devised processes, movement, interactivity, and design lead creation. Her work often centers themes of femininity, autonomy, somatics, and queer ecology, and believes in making and producing work that center queer joy. She has worked internationally as a director, performer, and designer for lighting and video projection, and has presented her work across Canada alongside companies such as WorkMan Arts, Factory Theatre, Theatre Replacement, and Good Woman Dance. She is currently concluding her MFA at Simon Fraser University, where her research focused on developing devised methodologies that centered harmonious relations with technology, performance interactivity, and ways technology can embrace the organic in both form and content. You can find out more about her work at alexandracaprara.com. She is thrilled to be a part of the New Works team! // Photo by Chelsey Stuyt

Erika Mitsuhashi - Program Founder 2021-22

Bio
Erika Mitsuhashi is an interdisciplinary artist and performer living and working on the unceded, ancestral, and occupied, traditional lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Nations of the Coast Salish peoples, known as Vancouver, British Columbia. She studied at Simon Fraser University School for the Contemporary Arts receiving a BFA (hons) in dance.
She has had the pleasure of interpreting the work of dance artists including Justine A. Chambers, Ziyian Kwan (Dumb Instrument Dance), Sasha Kleinplatz (Wants&Needs Danse), Rob Kitsos, Vanessa Goodman (Action at a Distance) and Judith Garay (Dancers Dancing) in festivals and platforms such as Vancouver International Dance Festival, Dancing on the Edge Festival, Re-FUSE presented by the Vancouver Art Gallery and PuSh International Performing Arts Festival 2020. Erika’s work has taken the form of performance for stage, installation, experimental film, site specific/responsive performance, scenography and projection design. Most recently she has been experimenting with live-stream video and digital spaces as sites for intimacy and choreography of attention. Her work and collaborative projects have been presented locally and internationally by PAUL Studios Berlin, Powell Street Festival, Toronto Love-In’s PS:We are All Here series, Surrey Art Gallery’s InFlux, Kinetic Studio’s Open Studio Series, Shooting Gallery Performance Series, Upintheair Theatre’s rEvolver Festival and La Serre's OFFTA festival of live art. She has been supported by organizations including New Works, SummerWorks, VIVO Media Arts, plastic orchid factory, Dance West Network, Boca De Lupo, Theatre Replacement and Company 605 in the creation and development of her works to date.

Past Seasons

NWXR activities have been supported by a broad community of mentors, workshop leaders, panelists, partners and audience-in-residence members. Learn more on each tab:

NWXR past seasons:

2024-25
Avideh Saadatpajouh – NWXR Program Coordinator 2025

Sarah Finn – NWXR Facilitator
Ghazal Majidi – NWXR Facilitator
Alexa Mardon – NWXR Facilitator
Samira Banihashemi – Collaborating Artist

Kaili Joei Che – Collaborating Artist

Sam Davis – Collaborating Artist

Andy Dongan Liu – Collaborating Artist

Mermaid Li – Collaborating Artist
Lance Lim – Collaborating Artist
danielle Mackenzie Long – Collaborating Artist, XR Artist in Residence
Ghazal Majidi – Collaborating Artist
Kevin Jesuino – Collaborating Artist
Ove Holmqvist – Collaborating Artist
nazanin oghanian – Collaborating Artist
Kira Radosevic – Collaborating Artist
Niloufar Samadi – Collaborating Artist
Aleksandar Zecevic – Collaborating Artist

Megan Gibbons – Documentation
Aidan Ferrar – Documentation
Niloufar Samadi – Documentation

Justine A. Chambers – External Eye

Learn More
2023-24
Alexandra Caprara - XR Program Coordinator

Caroline MacCaull - XR Artist
Chimerik 似不像 Collective - XR Artist
danielle Mackenzie Long - XR Artist
Freya Björg Olafson - XR Artist

Nancy Lee - XR Artist
prOphecy Sun - XR Artist
Sarah U - XR Artist
Simran Sachar - XR Artist

Gemma Crowe - XR Program Director

Sierra Megas - XR Program Manager
Learn More
2022-23
danielle Mackenzie Long - XR Artist, Artist in Residence 
James Albers - XR Artist, Artist in Residence 
Simran Sachar - XR Artist, Artist in Residence
Sarah U - XR Artist, Artist in Residence

Gemma Crowe - XR Program Director 

Freya Björg Olafson - XR Mentor 
Ian Garrett, Toaster Lab - XR Mentor 
Ian Lavery - XR Mentor
Nancy Lee - XR Mentor 

Sierra Megas - XR Program Manager

Carey Dodge, Boca del Lupo - XR Partner
Caroline MacCaull, Chimerik 似不像 Collective - XR Partner
Casey Koyczan - XR Partner 
Emily Carr University of Art + Design - XR Partner
Emmalena Fredriksson - XR Partner
Jay Dodge, Boca del Lupo - XR Partner 
New Media Gallery - XR Partner
Sammy Chien, Chimerik 似不像 Collective - XR Partner

Learn More
2021-22
Erika Mitsuhashi - XR Program Director

Ian Garrett, Toaster Lab - XR Mentor
Jacob Niedzweicki - XR Mentor

Kevin Li - XR Artist
Eric Cheung - XR Artist

Sierra Megas - XR Program Manager

Learn More

Top: Simran Sachar performs at NWXR Short Circuit 2024. Photo by Simran Gupta.