From September to December 2026, audiences across Southern Africa will encounter immersive exhibitions transforming archival collections into interactive experiences using virtual reality, sound, and installations.
From July 2025 to March 2027, Futures_Past: Amplifying Memory with Immersive Technologies will bring together artists, archivists and cultural institutions to reimagine how historical collections are experienced. The initiative is organised by the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) in partnership with Electric South and local institutions, supported by the Embassy of France in South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi, and funded by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
Following an open call, artist teams based in the countries of six selected archives will work collaboratively with custodians of memory to co-create immersive digital works. Using virtual and augmented reality, spatial audio and interactive installations, the project seeks to illuminate stories contained within historical collections while maintaining respect for context and community.
“Across Southern Africa, archives hold collections of profound historical and cultural value, yet many struggle to reach new audiences,” says Jean Spiri, Director of IFAS. “Futures_Past creates space for collaboration between custodians of memory and immersive artists, allowing these collections to be approached with care, technical skill, and contemporary relevance.”
The selected collaborations span themes of identity, activism, science, monarchy and memory.
At !Khwa ttu San Culture & Education Centre in Yzerfontein, artists will work with over 600 linocuts by !Xun and Khwe artists affected by displacement linked to the South African Border War. Through light, sound, voice and sculptural elements, the project will foreground lived histories and San cosmologies in a multi-sensory experience.
In Johannesburg, the GALA Queer Archive collaboration will draw on material from the Township AIDS Project and figures such as Simon Nkoli to create participatory works centred on activism, care and HIV/AIDS history.
In Cape Town, the Iziko Museums collaboration will explore water as memory, science and spirit, drawing on archival materials, oral histories and ecological research connected to the Amanzi eAfrica exhibition.
In Lilongwe, the Music Crossroads Malawi Folksong Archive — which documents 217 traditional songs — will be transformed into immersive storytelling experiences that revive endangered oral traditions.
In Pretoria, the National Film, Video, and Sound Archives project will reinterpret apartheid-era footage from the Moolman Opnames collection through experimental 360° installations that invite audiences to question both what images reveal and what they omit.
In Lesotho, the Royal Archives, Museum and Information Centre in Matsieng will inspire a 360° experience tracing royal succession and examining intersections between monarchy, heritage and national identity.
Reflecting on the collaborative model, Ingrid Kopp, Director of Labs and Partnerships at Electric South, explains: “These partnerships are not about overlaying technology onto archives, but about working with artists and institutions to find forms that respect the material and open new ways of participation and understanding for the public. Immersive tools are used here as a means of interpretation and engagement rather than spectacle.”
Beyond the exhibitions, the project includes international mobility and professional training. Two members from each artist team, along with an archive representative, will travel to France to build international partnerships and strengthen cooperation between Southern African and French cultural sectors.
Emerging producers will participate in a six-month training programme in immersive storytelling, sound design, exhibition development and archival interpretation, ensuring that the initiative cultivates a new generation of creative professionals.
An Immersive Arts Mapping Study will also document the immersive arts landscape across South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi, identifying opportunities for collaboration and sector support.
“Through this project, archives are no longer just repositories; they become spaces of experience, dialogue, and imagination,” says Sofia Saa, Regional Head of New Media, Film and Television at IFAS. “Audiences will not only see history, but step inside it, connect with it, and feel its resonance today.”
