MIT Open Documentary Lab

✨HAPPENING TOMORROW AT CAMBRIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY✨ Step into immersive storytelling! 🎧✨ The MIT Open Documentary Lab and IXRDC (Independent XR Distribution Coalition) present at Cambridge Public Library: 🎥 IMMERSIVE DOCUMENTARY POP-UPS 📍 Cambridge Public Library, L2 Community Room, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 🗓 Thursday, May 14 | Drop in 3–7 PM Experience groundbreaking virtual reality works by trailblazing artists exploring climate change, identity, immigration, indigeneity, racial injustice, disability, memory, and civic life. Featured projects include: • Ice Sailors • Less Than Five Grams of Saffron • Travelling While Black • You Destroy. We Create. • Notes on Blindness • Danse, Danse Matisse …and more. Part of Libraries as Immersive Storytelling Hubs, a civic research initiative by the MIT Open Documentary Lab exploring how public libraries can become spaces for immersive storytelling, community engagement, and new ways of knowing. Upcoming VR Pop-Ups at other MA libraries: 📍 Arlington Library — June 4 & June 6 📍 Boston Public Library: Mattapan Branch — June 24 & July 14 📍 Medford Public Library — July 13 & July 27 And more to come… Upcoming artist talks and workshops: ✨ Rashin Fahandej @rashinfahandej , Iranian-American immersive filmmaker, futurist, and cultural activist
 ✨ Michaela Ternasky-Holland @michaelaternaskyholland , Peabody-nominated & Emmy award-winning director
 ✨ Michèle Stephenson @michele_0608 , Emmy award-winning filmmaker, artist, and author ✨ Sister Sylvester @sistersylvester , multimedia artist
✨ L’Merchie Frazier @l_merchie , American artist, educator, and poet With generous support from @weareagog #VirtualReality #ImmersiveStorytelling #Documentary #XR #MITOpenDocLab WatertownLibrary PublicLibraries VR ImmersiveMedia CivicMedia InteractiveDocumentary IXRDC

Step into immersive storytelling at your local library! 🎧✨ The MIT Open Documentary Lab @opendoclab and IXRDC (Independent XR Distribution Coalition) present: 🎥 IMMERSIVE DOCUMENTARY POP-UPS
📍 Watertown Library — 123 Main St, Watertown, MA 🗓 Saturday, May 9 | Drop in 12–3 PM
🗓 Thursday, May 28 | Drop in 4–7 PM Experience groundbreaking virtual reality works by trailblazing artists exploring climate change, identity, immigration, indigeneity, racial injustice, disability, memory, and civic life. Featured projects include:
• Ice Sailors
• Less Than Five Grams of Saffron
• Travelling While Black
• You Destroy. We Create. 
• Notes on Blindness
• Danse, Danse Matisse
…and more. Part of Libraries as Immersive Storytelling Hubs, a civic research initiative by the MIT Open Documentary Lab exploring how public libraries can become spaces for immersive storytelling, community engagement, and new ways of knowing. Upcoming VR Pop-Ups at other MA libraries:
📍 Cambridge Public Library — May 14
📍 Arlington Library — June 4 & June 6
📍 Mattapan Public Library — June 24 & July 14
📍 Medford Public Library — July 13 & July 27 And more to come… Upcoming artist talks and workshops:
✨ Rashin Fahandej @rashinfahandej , Iranian-American immersive filmmaker, futurist, and cultural activist
✨ Michaela Ternasky-Holland @michaelaternaskyholland , Peabody-nominated & Emmy award-winning director
✨ Michèle Stephenson @michele_0608 , Emmy award-winning filmmaker, artist, and author ✨ Sister Sylvester @sistersylvester , multimedia artist
✨ L’Merchie Frazier @l_merchie , American artist, educator, and poet With generous support from @weareagog #VirtualReality #ImmersiveStorytelling #Documentary #XR #MITOpenDocLab WatertownLibrary PublicLibraries VR ImmersiveMedia CivicMedia InteractiveDocumentary IXROC

🌍 Meet the WORLDING 2026 Cohort! WORLDING ignites the co-creation of climate future stories that drive real-world impact. This year, four visionary, interdisciplinary teams will convene for a week of a virtual incubator program in May 2026. 🌱 The 2026 teams: – Paru, based in West Kalimantan, Indonesia – Kuchema XR, based in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe – Clouds Are Massing, based in Montreal, Canada – Ahupua’a Living Lab, based in Waimānalo, Hawai’i WORLDING 2026 is a collaborative effort of the Co-Creation Studio at MIT @opendoclab and @weareagog : The Immersive Media Institute, generously funded by macfound and JustFilms at @fordfoundation . #WORLDING2026 #WORLDINGopencall #climatestorytelling #futureworlds #immersivetech

Join us for a Public Talk (online) - Examination of Burden of Other People’s Dreams: The creative process behind a film/book story world Joe Bini and Tabitha Jackson @tabula4 will discuss the animating ideas and creative process behind Joe Bini’s latest immersive story world piece, Burden of Other People’s Dreams: Book One, Ganymede. Best described as a “book-film,” Burden of Other People’s Dreams: Book One, Ganymede is an e-book that comes to life as a cinema experience, designed to be taken in by one person at a time, at their own pace. Similar in ways to a graphic novel, it crosses the interiority of being a reader with the visceral presence of being a film watcher and presents a story world framed in three storytelling traditions: oral, written word, and cinematic. It also questions the role of authorship, believing that stories are a shared experience that exist in an in-between space. Over the course of his personal filmmaking career, Bini has been developing a more conversational, everyday language of filmmaking. This has led him to his current project, Burden of Other People’s Dreams. Showing clips from foundational films in his editing and personal work, Bini will discuss the steps that led to the language of his book film. Moderated by Tabitha Jackson. 📅 Tuesday, April 7, 2 - 3:30 PM EST 📍 Join Zoom Link in Bio

⏰ FINAL CALL: SUBMIT BY END OF TODAY!!! EST TIME! The extended deadline for WORLDING 2026 is almost here. This is your last chance to join a cohort of changemakers and explore what the future looks like when it’s co-created. 🔗 Submit your application by March 18, 11:59 pm ET: [link in bio] #WORLDING2026  #WORLDINGopencall #deadlineextended #climatestorytelling #opencall

Don’t miss the world premiere of @opendoclab “Layers of Place Austin” at @sxsw on Sunday, March 15th – a must-see AR experience featuring six location-based interactive works that reveal unseen dimensions of Austin’s public spaces, powered by Hoverlay @hoverlayar . Read more: /films/2244202 Layers of Place: Austin project: - Humble Monuments: A Field Guide to the Enseen by Nadav Assor @nadassor , Rashin Fahandej @rashinfahandej , Joanna Wright @joannamartine - Moving Memory by Lori Landay @loirl - Open Access Memorial by Yucef Merhi @yucefmerhi - Oryza: Healing Ground by Tamara Shogaolu @tamarashogaolu - Paper Boat by Mathieu Pradat @mathieupradat and Sahar Sajadieh @sahar.sajadieh - The Founders Pillars by Meghna Singh @singhmeghna , Simon Wood @simonwoodfilm , and Lesiba Mabitsela @souvenirs_of_conflict Producers: - Akmyrat Tuyliyev @atuyliyev (Producer) - Courtney Cook cornpone (Producer) - Rashin Fahandej @rashinfahandej (Creative Producer) - Halsey Burgund @halseyburgund (Technical Producer) - Sarah Wolozin @sarah_wolozin (Research Scientist) - MIT Open Documentary Lab @opendoclab (Executive Producer)

Don’t miss the WORLD PREMIERE of @opendoclab ’s #LayersofPlaceAustin at #SXSW on Saturday, March 14 –  a must-see #AR experience of six location-based interactive works that reveal unseen dimensions of Austin’s public spaces. Learn more at https://bit.ly/4rJoNca 🎟️ Book a tour at link in bio! 🔗 Layers of Place: Austin project are: - Humble Monuments: A Field Guide to the Unseen by Nadav Assor nadassor, Rashin Fahandej @rashinfahandej , Joanna Wright @joannamartine - Moving Memory by Lori Landay @loirl - Open Access Memorial by Yucef Merhi @yucefmerhi - Oryza: Healing Ground by Tamara Shogaolu @tamarashogaolu - Paper Boat by Mathieu Pradat @mathieupradat and Sahar Sajadieh @sahar.sajadieh - The Founders Pillars by Meghna Singh @singhmeghna , Simon Wood @simonwoodfilm , Lesiba Mabitsela @souvenirs_of_conflict Producers: - Akmyrat Tuyliyev @atuyliyev (Producer) - Courtney Cook @cornpone (Producer) - Rashin Fahandej @rashinfahandej (Creative Producer) - Halsey Burgund @halseyburgund (Technical Producer) Research Scientist: - Sarah Wolozin @sarah_wolozin Executive Producer: - Sarah Wolozin - MIT Open Documentary Lab @opendoclab With generous support from: - Agog: The Immersive Media Institute @weareagog - MacArthur Foundation macfound - Ford Foundation JustFilms @fordfoundation Partners: - The University of Texas at Austin Texas Immersive Institute Moody College of Communication @texasimmersive - ⁠Hoverlay @hoverlayapp - ⁠More partners to be announced soon

📣 🚨WORLDING 2026: DEADLINE EXTENDED Still working on your application? We heard you! We’ve extended the deadline to March 18, 2026 (11:59pm ET). This is your final chance to join our global cohort exploring climate futures through storytelling and immersive technology 🌍🌏🌎 🔗Apply at link in bio or go to our main cocreationstudio.mit.edu website #WORLDING2026 #WORLDINGopencall #deadlineextended #climatestorytelling #opencall

📚 Explore the behind-the-scenes of WORLDING!  Before you apply, deep dive into research, ideas, and projects that shape our work.  Over the years, we’ve built a growing collection of resources to help you understand why and how behind what WORLDING does: ✅Case studies and project examples from previous participants  ✅Published research in Leonardo Journal + Journal of Environmental Media ✅Collective Wisdom: Co-Creating Media for Equity and Justice book 🔗 You can find these resources by visiting our website: https://cocreationstudio.mit.edu/  Applications open until March 16! [link in bio] #WORLDING2026  #WORLDINGopencall #climatestorytelling #futureworlds #immersivetech collectivewisdom

📌 12 DAYS TO GO📌A reminder that the WORLDING OPEN CALL is up until March 16th👇 WORLDING sits at the center of story, place, XR, science and data to reimagine the climate futures we want to see while keeping our feet firmly grounded in real action through community 🥽🗻🎯🎤 We are bringing back returning guests, mentors, facilitators AND a larger, growing group of visionaries to explore how we can imagine, plan and build the field together. What can you do? 👉Apply now (link in bio) 👉Sign up for our newsletter 👉Share with your network and spread the news! Tag and mention a storyteller or a placemaker who needs to be part of WORLDING! #WORLDING2026 #WORLDINGopencall #climatestorytelling #futureworlds #immersivetech

💬 Curious about WORLDING but have questions? Join us for the WORLDING 2026 Webinar! 💻 👥 Our team will be around on March 3, 2026 (8 am or 7 pm ET) for an info session where we’ll walk you through— 🚪WORLDING history, goals, and what you can get out of the program ✍️Application eligibility and what we’re looking for in applications  ❓Q&A with the team Both sessions cover the same content – pick what works for your timezone! 🔗 Register now (link in bio) Don’t miss this chance to get your questions answered before the deadline. See you there! 💚 #WORLDING2026 #WORLDINGopencall #climatestorytelling #opencallforartists placemaking

We are thrilled to announce Layers of Place: Austin will premiere at @SXSW on March 15 - 17! Layers of Place is a site-responsive AR exhibition that transforms Austin’s public spaces into portals for memory, dialogue and imagination, revealing hidden histories and speculative futures through location-based works created in dialogue with community partners. Comprising of six different AR experiences, Layers of Place will take over the city of Austin in a first of its kind exhibition at SXSW. Join Agog’s @SXSW How to Fest Community Meetup tomorrow at 4pm ET / 1pm PT for a sneak peak at one of our experiences, the Founders Pillars, and hear from the project’s research scientist Sarah Wolozin @sarah_wolozin and artist Rashin Fahandej @rashinfahandej