I am currently leading on the UK side this project which evolved from my Sutton House Stories project. It is a collaboration between academic researchers, heritage organisations, and Mixed Reality developers in UK and US and it will explore ways of fusing Theatre and Mixed Reality design to create immersive heritage performances that support the decolonisation of heritage sites with a focus on underrepresented stories of the 18th century transatlantic slave trade. We call these experiences Mixde Reality Heritage Performance.

Two experiences will be created, one at the site of Historic Deerfield in Massachussets, USA and one at Marble Hill House, London, UK. The research exemplifies a model for interdisciplinary collaboration that brings together historians, immersive technology designers, digital storytellers, performance makers, cultural heritage researchers, on- site staff, and marginalised communities at each heritage site. It will expand on the existing collaboration between heritage professionals and theatre makers, by opening live heritage performance to the use of Mixed Reality (MR) technologies.

The research will further future transatlantic industry innovation by providing heritage professionals, and their creative industry partners, with two toolkits:

1) a design framework to help ideate and develop, in collaboration with technologists, experiences that use MR and live performance to reframe complicated and uncomfortable histories that serve to challenge hegemonic power structures at heritage sites.

2) a training toolkit for heritage staff and performers, that can help the heritage industry build digital capacity, create sustainable engagement with hybrid technological experiences as tools for decolonising museum sites, teach them innovative theatrical techniques in working with MR platforms, and explore emerging digital and performance skill sets and roles.

PI UK: Dr Mariza Dima (CBASS)

Co-Is UK: Dr Damon Daylamani-Zad (CDEPS) & Dr Holly Maples (University of Essex)

UK partner: Dr Dominique Bouchard, Head of Interpretation, English Heritage

PI US: Dr Mary Caulfield (State University of New York)

US partners: Dr Barbara Mathews, Director, Historic Deerfield & Dr Vangelis Lympouridis, CEO, Enosis VR