Space, Time and Streets in the Sky

Director: Nick Bax

Year: 2022

An immersive 360 experience created by Human Studio interpreting three scenes from an original short story by Nick Bax. The Neon Pack is a Protopian Tale which takes place in a very near future where XR technology is seamlessly fused into our everyday lives, enhancing even the most mundane of activities. The project was commissioned by Hope Works and match-funded by XR Stories (University of York) and attempts to provoke thought and discussion regarding the development and proliferation of XR technology and content. To date, ‘The Neon Pack’ has been exhibited at Sónar+D (Barcelona, 2023), the Immersive Futures Lab, SXSW, (Austin, Texas, 2023) and BEYOND, Cardiff City Hall (2022). An augmented reality iteration of the project was also displayed in Sheffield city centre until 2025 as part of the ‘Look Up’ AR artworks project. The Neon Pack features original soundtrack by 96 Back on CPU Records.

Director: Tatiana Collet Apraxine

Year: 2028

You awaken on a fog-shrouded shoreline and meet Echo, a strange child with a hole in their stomach. Together you cross a lantern festival where the veil between worlds is thinnest, sail into an ocean that opens beneath you, and descend through a portal into the Underworld. The Underworld moves through different facets of grief: a rave where silhouettes dance in slow motion, indifferent to Echo's attempts to reach them; a frozen sea where giant statues crack open to release a buried memory of a lost mother; a shadow theatre where an anger monster is unleashed, reducing everything to embers. From the embers, a boat carries you into a vast darkness, where Mother appears, and they are finally reunited. You sail together to the Tree of Life, a bioluminescent, cosmic jungle. Echo begs her to return to the World of the Living, but ancestors appear and surround you. She cannot come back - the journey was never about bringing her back. Echo, revealed to be your own child self, dissolves around you as the hole fills with light.

Director: Saoirse Crean

Year: 2026

Led by renowned vocal coach Jennifer John, Folk to Folk follows a group of women in Liverpool who use traditional folk songs to build unexpected connections across cultures. As they learn and sing in Gaelic, Romansh, Boro and other languages, the sessions uncover shared themes that unite us. The songs rise like ghosts from the past, stirring memories, laughter and tears, and opening a safe space for the women to reflect together. “This project proves that music is a universal language. It allows us to feel, to be emotional, and when we do that together… that’s where the power lies” - Jennifer John