RECLAIMING THE NARRATIVE
XR JOURNALISM, CRITICISM AND THE FUTURE OF IMMERSIVE CULTURE

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Tue November 10, 2026 09:00 pm CET

How do we talk and write about XR in ways that are useful to those building it and compelling to those who have never put on a headset?

Criticism, journalism, and conversation around XR are still finding their shape, often split between insider language made for the industry and rare attempts to bring these experiences to a wider audience.

This panel doesn’t look back at what’s already been said or written; it asks what’s missing. How can we talk and write about XR in ways that serve the people creating it, while remaining accessible to someone who knows “immersive” only as a fancy word?

Bringing together voices with very different communicative approaches, the session is an open, public brainstorm to imagine new formats for sharing, discussing, and writing about immersive work and new directions for XR journalism and criticism.

Format

Panel

App

VRChat

Location

BRIGHT VR Hub

Duration

45 min

Access via

Presenter

Kent Bye
Founder at Voices of VR Podcast

Since May 2014, Kent Bye has published over 1700 Voices of VR Podcast interviews featuring the pioneering artists, storytellers, & technologists driving the resurgence of virtual & augmented reality. He’s an oral historian, experiential journalist, and philosopher who is helping to define the patterns of immersive storytelling, experiential design, ethical frameworks, & the ultimate potential of XR.

Luke Buckmaster
Karen Cirillo
Writer / Producer at XRMust

Karen Cirillo is a cultural worker, curator, writer and producer with a focus on non-fiction film and XR/immersive art. She creates multimedia work and events that explore issues at the intersection of media/cultures/technology. She curates documentary film and XR exhibitions, writes about documentary film ecosystems, non-fiction cinema and XR for Documentary Magazine and Modern Times, and is a contributing editor to XR Must.

Moderator

Agnese Pietrobon
Writer

Agnese Pietrobon is a researcher and writer whose work explores the immersive field through a storytelling and content-driven lens. She writes for the platform XRMust, works as a consultant on XR projects, and serves as editorial coordinator of Ultra Magazine, a print publication dedicated to immersive worlds and experiences. She is vice president of fanheart3, a cultural association dedicated to audiences, fandom, and participatory culture. She is also a founding member of Iridis Visioni APS, a newly established association working in visual education (photography, film, and XR).

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