Culture

THE FUTURE OF IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES

Thu November 13, 2025 02:00 pm CET

Immersive experiences have entered the mainstream – blockbusters like Van Gogh Alive, Tutankhamun, and large-scale venues such as The Sphere in Las Vegas show how audiences crave multi-sensory storytelling.
This panel brings together Teresa Balestrieri, Mari Kuss, and Alina Mikhaleva, moderated by Anne Seubert, to discuss what comes next. From curating exhibitions and producing festivals to building XR platforms, they explore how immersive media is evolving into a vibrant cultural market redefining creative expression worldwide.

Format

Panel

App

VRChat

Location

Agog House

Duration

45 min

Access via

Presenter

Teresa Balestrieri

Co-Founder at Bright Festival

Teresa Balestrieri is Co-founder and Project Manager of Bright Festival and Innovation Manager at Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig. With international experience in cultural and creative projects, she leads business process digitalization and adoption of advanced technologies. Her focus is on digital transformation, XR, virtual reality, and interactivity, combining strategic vision and operational skills to foster digital arts and contemporary culture.

Marie Kuss

Project Management Immersive Exhibition at Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig

Marie Kuss is a project manager and curator at Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig, focusing on immersive exhibitions, interdisciplinary collaborations, and international partnerships. With a background in art history and cultural management, she works at the intersection of creativity, technology, and audience engagement. Her projects aim to connect traditional cultural narratives with innovative formats such as projection mapping, VR, and interactive storytelling. Passionate about building cultural bridges, she collaborates with artists, researchers, and institutions worldwide. She represents Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig and its mission to foster dialogue between technology and culture on a global scale.

Alina Mikhaleva

XR Producer & Founder at Less Media Group

Alina entered the XR field in 2014 after a successful career in digital media. In 2016, she co-founded the LA-based VR studio Spherica, producing immersive content for clients such as HBO, AP, Google, and Lexus. In 2020, she founded Less Media Group to explore how technology can foster deeper human connections and launched large-scale VR exhibitions, including the Venice VR satellite events in Moscow. She also leads the Digital Autumn VR Festival — the largest VR initiative in Central Asia, running for four years and introducing over 10,000 viewers to VR as a new medium. Alina is the producer of Library of Dreams, a project co-produced by Less Media Group and Abduct Media, supported by FFF Bayern. Since 2020, she has led virtual events and client relations at ENGAGE XR, supporting Fortune 500 companies in shaping the future of communication in the Metaverse.

Moderator

Anne Seubert

Managing Director at Brands & Places

As an experienced leader, passionate incubator and accomplished process facilitator, Anne Seubert builds the conditions in which people, organisations and ideas can enter the stage, create impact and fulfil their mission. together. Through Brands & Places, she works at the intersection of leadership, community building and organisational development — designing systems, spaces and formats for transformation.

She has been part of IMMERSIVE X from the beginning, usually behind the scenes: as sparring partner, connector and co-creator alongside Thomas Zorbach. In 2026, she steps on stage with him — opening a festival whose theme they shaped together: RECLAIM THE FUTURE.

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