As immersive technologies merge with AI-driven platforms, the boundaries between physical and digital life are rapidly dissolving - bringing new ethical, legal, and safety challenges into focus. This article examines the history of virtual harm in online and XR environments, from early text-based worlds to contemporary VR gaming and performance spaces, and argues for a privacy-first framework as the foundation for immersive safety. By analyzing legal gaps, platform accountability, and global policy efforts, it proposes digital “guardrails” that prioritize user dignity, data protection, and well-being as core design principles rather than afterthoughts.
This article explores the intersection of digital art, NFTs, and community governance through the lens of the furry fandom, a decentralized community of artists and enthusiasts. With the rise of NFTs, the ability to authenticate digital art and protect creators' work has become a critical concern. The study examines the resistance within the furry community to adopt NFTs, highlighting their reliance on community-based trust and governance over "trustless" blockchain systems. While some see potential in NFTs to safeguard intellectual property, many furries are skeptical, valuing social trust and ethics over commercialization. By studying the furry subculture's approach to art ownership and the challenges they face, the article poses larger questions about the future of NFTs and blockchain technology in creative spaces.
As technology continues to reshape the arts and entertainment landscape, our readers and listeners have shown a clear appetite for understanding these transformations. From AI's role in creative processes to the evolution of virtual reality and streaming, this year's most popular content reveals the questions on everyone's minds.
This article explores the rise of virtual production (VP) and its impact on contemporary filmmaking through the use of large-scale LED volumes that merge physical sets with real-time digital environments. Using high-profile productions such as The Mandalorian and 1899 as case studies, it examines how VP reshapes creative workflows across departments, redistributes labor rather than eliminating it, and demands new hybrid skill sets from designers, location managers, and technicians. The piece also addresses the role of labor unions and training programs in adapting to emerging technologies, alongside the economic challenges of scalability, access, and high upfront costs. Ultimately, the article positions virtual production as a transformative - yet uneven - evolution in the entertainment industry, emphasizing the need for equitable training and infrastructure as VP becomes a lasting mode of production.
This article explores how extended reality (XR) - including augmented, mixed, and virtual reality - is reshaping acting training by layering immersive technologies onto long-established methods like Stanislavski-based technique and the Method. Drawing on examples from Basrah to Juilliard and Odin Teatret, the piece shows how XR can deepen character work, expand dramaturgical research, and personalize feedback through data-driven simulations. At the same time, it raises urgent legal, ethical, and social questions around biometric data, FERPA and HIPAA protections, digital Blackface, and harassment in virtual spaces. Rather than treating XR as a magic solution, the article argues that thoughtful pedagogy, clear institutional policies, and equity-minded design are essential if these tools are to support - not replace - human-centered theatre education.
This white paper explores the importance of integrating social media data into an organization’s CRM to improve Customer Knowledge Management (CKM). By increasing the information collected CRMs can be more effective, leading to greater efficiency and productivity. Learn how arts organizations can gather more data to better understand their customers by integrating social media into a CRM system.
Artists are taking advantage of new technologies to enhance their artmaking. They are using AI as a tool in the same way that artists of yesteryear used pen and ink and paintbrushes. This opens a whole new realm of possibilities for arts managers in terms of the scope of multimedia exhibitions and performances. Artists who are using AI as a tool include visual artists, performers, and creators of popular media.
Technologically enhanced theatre experiences can extend beyond the use of cutting edge performance light and sound tech. Today’s technology allows theaters to reach audiences outside of their physical space through livestreaming performances in Virtual Reality (VR) with VR being defined as an artificial environment which is experienced through sensory stimuli (such as sights and sounds) provided by a computer and in which one's actions partially determine what happens in the environment. Furthermore, livestreaming, defined as when a person or organization “transmit[s] or receive live video and audio coverage of (an event) over the Internet” is becoming a routine part of standard social network experience. Livestreaming through VR, while still a relatively new concept, may allow the virtual audience watching the livestream to feel much more present at the performance than ever before and therefore a theater’s potential audience engagement opportunities.
In 2019 the Arts Management and Technology Lab researched a wide breadth of content, from product reviews of image editing software to industry analysis of music streaming. As the year draws to a close, looking back through Google analytics offers a perspective on what the arts management field was particularly keen to learn over the year. Read on to see if the top topics align with any of your particular interests or passions.
As time goes on, it’s clear that artificial intelligence will continue to find its place in the arts. Using AI to build connections with audiences, in particular, is an interesting and developing sector of arts and technology. The performing arts are primed for a technology jumpstart and a reassessment of audience engagement tactics. Now, more than ever, the opportunities for the integration of artificial intelligence and audience engagement in the performing arts are ripe for exploration.
The winter break can be a great time to pull out a neglected reading list, whether it is for your favorite novels or book recommendations by friends. Normally, this can be done by visiting the local library, but unfortunately, this is not possible when traveling for the holidays. Fortunately, there is an app called Libby, by Overdrive, which is an e-book/audiobook reader app.
In a time where we can build and access a wealth of geographic information through our mobile devices and online, digital tools are being leveraged to make these kinds of civically engaged connections. Digital maps, in particular, have been built to service archival needs as well as transform the public’s interaction with art and archeological sites. By examining how organizations have deployed various digital map technologies in their work, we can also see how these tools have practical value and the potential to more broadly advance the cultural fields.
AI has, and will continue to disrupt many traditional careers. According to a report by the global consultancy firm McKinsey & Company, by the year 2030 automation and AI could force around 33 percent of the US’s projected 166 million workforce to change jobs. How will this future impact the museum sector? This report investigates the pathways for AI in the workforce and where we might begin seeing it emerging in the museum sector.
The video game industry expanded rapidly in the last decade with the U.S.A games market exceeding revenues of $43 billion in 2018. While there is growth, the industry is also facing an increasingly apparent and problematic disparity among audiences. In many traditional PC and console genres, women and non-white ethnicities are underrepresented both among the player-base as well as on-screen; furthermore, the player experience for underrepresented players is markedly different than their over-represented white male counterparts.
The following study investigates emerging technologies and their implications for music education, inside and outside the classroom. Learn how apps, digital instruments, practical aid technology, and wearable technology can be used to increase engagement and learning opportunities for music students in various settings.
As museums seek to increase engagement in both the physical museum space and across digital platforms, many are striving to create more personalized experiences that differentiate the museum visit and increase engagement with the institution and its collection. These two case studies—the Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania, Australia, and the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York—are examples of hybrid museums that successfully demonstrate how bridging the physical and virtual in the museum visitor experience can increase the length, breadth and depth of engagement with the institution and its collection.
The presence of Virtual Reality (VR) technology in arts education is growing. From museums to live music to healthcare and more, VR is beginning to change how we perceive the arts and learning. After all, this immersive experience has been proven to enhance the learning experience and achieve a higher retention of knowledge, quickly changing the learning environment. This research study investigates the opportunities presented by VR for arts education as well as the practical hurdles that need to be overcome to successfully use VR in K-12 educational settings.
The music industry faces both challenges and opportunities due to streaming technologies and must consider the long-term viability of streaming business models. New challenges emerge as consumers are listening to their music on ever-changing devices, like smart speakers. There are also varying levels of awareness and comfort of streaming platforms among different age groups. These challenges can become opportunities for businesses who understand their market and can anticipate future change. This research study explores innovations and trends expected to emerge next within the music distribution world.
This is part 1 in a two-part series examining hybrid museums that successfully demonstrate how bridging the physical and virtual in the museum visitor experience can increase the length, breadth and depth of engagement with the institution and its collection. Part 1 explores the Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania.
As more people are consuming and participating in the arts via electronic media, it is essential for arts institutions to develop a strong online presence. Uploading content and performances online can allow more people to access the arts and learn about an institution. One strategy to increase engagement and build an online presence is through live streaming. This paper explores the benefits of live streaming, and how it can remove barriers of access to the arts. It explores various platforms for streaming, like Facebook, Periscope, Youtube, Livestream.
Streaming platforms have revolutionized the music industry and the way consumers discover and listen to music. Companies are having to differentiate themselves by offering unique content, focusing on the artist, or developing different price models. To better understand this landscape, we examined six of the most successful platforms for a competitive analysis to understand the existing music streaming business model.
