District Six Museum marks 30th anniversary with VR experience

The District Six Museum celebrated its 30th anniversary this year with a unique twist – by allowing visitors to enter and immerse themselves in District Six through virtual reality (VR).

The VR experience was hosted by the museum in partnership with Loud Rabbits Agency and the Friends of Design – Academy of Digital Arts Game Course Alum.

All archival material was provided by the archival team, led by the newly-appointed director, Zeenat Patel-Kaskar.

Zeenat Patel-Kaskar. Picture: District Six Museum / Facebook

‘Crucial to the work that we do in curating memories of the past, is the need to respond to a world that is fast replacing tangible experiences with virtual ones,’ says Patel-Kaskar.

With the potential to present some challenges for an institution such as ourselves, we embrace the onset of virtual reality through the District Six Museum’s position as an evolving institution that emphasises progress.

‘Any innovation must be produced sensitively, which we believe we have achieved after receiving the endorsement from our cohort of former District Six residents.’

‘We now have a contemporary immersive opportunity that invites people to experience parts of District Six. Our preservation of District Six memory can exist digitally too and we hope to attract the youth whose tech savviness will find enjoyment here.’

Lars Espeter, founder of the Game Graphics & Multimedia Entertainment course and Friends of Design’s GDoutsourcing’s technical consultant and industry contact, led the project.

‘The District Six Museum project is an incredible opportunity for The Academy of Digital Arts’ game development students and alumni. Not only will they be able to add an innovative and unique interactive media project to their CVs after only one year of studying, but they can also prove that South African interactive media and game developers are absolutely ready to compete [in] the international market.’

‘For me as the contact point at GDoutsourcing for international clients that are looking for young talents this is a great help [in] making sure that international companies are more open to [hiring] the Academy’s Alumni. I cannot thank the District Six Museum enough for their support and open-mindedness.’

For more information about the course, visit ada.ac.za.