Goethe-Institute Future of Libraries VR Exhibition

A VR Experience

The Goethe-Institut Irland has announced that it will host a travelling virtual reality (VR) exhibition at its premises on Merrion Square, Dublin, which invites visitors to reimagine the future of libraries as interactive spaces that offer multisensory forms of storytelling.

Entitled ‘The Infinite Library’, the multimedia installation offers visitors an immersive experience, using VR, holograms, 3D-printed objects, a QR code game and audio-visual works. The installation’s central piece is a vast VR library, set in a cave, in which visitors can explore a series of smaller sub-libraries, dedicated to topics as diverse as Polynesian navigation, South-Indian puppetry and European alchemy.

Goethe-Institute Future of Libraries VR Exhibition

Director of the Goethe-Institut Irland, Franziska Höfler, added: “As a cultural institute with a busy library, we are excited to reimagine what a library visit in the future might entail. Experience and knowledge were recorded and exchanged long before the advent of books and other media, and it is inspiring to explore how, through the use modern technology, libraries around the world might evolve in the years to come.”

What is the Goethe-Institut Irland?

The Goethe-Institut is Germany’s cultural institute, which is active in 98 countries worldwide. It opened its doors in Ireland 61 years ago, in 1961, and is based at 37 Merrion Square in Dublin.

It operates from a European perspective and works independently, without political ties. Its objectives are to promote the knowledge of the German language, foster cultural collaboration and exchange, and convey a contemporary image of Germany.

It does this through maintaining and building relationships with partners from the cultural and educational sectors in Ireland.

The institute runs an extensive cultural and events programme, offers language courses and qualifications, and an on-site and online library, which combined holds more than 30,000 titles. These can be accessed by anyone, free of charge, once registered. 

Reimagining the Library

The Infinite Library was created and produced by the Goethe-Institut and Max Mueller Bhavan in New Delhi alongside the Prague-based production company, Daisy with Rider, and the Berlin-based studio for documentary VR, AR, and interactive content, High Road Stories. This was in conjunction with internationally renowned multimedia artist and creative director of the exhibition, Mika Johnson.

Commenting ahead of the exhibition opening at the Goethe-Institut in Dublin, Mr Johnson said: “The Infinite Library seeks to embed human stories within a much grander narrative, one which includes the birth of our planet and the evolution of all life forms.

“It reimagines what we generally understand a library to be and offers a glimpse of what a library might look like in the future. The virtual library space at the heart of the installation is conceived as a living organism, a kind of embodiment of knowledge that introduces itself to visitors personally before inviting them to explore its house”, he added. 

The Infinite Library will open at the Goethe-Institut Ireland on Saturday the 23^rd July and run for one week, until Friday, 29^th July, excluding Sunday, 24^th July, when the exhibition will be closed. The exhibition is free to visit and all are welcome.