When archives speak - Immersive exhibitions bring Southern African histories to life

What happens when archives are no longer silent, static, or locked behind glass, but can be walked through, listened to, and felt? From September to December 2026, audiences across South Africa, Lesotho, and Malawi will encounter a series of groundbreaking immersive exhibitions, transforming archival collections into living, interactive experiences.

Futures_Past: Amplifying Memory with Immersive Technologies is a collaborative initiative organized by the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) in partnership with Electric South and local cultural institutions, archives, and international collaborators. Supported by the Embassy of France in South Africa, Lesotho, and Malawi, and funded by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the project runs from July 2025 to March 2027.

Following an open call, the project brings together artist teams based in the countries of six selected archives. Over the next eight months, these teams will work closely with archives to co-create immersive digital works that explore and illuminate the stories contained within historical collections using virtual and augmented reality, spatial audio, and interactive installations. The resulting experiences will be presented in exhibitions across South Africa, Lesotho, and Malawi from September to December 2026.

“Across Southern Africa, archives hold collections of profound historical and cultural value, yet many struggle to reach new audiences,” says Jean Spiri, Director of IFAS. “Futures_Past creates space for collaboration between custodians of memory and immersive artists, allowing these collections to be approached with care, technical skill, and contemporary relevance.”

Selected artist–archive collaborations:

!Khwa ttu San Culture & Education Centre — Yzerfontein, South AfricaLinocuts, exile, and San cosmology!Khwa ttu holds over 600 linocuts by !Xun and Khwe artists affected by displacement linked to the South African Border War. The selected creative team will work with the collection and with community members to explore ways of bringing these linocuts into an immersive, multi-sensory spatial experience. Through processes of community co-creation, the work will foreground lived histories, memory, and San cosmologies, using light, sound, voice, and sculptural elements to activate the linocuts in three-dimensional space. Artist team: Indigene Corefio Harris (N!hunkxa); Faye Victoria Katiiti Khakasa Kabali-Kagwa; Inka Kendzia; Thando Mthembu; Xabiso Vili

GALA Queer Archive — Johannesburg, South AfricaActivism, care, and HIV/AIDS historyFocusing on the Township AIDS Project (TAP), founded in 1989, the project draws on archival material linked to figures such as Simon Nkoli. The creative team will create immersive, participatory experiences that transform the archive into a space of action, inviting audiences to engage in practices of care, memory, and solidarity rooted in queer activism and HIV/AIDS response.Artist team: Kieran Reid; Tiisetso Tsholofelo Dladla; Tim Flusk; Jordan Green; Kirsten Reid

Iziko Museums of South Africa — Cape Town, South AfricaWater as memory, science, and spiritWorking with material linked to Iziko’s upcoming Amanzi eAfrica exhibition,  the creative team will develop an immersive project that explores water as a cultural, spiritual, and environmental force. Drawing on archives, oral histories, and ecological research, the work will invite audiences to engage with multiple perspectives on water, past and present.Artist team: Sarah Frances Summers; Desiré Laurent de Laroche Souvestre; Kyle Donald Marais; Reilly Robynn Cloete; Laurine Platzky

Music Crossroads Malawi — Lilongwe, MalawiListening to endangered songs and oral traditionsThe Music Crossroads Malawi Folksong Archive documents 217 traditional songs covering initiation, agriculture, spirituality, storytelling, and social life. Drawing on this rich heritage, the creative team will develop virtual and physical experiences that invite audiences to enter a living circle of storytelling. Artist team: Laura Schuerwegen; Matthew-Lusayo Chawinga; Roosevelt Kasimba Mwandira; Andrew Jere Kanthiti; Thandiwe Phiri; Chikondi Nkhoma; Christopher Ngalu; Kas Mdoka; Andrew Chilonga

National Film, Video, and Sound Archives — Pretoria, South AfricaReframing apartheid-era imagesThe Moolman Opnames collection comprises fourteen reels of 35mm film shot between 1960 and 1966. The footage documents everyday life and state activity during apartheid. The creative team will transform these archives into experimental 360°installations inviting audiences to interrogate what the images reveal and what they leave out.Artist team: Amy Louise Wilson; Francois Knoetze; Kaelo Molefe; Nomandla Vilakazi

Royal Archives, Museum and Information Centre — Matsieng, LesothoReimagining royal memory and national historyThe Royal Archives preserve records central to the political history and cultural heritage of Lesotho, including official correspondence, royal photographs, and audio-visual material. Drawing on these collections, the creative team will develop a 360° experience that traces the royal succession of Lesotho. The team therefore invites audiences to explore the intersections of monarchy, history, and heritage.Artist team: Mokhethi Gilbert Phohlo; Phillip Leteka; Telmo dos Reis; Moleboheng Khothatso

Each selected archive offers a window into stories of resilience, identity, and cultural memory, which the artists bring to life through immersive, participatory experiences.

Reflecting on the collaborative model, Ingrid Kopp, Director of Labs and Partnerships at Electric South explains: “These partnerships are not about overlaying technology onto archives, but about working with artists and institutions to find forms that respect the material and open new ways of participation  and understanding for the public. Immersive tools are used here as a means of interpretation and engagement rather than spectacle.”

The immersive exhibitions will open across Southern Africa from August to December 2026, offering audiences the opportunity to encounter history, memory, and creativity in entirely new ways. 

International mobility and professional training

Two members from each artist team, along with an archive representative, will travel to France in April to develop international relationships and partnerships. This mobility supports professional exchange and longer-term cooperation between Southern African and French cultural and creative sectors.

Emerging producers will also participate in a six-month structured training program, gaining hands-on experience in immersive storytelling, sound design, exhibition development, and archival interpretation. This holistic approach ensures the project not only revives archival knowledge but cultivates a new generation of creative professionals equipped to carry these stories forward.

Alongside the creative collaborations, Futures_Past includes the Immersive Arts Mapping Study, documenting the immersive arts landscape in South Africa, Lesotho, and Malawi, and identifying opportunities for support, training, and collaboration. Practitioners are invited to participate via the online survey link.

“Through this project, archives are no longer just repositories; they become spaces of experience, dialogue, and imagination,” says Sofia Saa, Regional Head of New Media, Film and Television at IFAS. “Audiences will not only see history, but step inside it, connect with it, and feel its resonance today. By situating artist teams in the countries of the archives, and including emerging producers in every stage, we are ensuring a truly local, collaborative, and forward-looking approach.”