Building a New Ecosystem for Experimental and Cultural XR Artists

One of the key challenges in the XR arts space has been coping with insufficient resources, support, and a less-than-robust infrastructure geared to new and more experimental talent and XR art applications. That situation is changing now with the development of new studios, platforms, and infrastructure models that support more diverse experimental talent and applications. Onassis ONX, the Onassis Foundation’s global platform for art and technology, is one of the more prominent platforms for that talent and those applications and experiences. 

Onassis ONX was founded in 2020 as a “platform for digital cultures” and offers a wide range of resources for creators, including access to a fully equipped studio, funding, technical talent, and assistance with exhibition and distribution. Onassis ONX in NYC acts as an accelerator, “subsidized workspace, and exhibition space,” but not as an incubator. It is partnered with New, Inc., an incubator established by the New Museum to assist artists using immersive and other new technologies. Onassis ONX offers various educational programs, including the “ONX Future” program, which focuses on AI and mixed reality for audiovisual artists; bootcamps; masterclasses; and mentorships. 

The new 6,000-square foot studio in NYC, which opens in January with the TECHNE Homecoming exhibition, offers help to XR artists through two tracks-free membership to more experienced artists and producers aligned with the studio’s mission and fellowship opportunities for artists that are at an “earlier stage in their career and are honing their talent,” explains Matthew Niederhauser, Managing Director at ONX. Currently, the ONX studio has 85 members, who maintain a “long-term commitment and have access to accelerator services, including access to its technical staff, seed funding, and mentorship for a global community of member artists. Seed funding provided by the studio varies according to the opportunities for and project needs of the artists and producers concerned. Artists and producers applying for the seed grants must “specify how the studio will enable and enhance their projects,” says Niederhauser.  

Member artists have an opportunity to test and demo their projects at the studio.  Many artists in the fellowship program are encouraged to transition to members. The studio views “XR in a broader context, encompassing experiential  VR, AR, projection mapping, and general immersive video and sound projects,” points out Niederhauser.  ONX Studio has formed partnerships with a wide variety of arts and cultural institutions, bolstering resources available to participating artists and producers.

The studio has a “full array of next-generation equipment, including a motion capture stage, which is in high demand, a sound stage with advanced spatial sound systems, the latest head-mounted displays,  an LED wall, and a three wall projection room,” according to Niederhauser. It’s supporting the development of a wide range of applications, “including installations, immersive art, and immersive performances,” he reports.

Through the auspices of Onassis ONX, participating artists and producers have had the opportunity to better position their installations and immersive experiences in both the digital and physical worlds.

In addition, the studio organizes various educational programs, including “ONX Futures” at the ONX Athens location, which focuses on AI and mixed reality topics for audiovisual artists; bootcamps; masterclasses; and mentorships.

It maintains a strong commitment to making “XR art more financially and institutionally sustainable and helping institutions overcome challenges in showcasing new media installations consistently.”

Niederhauser says the studio offers “an exhibition program to artists, placing their programs in such festivals as Lincoln Center’s Collider program, OFDA DocLab, NEW, INC., and the MIT Open Documentary Lab. It often co-produces and curates immersive programs and exhibitions, including Tribeca Immersive in 2025, which affords broader exposure for XR artists.”

In addition, the studio produces its own programming and co-produces projects with diverse producers and artists. For example, the studio co-produced “a mixed reality theater project called ‘Blur’ on life, death, and technology with 5 Montreal studios, including Centre PHI, and Riverbed, and co-produced an immersive XR performance in Taiwan,” says Niederhauser.

Onassis ONX opened a studio in Athens in October, catering to artists there, with “an emphasis on educational programming,” reports Niederhauser. It serves as an incubator for XR programming.

Some of the key programs developed at the NY ONX facility include:

“Coded Dreams, an immersive exhibition that encourages you to explore the frontiers of AI and unlock the doors of the imagination through those experiences, to better understand the technology used, which has become part of our daily lives.  Created by Marc da Costa and Matthew Niederhauser, you are invited to be one part of the works by influencing the stories that will be unveiled through the experiences.  

TECHNE- Homecoming, which is an exhibition at Onassis ONX’s new Tribeca location and traces the ways identity and kinship take shape through biological, mythological, and digital bonds. Across six installations and immersive activations network and space for experimentation, gathering, and, the exhibition will serve as a living network for experimentation, gathering, and shared imagination. The exhibition is designed to act as “a bridge between worlds old and new.”

A Father’s Lullaby is an experience “focusing on community and social justice, integrating XR that is aimed at building empathy and amplifying marginalized voices.” It spans a physical installation and AR applications, and was showcased at Tribeca Immersive in 2025. The “community-based” experience highlighted the long-term plight of families affected by incarcerated fathers, and showed videos of these families at ICA Boston in 2018 and 2019, reported Jazia Hammoudi, Program Director at Onassis ONX. She notes, “XR can be a powerful truth-telling medium.”

With all its substantial resources and connections, Onassis ONX has given a big boost to global XR artists, and demonstrates the value of creating a broader, multifaceted ecosystem of resources and stronger community for those artists.