DOK Exchange XR

DOK Exchange XR

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DOK Exchange XR is DOK Leipzig’s industry networking and inspiration programme on interactive and immersive storytelling with a focus on XR works and the sustainable development of the international community of XR creators, producers and distributors.
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Apply with your XR work-in-progress or a prototype until 1 July!
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Read the Guidelines
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About

DOK Exchange XR strives to develop and flourish an international XR community of creators, experts, researchers, producers, storytellers, curators and distributors.

In 2026, the programme will focus on building future-oriented archives of spatial content and lived experiences – moving beyond 2D documentation toward spatial computing, sensing technologies, games and AI as new systems of testimony. It will take place over two days, on 29 and 30 October.

The DOK Exchange XR 2-day programme gives you the opportunity to connect with cutting-edge experts, consult your work-in-progress projects and keep in touch with the international XR community.

DOK Exchange XR consists of three core formats:

  • The XR Conference features keynotes, panels, networking and an artistic programme exploring creative, industry, and ethical questions. 
  • The XR Showcase presents selected works-in-progress with expert feedback.  
  • The Prototyping Zone enables on-site testing of XR projects and direct exchange with audiences and professionals.
Calls for Applications Are Now Open

We are particularly seeking projects that critically engage with immersive and spatial technologies, games and AI guided by the following focus areas:

  • Living Archives & Spatial Testimony: projects that rethink archives as dynamic civic infrastructures – capturing context, presence, environment, and behavioral patterns, and strengthening democracy and freedom of speech in the age of AI.
  • Alternative Futures & Human Connection: XR, AI and game projects that create space for hope and connection. Works that explore care, solidarity, and alternative futures – using technology to strengthen community and shared values.
  • Human Rights, AI & Civic Tech: works that address the blurring of fact and manipulation, explore ethical AI practices, and use immersive media as part of impactful campaigns or advocacy strategies.
  • Responsible Data Practices: projects that prioritise cybersecurity, secure capture and transfer of sensitive materials, and resilient models for long-term preservation and access.
  • New Narrative Forms & Production Models: games, interactive systems, and hybrid formats that expand storytelling languages, experiment with spatial computing and sensing technologies, and rethink emerging models of production, distribution, and sustainability in immersive media.

*Applications for DOK Exchange XR Showcase will be evaluated by an International Jury. DOK Exchange Prototyping Zone is curated by the DOK Exchange XR team.

Open Call: XR Showcase

for projects in development, presented to an international group of XR experts. Selected projects take part in two sessions: an online pitching mentoring and an in-person expert feedback discussion, both based on collective brainstorming and moderated exchange.

Apply to the XR Showcase

Open Call: XR Prototyping Zone

for XR projects with a working prototype to be presented, tested, and refined with professional and expert feedback. Projects may test onboarding, user flow, and exhibition elements, with additional visibility through a conference panel presentation.

Apply to the XR Prototyping Zone

How to Apply?

The deadline for applications is 1 July 2026. Read the DOK Exchange XR Showcase and XR Prototyping Zone guidelines and FAQs (PDF) and start the application process here. Please note that you need to login to your myDOK account – or register for a new one – to access the application area.

Applications for DOK Exchange XR showcases are free of charge. Projects selected for the DOK Exchange XR will be charged a participation fee of 150 Euro (plus 7% VAT if applicable) including two accreditations (valued at 300€) giving access to the festival and industry programme.

Feel invited to become part of DOK Exchange XR! We can’t wait to discover your projects and meet you in Leipzig.

Start your application now

DOK Exchange Curator & Coordinator

Weronika Lewandowska

exchange [at] dok-leipzig [dot] de (exchange[at]dok-leipzig[dot]de)

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What are the three DOK Exchange XR programme parts about?

Fünf Menschen sitzen auf einer kleinen Bühne, eine Person spricht in ein Mikrophon
DOK Exchange XR Conference

Creators and experts gather to redefine the forms and boundaries of immersive art, documentary and game design as the DOK Exchange XR Conference in 2025 explores how immersive practices are reshaping cultural narratives and power structures. By spotlighting experimental XR storytelling and hybrid media, the conference examines the political, ethical, and aesthetic stakes of creating experiences that transcend traditional formats, turning its attention to XR’s transformation from a headset-based medium to a hybrid storytelling ecosystem.

An audience watches a big screen on which people wearing VR glasses are walking around
DOK Exchange XR Showcase

XR creators will present their projects selected for the showcase—resonating with themes like politics of memory, ethical design, and digital literacy—to a professional audience and a panel of six experts spanning research, funding, production, distribution, art, and technology. The format is a dynamic collective brainstorming session, inviting deep insight and the creativity of experts as they reflect on projects, exchange perspectives, and co-develop valuable solutions. Emphasizing openness, equality, and inclusivity, this approach supports the projects’ development and builds meaningful connections within the XR community.

Verteilt in einem Raum schauen zwei Personen XR Filme durch VR-Brillen
DOK Exchange XR Prototyping Zone

The aim of the Prototyping Zone is to bridge creators with the XR community of experts, future audiences, and distributors. It enables the testing of interactive elements and narrative solutions, as well as onboarding and offboarding experiences in spatial conditions, refining XR projects before their finalisation. This process ultimately contributes to reducing production and distribution costs in later stages of development. The presentation of works during this phase offers a deeper understanding of user experience design, fostering productive discussions and gathering extensive feedback.

Archive

A female person with VR glasses is looking up.
Project Archive

Want to discover the projects that have been part of DOK Exchange XR in recent years from 2020?

Browse the Project Archive (2020–2024)

/en/dok-industry-project-archive
A collage of the headshots of Weronika Lewandowska, Dana Melaver and Prodromos Tsiavos
Re-Listen to DOK Exchange XR 2025

In our 2025 XR Industry Podcast episode, we attempted to pinpoint the kind of map creators and institutions need to navigate, select, and support meaningful XR experiences for the next generation. Host Weronika Lewandowska discussed with Prodromos Tsiavos and Dana Melaver what exists, what is missing, and how ethical design and curation can foster imagination, agency, and digital literacy.

Listen in now:

“Next Gen XR Rising”

 

Collage of episode 5's four speakers and moderators
Re-listen to DOK Exchange XR 2024

In this 2024 XR Industry Podcast episode you can find out how our ears perceive space can transform storytelling. Host Weronika Lewandowska and guest co-host Oliver Kadel investigate the transformative impact of spatial audio across various mediums together with experts Aili Niimura and Ana Monte.

Listen in now:

“Shaping the Soundscape”

Collage of two portrait photos: Weronika Lewandowska at the left, Mads Damsbo at the right
Re-Listen to DOK Exchange XR 2023

In this 2023 XR Industry Podcast episode, Weronika Lewandowska and Matt Dambso explore the essence of AI-human creative exchange and learn how we can go beyond the limits of our imagination with new generative tools. Mads Dambso is the producer and creative technologist behind the groundbreaking film “About a Hero” – the first feature-length movie co-developed with AI.

Listen in now: 

“Creativity Through the Lens of AI”

/en/creativity-through-lens-ai
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DOK Industry is realised with the support of Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union, the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM) and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media upon a Decision of the German Bundestag.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the MEDIA sub-programme of Creative Europe. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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