LGBTQ+ VR Museum

The world's first virtual reality museum dedicated to platforming and celebrating the stories and artwork of LGBTQIA+ people, and preserving queer personal histories. The museum contains fifteen 3D scans of real-life objects - touching personal artefacts, from wedding shoes to a teddy bear - chosen by people in the LGBTQ+ community, accompanied by their stories in their own words. The gallery showcases 2D illustrations and artwork by queer creators all over the world. This project poses the question - who decides which parts of history are preserved, and which are lost? And how can XR be used to make space for marginalised voices?

  • Antonia Forster
    Director
  • Antonia Forster
    Producer
  • Thomas Terkildsen
    Producer
  • Thomas Terkildsen
    Writer
  • Project Type:
    Virtual Reality
  • Genres:
    LGBT, LGBTQ, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, Queer, Documentary, Nonfiction, Non-fiction, History, Education, Educational, Disability, Neurodivergence, LGBTQ Director, LGBTQ+ Director, Female Director, Women in Tech, BAME, BIPOC, Black, Trans, QTBIPOC, Gender
  • Minimum Runtime:
    5 minutes
  • Maximum Runtime:
    20 minutes
  • Average Runtime:
    20 minutes
  • Variable Runtime Details:
    After an onboarding/tutorial section, the experience is open-ended. You are free to explore a museum with fifteen 3D objects (that can be handled) and audio stories (with subtitles), and 25 artworks with accompanying text.
  • Completion Date:
    August 31, 2021
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Open City Documentary Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    September 8, 2021
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Tribeca Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    June 9, 2022
    North American Premiere
    Winner - New Voices Award
  • QLD XR Festival
    Queensland
    Australia
    December 15, 2021
    Australian Premiere
    Finalist - Best in VR, Finalist - Best in Gaming
Director Biography - Antonia Forster

Antonia is a self-taught VR developer, and Senior XR Technical Specialist at Unity. She is also a keynote speaker, LGBTQ+ activist, and an award-winning advocate for women and people of marginalised gender in tech. Antonia has been shortlisted for Nature's John Maddox Prize, the Women in Tech 'Advocate Of the Year', and won the YTKO Breaking Barriers award for her advocacy work, including as Director of the world's first LGBTQ+ VR museum. As a neuro-divergent, queer woman in tech, Antonia has a unique perspective on the world, and is passionate about using her voice to make space for under-represented groups.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

My career background is in museums and science centres. When I came out to my family as LGBTQ+, I was violently threatened, had support withdrawn, and needed to pivot careers - so I taught myself to code. I am passionate about using my storytelling and coding skills to make positive social change, and amplify marginalised voices.

I have always been shocked that there is no museum in the UK, or most countries, dedicated to platforming LGBTQ+ stories. On the contrary - queer narratives are often overlooked or erased from history. With this project, I wanted to explore a number of questions: Who is responsible for curating galleries and museums - and does this favour the preservation of heteronormative narratives? How can XR be leveraged for positive social change? How can virtual spaces make space for marginalised people and amplify underrepresented stories?

In other words, can we use virtual worlds... to change the real world?