Part of Virtual Realisms, a monthly series of public lectures at the University of Westminster in London.
This lecture traces the long-standing project of trying to make the world computable; how technologies have been used to simulate, reduce, and model social reality. Games are central to this story, not just as entertainment, but as systems that reflect and reinforce computational thinking. Through the convergence of gaming technologies with real-world simulation, from hardware to software, these tools shape our understanding of reality and value. Finally, the lecture explores how critical practices in art and design can expose these entanglements and offer new ways of imagining the future—through play, subversion, and speculative intervention.
Tobias Revell is a London-based artist, designer, and educator exploring futures and technology. As Design Futures Lead at Arup, he guides strategic foresight and sustainability projects. His work uses design to challenge assumptions and deepen engagement. He exhibits, writes, and lectures internationally on design, technology, and imagination. Website: https://tobiasrevell.com/
Virtual Realisms public lecture series
The Virtual Realisms public lecture series critically investigates the evolving forms of reality created through algorithmic worldbuilding, where advanced digital technologies give rise to new and diverse interpretations of what is considered ‘real.’ As virtual spaces reach unprecedented levels of fidelity, this seemingly contradictory term suggests that, rather than a unified representation of our reality, we are now enmeshed within multiple new artificial realisms shaped by the proliferation of immersive technologies, CGI, and intelligent automation across all sectors. Spanning both technical and speculative practices, the series of lectures will explore how real-time virtual environments, and the technologies that underpin them, are redefining the logics of cultural production, creativity, power and politics in our increasingly rendered world.
Virtual Realisms is a monthly series of public lectures taking place throughout the 2024-25 academic year at the University of Westminster in London, UK. For more information about the series, please visit www.virtualrealisms.com.
Virtual Realisms is curated by Tadej Vindis, Lecturer in Creative Technologies, and Teodora Sinziana Alata, Lecturer in Creative Computing and Algorithmic Cultures, at the University of Westminster.
The series is organized as part of the Quintin Hogg Trust funded project, "Emerging Technologies and Advanced Technological Literacies for Creative Disciplines", led by Dr. Elizabeth Allen and Tadej Vindis, and is part of a wider CreaTech initiative of the College of Design, Creative and Digital Industries at the University of Westminster. Graphic design by Andrew Mallinson.
Location
The Fabrication Lab at the Marylebone Campus, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS
