Dissertation defence
Dissertation defence – Marika Hedemyr

Photo: Nadim Elazzeh Welcome to Marika Hedemyr´s dissertation defence Marika Hedemyr, a doctoral student at The School of Arts and Communication, defends her thesis “Mixed Reality in Public Space: Expanding Composition Practices in Choreography and Interaction Design” Title Mixed Reality in Public Space: Expanding Composition Practices in Choreography and Interaction Design Abstract Although artistic augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) experiences have been discussed in multiple scholarly fields, when it comes to interaction design, comprehensive accounts of actual design practices are rare. To expand our knowledge of design practices, this PhD dissertation brings together choreography and interaction design, approaching MR as site-specific performance. More specifically, choreography as an expanded practice is used to encourage discussions about the creation of MR experiences in public spaces. The research project involved practice-based research and the creation of three public site-specific MR walks in Göteborg and Mölndal, realised in collaboration with an artistic team and stakeholders from the art, cultural heritage and information technology sectors. The dissertation shows that a choreographic approach provides concrete ways for crafting relations between time, space, bodies and imagination in AR/MR experiences, demonstrating that technology is imbued with site-specific power relations, ethics and aesthetics. These contributions are both practice-oriented and theoretical. They include an expansion of our knowledge of embodied interaction and its relevance to public space, an articulation of choreography as a broad practice that can be applied to technological design and a distinct set of composition practices for site-specific AR/MR experiences. Together, these contributions result in strategies and critical reflection on how AR/MR experiences may be used to reactivate public spaces and their political significance in society through critical, embodied and artistic techniques. Opponent Sarah Fdili Alaoui, Associate Professor in Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction and Dance, LISN-Université Paris Saclay, France Examination Committee Jeffrey Bardzell, Professor in Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State University, USA Lissa Holloway-Attaway, Associate Professor in Media Arts, Aesthetics and Narration, University of Skövde, Sweden Jonas Fritsch, Associate Professor in Interaction Design, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark Chair at defence Susan Kozel, Professor of Philosophy, Dance and Media Technologies, Malmö University, Sweden Attendance No registration is required. The defence is open to the public and is held in English. Welcome to attend on-site in Malmö, or watch the defence via live stream. The defence will be livestreamed on this page. Read the dissertation in the digital archive DiVA Read about Marika Hedemyr