[Paper Review] Mixed Reality Heritage Performance As a Decolonising Tool for Heritage Sites

Mariza Dima, Damon Daylamani-Zad+1 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Apr 10, 2024

Museums and Cultural Heritage4 citations

TL;DR

This paper introduces Mixed Reality Heritage Performances (MRHP)—innovative, live-audience experiences combining AR glasses and theatre at heritage sites to reveal suppressed histories of slavery and colonialism. The study demonstrates that MRHP effectively engages diverse audiences through embodied, affective storytelling, offering a design toolkit to help heritage institutions decolonize narratives through immersive technology.

ABSTRACT

In this paper we introduce two world-first Mixed Reality (MR) experiences that fuse smart AR glasses and live theatre and take place in a heritage site with the purpose to reveal the site's hidden and difficult histories about slavery. We term these unique general audience experiences Mixed Reality Heritage Performances (MRHP). Along with the development of our initial two performances we designed and developed a tool and guidelines that can help heritage organisations with their decolonising process by critically engaging the public with under-represented voices and viewpoints of troubled European and colonial narratives. The evaluations showed the embodied and affective potential of MRHP to attract and educate heritage audiences visitors. Insights of the design process are being formulated into an extensive design toolkit that aims to support experience design, theatre and heritage professionals to collaboratively carry out similar projects.

Motivation & Objective

• To address the erasure of marginalized voices in heritage storytelling, particularly regarding colonial and enslavement histories.
• To develop a new form of public engagement—Mixed Reality Heritage Performances (MRHP)—that fuses live theatre with smart AR glasses in real-world heritage settings.
• To create a practical, evidence-based toolkit for heritage, theatre, and experience design professionals to co-create similar decolonizing MRHP projects.
• To critically engage the public with underrepresented perspectives on troubled European and colonial narratives through immersive, emotionally resonant experiences.

Proposed method

• Design and development of two world-first MRHPs at a heritage site, integrating live performers with real-time AR content delivered via smart glasses.
• Use of mixed reality (MR) technology to overlay historical narratives and dramatized scenes directly onto physical heritage spaces.
• Incorporation of live theatrical performance to enhance emotional and embodied engagement with difficult histories.
• Co-design process involving heritage professionals, theatre practitioners, and technologists to ensure cultural sensitivity and narrative authenticity.
• Evaluation of the MRHPs through audience feedback and observational studies to assess affective and educational impact.
• Development of a comprehensive design toolkit based on insights from the design process, including guidelines for narrative framing, technology integration, and ethical considerations.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How can mixed reality heritage performances effectively reveal and communicate hidden or suppressed histories of slavery and colonialism in physical heritage sites?
• RQ2 What role does live theatrical performance play in enhancing emotional and embodied engagement with difficult historical narratives in mixed reality experiences?
• RQ3 How can heritage institutions use MRHP as a tool to decolonize their public storytelling and include underrepresented voices?
• RQ4 What design principles and practical guidelines are necessary for the sustainable and ethical implementation of MRHP by non-specialist heritage and theatre teams?

Key findings

• The MRHPs successfully attracted and educated diverse audiences by creating emotionally resonant, embodied experiences of colonial and enslavement histories.
• Audience evaluations indicated strong affective engagement, with participants reporting heightened emotional responses and deeper understanding of marginalized historical perspectives.
• The integration of live performers with AR content significantly enhanced narrative immersion and perceived authenticity compared to static AR experiences.
• The design process yielded a detailed, actionable toolkit that supports cross-disciplinary collaboration between heritage, theatre, and technology professionals.
• The study demonstrates that MRHP is a viable, scalable model for decolonizing heritage institutions through immersive, public-facing performances.
• The research contributes a novel framework for ethical, participatory, and impactful heritage storytelling using emerging mixed reality technologies.