Investigating how immersive experiences in the museum sector can be developed in a responsible and polyphonic way.

Together with Bernadette Schrandt, researcher at the intersection of mixed reality, heritage, and dialogic practices at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and PhD candidate at the Open University, Studio Immersief led by Danny van Zuijlen is investigating how we can develop immersive experiences in the museum sector in a responsible and polyphonic way.

Archive Research

The focus is on the archive of scientist Hendrik Lorentz (1871–1944) at the National Archives. We zoom in on his expedition to South New Guinea (1909/1910), present-day West Papua, which is administered by Indonesia.

Lorentz's expedition was part of the Dutch colonial administration and was organized both militarily and scientifically. A three-month journey, under difficult conditions, heavily reliant on locally and regionally hired labor.

The archive contains maps, photos, and diaries, but also name cards and sea passes of hired workers from Borneo. Documents that show how people were registered and deployed within the colonial system - and that can bring their names and individual positions out of the anonymity of the archive.

At the same time, we must recognize that the archive itself is a product of colonial knowledge production, with clear hierarchies and blind spots.

Creative Process

In this project, we shift the focus from solely the visitor experience to the creative process itself.

• How do creators and heritage professionals navigate tensions surrounding representation, technology, and colonial context?

• And how do we develop a careful, responsive design practice - including critical reflection on our own role within a Dutch heritage framework?

In the upcoming phase, we are actively seeking collaboration with relevant communities and experts.

The project Layering Histories has been selected within the Creative Innovation Call 2026 of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.

Photo: Members of the Lorentz expedition, including expedition leader H.A. Lorentz and Dayak porters, at the snow line on the Wilhelmina Peak (currently Puncak Trikora), in the former Dutch New Guinea - 1910. Collection Wereldmuseum.