Reimagine Southern Africa's heritage in the Futures_Past project

The Embassy of France in South Africa, Lesotho, and Malawi have officially launched Futures_Past: Amplifying Memory with Immersive Technologies — a two-year project that invites archival and cultural institutions to explore new ways of engaging the public through immersive storytelling.

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Futures_Past is a regional response to pressing challenges in the heritage sector, including limited digitisation tools, shifting audience expectations, and the need for innovative public engagement.

The project supports institutions in reanimating archival collections through immersive formats such as virtual and augmented reality, spatial audio, and interactive installations.

“Futures_Past is about pushing the boundaries of how we experience history,” said Emmanuelle Denavit-Feller, regional head of New Media, Film & Television at IFAS.

“It’s a chance to build unexpected creative partnerships, surface overlooked stories, and explore how technology can deepen our connection to memory and place.”

“Electric South has been committed to building the immersive media ecosystem since 2015. We are delighted to be partnering with IFAS on Futures_Past to create new collaborations between immersive practitioners and archival institutions,” said Ingrid Kopp, director of Labs and Partnerships at Electric South.

"This is an opportunity to open up archives to new audiences through engaging experiences and to make the public more aware of the incredible stories in our shared past.”

The project includes three core components:

A sector mapping and policy study on immersive arts in South Africa, Lesotho, and Malawi;

A mobility and networking programme in France for up to 20 professionals, to connect with immersive arts institutions, markets and festivals;

The creation and public exhibition of six immersive digital works, developed by creative teams in collaboration with selected institutions.

This project is initiated by the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) in collaboration with Electric South, and made possible thanks to funding from the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.

Participate in the Futures_Past project

Open call now live for archival and cultural institutions in South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi

Deadline for submissions: 12 August 2025

As part of the project launch, an open call is now live for archival and cultural institutions in South Africa, Lesotho, and Malawi to participate in Futures_Past.

Applications are welcomed from public and private museums, archives, cultural centres, libraries, universities, and heritage organisations that:

Hold cultural, historical, or community-based archives or collections;

Are committed to innovative public engagement;

Can offer free access to proposed materials for creative reinterpretation;

Are willing to host an exhibition of the final work (venue, staffing, and coordination);

Are open to the digitisation and creative transformation of archival content.

Prior experience with immersive technologies is not required.

Six selected institutions will:

Collaborate with immersive storytellers to reanimate their selected collections

Receive a dedicated production budget and full technical support to support the development of immersive digital artworks inspired by the selected archival collections.

Host a public exhibition of the final work

Take part in an international mobility programme to France

Build capacity in digital storytelling and public engagement

Interested institutions are invited to submit:

A brief institutional profile;

A description of the proposed collection or archive;

A statement of interest and support;

Contact details of a nominated project lead;

A letter of commitment from institutional leadership.

For full open call details, visit the IFAS website.