Work

Re-imagining the Islandmagee Witches: reflections on interactive digital curatorial methods

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: In 2023, Ulster University and Carrickfergus Museum collaborated to engage audiences with the Islandmagee Witch Trial, the last such trial to be held in Ireland. Re-imagining the Islandmagee Witches was an interactive exhibition which ran from 9 September to 16 November 2023 and featured interpretive panels, display of a diverse material culture collection, an art installation, and animations. It was accompanied by a graphic novel and video game — all designed to bring a historical narrative of the trial to life. At the heart of the exhibition was the virtual reality (hereafter VR) experience, Demonised: Bewitched and Possessed, co-created with Immersonal, a Belfast-based digital developer. This paper engages the creative practice experiment that informed the interpretative approach to and project management of Demonised. It uses the project as a case study to suggest that VR provides transformational potential for curatorial methods; and as a critical reference point for understanding the complex processes of conception, ideation, production, development, and deployment of immersive technology solutions in the cultural sector.

Source: Ulster University Research Portal (Ulster University)

Authors: Jackson, Helen; id_orcid 0000-0002-7003-8317, Murphy, Shirin

Language: English

Topic: Museums and Cultural Heritage

Subfield: Museology

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council

Award: Impact Acceleration Account: Ulster University 2022-2025

OpenAlex ID: W7140355279

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