A virtual museum for empathy and understanding of migrant women in VR
Being There, Chronosphere | Universiteit van Monterrey | Breda University of Applied Sciences | Lamentos Escuchados.
Can we create more empathy and a better understanding of space and home by adding volumetric characters in virtual reality. That is exactly what Being There has researched. Being There, the first virtual museum for migrant women.
Being There is a virtual reality museum built to share the stories of Latin American migrants passing through Mexico to come to the United States. The VR experience is based on real stories of women staying at the Lamentos Escuchados migration centre (the only migration centre for women in Monterrey, Mexico) just before crossing the border.
The current space was measured and documented to be replicated identically in VR. The aim of creating the present space, including interacting with the women’s stories, is to make people aware of the situation. In addition, this helped the designers to be able to create an improved space.
The design of the ideal space was developed through participatory design approaches, including through research and interviews with the women. The aim of the ideal space was to increase empathy by showing how a space can be transformed (if donations are given) and what that means for immigrant women.
The story of migration, their life challenges and ideals are shared through this VR experience by showing what home means to them. This VR museum provides the opportunity to experience the reality of these women to create empathy and hopefully gain the support the community needs.
To paint a more realistic picture of migrant women and their children, volumetric characters have been added, which represent the mother and child. In this way, we aim to increase empathy and create more awareness about migrant women, their perception of home, their spatial needs and ideals.
The virtual reality experience was developed in a collaboration between the University of Monterrey (UDEM, Mexico), Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUAS) and Lamentos Escuchados.
Made possible by Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland and Metropool Regio Eindhoven.
