Details:

Opderschmelz cultural centre in Dudelange is hosting a new mixed reality journey into sound, "The Assembly", from 25 February to 8 March 2022.

The Assembly is a multiplayer virtual reality (VR) experience embedded in an interactive installation that transforms into a performance stage at night. The VR experience, installation and performance can be experienced individually or combined.

Inspired by the universal tradition of collective singing, The Assembly revisits this ancient practice and uses new media as a conductive surface to transform bodily movement into a plural voice.

In the VR experience, users dance with other players to the sound of dreamy melodies and electronic beats that they collectively create. Led by the mystical figure of the Memory of Voice (MoV), they become part of a multi-dimensional instrument and play with sounds placed around them in this first Assembly.

As they leave the virtual world, players find themselves immersed in an interactive installation. They wander through a maze of veils, touch objects and interact with light around them to create and transform sounds that draw their strength from the human voice. Players can also linger at the edge of the installation to observe and listen to the collective song created by this second Assembly.

When the space transforms into a 360° stage, the Memory of Voice reappears, embodied by the performer. Along the beats of a live electronic musician, the MoV immerses the audience into a third Assembly. This concert-performance invites players to sound together and revisit the digital interfaces surrounding them to create a new collective instrument.

The Assembly was born in Luxembourg through the artistic collaboration of performer Catherine Elsen and VR director Charlotte Bruneau. Digital artist Laura Mannelli joined the project as director of the extended reality (XR) installation. The team widened to include electronic musician Pouya Ehsaei, artist Wesley Allsbrook, the VR studio Gluk Media in Lithuania, sound engineers from Luxembourg’s Mad Trix and dramaturge choreographer René Alejandro Huari Mateus.

The installation is mobile and will be presented in Luxembourg, France and Lithuania as part of the European Capital of Culture 2022 programme. Tickets should be booked separately for the installation and the performance.

The premiere will take place at opderschmelz on Friday 25 February 2022 at 20:00.

The experience is suitable for people aged 12 and up. 

Pre-sale tickets cost €15; box office tickets cost €20.

Further information is available at: https://www.theassemblyproject.org/.

Venue: Centre Culturel Régional Dudelange Opderschmelz (1a Rue du Centenaire, 3475 Dudelange)

Organiser: Opderschmelz

Price: €15 / €20

Reservations: See website

URL: For details, see https://www.theassemblyproject.org/