By Farzana Chaudhry Lahore Pakistan

LAHORE: Pakistan will host the first local editions of the VXR Festival, an international festival dedicated to virtual and extended reality (XR) art, digital creativity and emerging technologies.

Founded by Dr. Najam Ul Assar, the festival will be held in Lahore from November 8 to 11 and in Islamabad from November 13 to 15, 2026.

The festival will bring together artists working across virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), extended reality (XR) and other immersive practices from Pakistan, France, Spain and other countries.

Confirmed participating artists include Adriaan Lokman of France, Amna Tariq of Pakistan, Lola Zoido and Manel Bafaluy of Spain, Marie Lienhard of France, Sana Akram of Pakistan and Sandrine Deumier of France. Additional artists and works will be announced as the programme develops.

A major highlight of the festival will be the first presentation in Pakistan of the Claude Monet Experience in VR, providing audiences with an opportunity to explore the work of one of the world’s most celebrated artists through immersive technology and a new digital perspective.

Festival Director Dr. Najam Ul Assar said VR and XR art were no longer simply about new technologies but were increasingly becoming important artistic languages through which people could rethink perception, space, memory and their relationship with technology.

“There is a real need to bring these practices into public and cultural spaces in Pakistan, creating opportunities for audiences to experience, question and engage with the possibilities of immersive art,” he said.

The festival builds on the work of the Lahore Digital Arts Festival team, which has supported digital art and creative technology in Pakistan since 2019.

Dr. Najam Ul Assar and Sarah Rajper are also co-curators of Between the Prompts.

The 2026 Pakistani editions are being supported by the Embassy of France in Pakistan, Alliance Française de Lahore, the Institut français, the Embassy of Spain in Pakistan and AECID, in collaboration with UNESCO.

The festival is also welcoming additional partners as its programme continues to develop.