Symphonasia: Rethinking Artistic Expression in Immersive Space

Breaking Down Barriers to Creation

One of the foundational principles behind Symphonasia is accessibility - not in a functional sense alone, but in the idea that anyone can create, improvise, and perform. This is not a platform for virtuosos or trained artists. It’s for people who may have never picked up an instrument or brush, but who nonetheless have stories, emotions, and energy to share.

Using AI-assisted computer vision and custom-built interaction systems, the project translates simple hand movements into generative music and evolving visuals. These movements become a kind of intuitive language - fluid, expressive, and immediate.

In doing so, Symphonasia reframes the idea of performance. The participant is not merely an audience member, but a co-creator. A single gesture can spark a cascading blend of sound and image. Several participants together form a kind of ephemeral orchestra - composing not through notes or scores, but through movement and presence.

A Collaborative Core

The creative team brings together complementary expertise across disciplines:

• Owain Llwyd, an award-winning Welsh composer, brings a cinematic and emotionally rich sensibility, shaped by both the concert hall and the screen. His work has been performed by world-renowned artists and orchestras and his extensive commercial portfolio spans film, television, and collaborations with global names.
• João Saramago, a Portuguese-born visual artist based in Cardiff, approaches his practice through both analogue and digital lenses. In Symphonasia, he creates visual systems that respond dynamically to the nuances of participant movement - creating flowing, reactive environments that feel alive.
• Campfire Digital, a creative innovation studio, leads the technological development and experiential design. Campfire’s role is to prototype, experiment, and build the connective tissue between the physical and the digital, the personal and the shared.

Together, we are not just building a piece of software or installation. We are crafting a new format - a space for co-authorship, emotional exploration, and sensory play.

Experimentation as Process

Behind the scenes, Symphonasia is a living experiment. We're deliberately taking an open, exploratory approach - testing and combining different platforms, interaction models, and modes of expression.

Our focus is not on perfecting a single tool or medium, but on discovering how technology can best serve the experience we want to create. This means being playful, iterative, and sometimes unconventional in how we prototype. It means listening to what the system suggests, not just what we instruct it to do.

In particular, we're interested in finding ways for technology to disappear - to become intuitive and invisible, allowing human expression to take the foreground. When a participant forgets they are using a digital system and instead feels immersed in the act of making, we know we’re heading in the right direction.

What Comes Next

Symphonasia is currently in its research and prototyping phase - but already the project is sparking conversations across the immersive arts world, drawing interest from performers, educators, and technologists alike. In the months ahead, we’ll be sharing more about our development journey, hosting small-scale trials, and inviting feedback from the communities we hope to serve.

This is only the beginning.

If you'd like to follow along - or be among the first to experience Symphonasia - stay connected via Campfire Digital, and watch this space.