VXR Festival brings XR art to Lahore and Islamabad
A festival exploring virtual and extended reality art is opening across two Pakistani cities next month, not one.
A festival exploring virtual and extended reality art is opening across two Pakistani cities next month, not one.
VXR Festival runs in Lahore from November 8-11 and in Islamabad from November 13-15, 2026, curated by Dr Najam Ul Assar and Sarah Rajper under the theme "Between the Prompts." Backing comes from the Embassy of France in Pakistan, Alliance Française de Lahore, the Institut français and the Embassy of Spain in Pakistan, in collaboration with UNESCO.
A festival landing in two cities in the same month, with four international cultural institutions behind it, reads differently than a single flagship city hosting a one-off showcase. It treats the audience for immersive art in South Asia as something that already exists beyond one metro, not something still being tested.
The region's appetite for XR content is growing faster than its production base. Festivals like this are where that gap becomes visible first.
