Criptech Metaverse Lab

The CripTech Metaverse Lab was a 2023 initiative that brought together ten disabled artists working in sound, dance, Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR). They explored and reimagined how extended reality technologies could become more accessible, drawing their methodology from Aimi Hamraie and Kelly Fritsch’s Crip Technoscience Manifesto, of building and breaking down worlds, and tackling intersectional systems of power, privilege, and oppression.

This lab explores accessible XR, challenging norms to create inclusive digital environments that reflect disability culture.Tech Literacy & Accessibility: This 2023 initiative brought together ten disabled artists working in sound, dance, Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR) to explore and reimagine accessible extended reality (XR) technologies. Drawing on the Crip Technoscience Manifesto, the lab enhances tech literacy by exploring how XR can be reshaped to include disabled experiences, building new, nuanced digital worlds that reflect disability culture. Reducing Harm in New Media: By addressing accessibility barriers in VR and AR, the CripTech Metaverse Lab reduces harm in XR spaces, challenging exclusionary norms in tech. This project demonstrates how XR technologies can support disabled perspectives and disrupt media portrayals that overlook disabled identities. Data & Knowledge Stewardship: The lab contributes to an archive of disability-inclusive XR practices, empowering disabled creators to shape and protect their presence in virtual spaces. This stewardship aligns with principles of community-led design, preserving accessible XR methodologies for future creators.

How do our assumptions about “default” users shape the technologies we create?What does it mean to design with rather than for marginalized and intersectional communities?How can we move from treating access as a retrofit to making it a central design principle?How do virtual spaces reinforce or challenge existing power structures?