Into The Looking Glass - Interactive VR art installation
A visually striking, high-capacity VR art installation designed for international festivals and public events.
Enter the interactive magical world!
Set inside the iconic circus tent, the work combines Virtual Reality, circus aesthetics and well-being into an accessible, non-verbal experience for a broad audience.
Guided by performers, visitors enter a bespoke VR environment inspired by Alice in Wonderland. The VR experience temporarily disconnects participants from external stimuli and adapts to their emotional state. Simple VR-based juggling exercises create a balance between play, focus and calm, offering a contemporary reflection on perception and authenticity.
Live screens allow friends and family to follow their experience, turning spectators into performers and back again. With its strong visual identity, low technical impact and continuous visitor flow, Into the Looking Glass functions as both an artistic experience and a powerful festival landmark.
Creating a new VR experience
After 4 months of hard work, our very own VR application is here! ✨
A major upgrade to our production, made possible thanks to a wonderfull collaboration with 6 international graduating students from Digital Arts & Entertainment (Howest Kortrijk).
🍄Participants are immersed in a magical world that adapts to their emotional state.
🤹♀️They learn to juggle in VR, find calm, and begin a journey inward — helping them better distinguish what is real and what is true. Quite useful in these times. Special thanks to master juggler Jente Besters
For every audience, in every location
With this installation, we are reaching out to a broad audience. It is suitable for arts festivals such as circus and street theatre festivals or any other event.
Practical
- This VR art installation is accessible continuously for up to 6 hours a day. The tent is divided into 8 compartments, each of which can accommodate a maximum of 6 people. This means there is a maximum of 48 visitors and 7 members of our team inside. Each session lasts 10 to 20 minutes. Up to 500 people can visit per day. The XR experience will be visible to other visitors on screens. Afterwards, visitors can share their experiences with each other. Theatrical guidance is provided before, during and after the experience.
- The inflatable tent can be set up on any surface and requires a space of at least 17 x 17 metres and 9.5 metres in height.
- For participants aged 6 and above.
- Inflating the tent takes 10 minutes, total construction and set-up of the tent takes 3 to 4 hours, and dismantling takes 2 hours.
The Tent as a temple
In recent years, we have noticed an increasing need for moments of peace, connection and personal growth. The tent as an imaginative temple offers a safe space to meet that need. At the same time, it acts as an eye-catcher, an attractive and accessible kind of circus tent. In this way, we lower the threshold to art and new technology. During the try-out phase of Into the Looking Glass, we are paying explicit attention to people with mental or physical vulnerabilities. We want to make this installation (tent, characters, choice of XR applications) as inclusive as possible by testing it with various vulnerable target groups. Special thanks to the National Lottery for this.
Interactive and role reversal
Unlike traditional circuses, participants here are not passive spectators. They experience and live things for themselves and can choose which experiences they want to explore. Without even realising it, visitors become performers and then audience members again.
Multidisciplinary collaboration
This imaginative end product is the result of an important multidisciplinary process in which artists, young programmers, theatre makers, care technologists and target group partners combine their expertise. Partners now include DAE University College Kortrijk, CC De Spil Roeselare, Cirque Mecanique, vzw De Loods, Jente Besters. With the support of the City of Ghent and the National Lottery.
Interested for 2026? Book early for an exclusive benefit!
Request a demo, introductory meeting, quote or technical data sheet without obligation.
We can also apply the Flemish Government to get back 80% international travel costs (deadline application 15/2/2026 for travels after 1/5/2026)
Kris Vannevel
Collectief Jakkedoe
GSM +32 474 67 19 45
kris@circusjakkedoe.be
updates, foto’s en video’s via instagram en FB: intothelookingglass
