ABOUT:
Matthew Niederhauser is an artist and educator. His latest work pushes the limits of emerging AI and XR technologies within a wide range of mediums including virtual reality, installation, and video. Previously he studied anthropology at Columbia University and worked on longterm documentary projects across China. This work was supported by the Pulitzer Foundation and featured in publications such as The New Yorker, Wired, The New Republic, Atlantic CityLab, Vice Motherboard, Bloomberg Magazine, and The New York Times. During this time he also published Sound Kapital, a collection of portraits exploring China’s underground music scene.
Matthew then earned his MFA in Art Practice and Theory from SVA while also a Visiting Scholar at the MIT Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU), Visiting Artist at the MIT Center for Art, Science, and Technology (CAST), and Member of New Museum’s NEW INC. At NEW INC, he cofounded Sensorium, an experiential studio working at the forefront of immersive storytelling.
Matthew continues to develop new projects both independently and with Sensorium while also acting as the Technical Director at Onassis ONX, an XR production and exhibition space in midtown Manhattan. When he can find time, he also teaches courses at NYU Tisch and Tandon on immersive storytelling and virtual production.
Notable experiential credits include: Creater and Producer, The Golden Key (SXSW ’24), Creater and Producer, Tulpamancer (Venice ’23); Creator and Director, Realtime (IDFA DocLab ’22); Creator and Producer, Metamorphic (Sundance New Frontier ’20); Creator and Technical Director, Zikr: A Sufi Revival (Sundance New Frontier ’18); Creator and Technical Director, Objects in Mirror AR Closer Than They Appear (Tribeca Storyscapes ’18); Technical Director and Cinematographer, Lincoln in the Bardo (Emmy-nominated 360 Video for NYTVR); and Technical Director and Cinematographer, Hamlet 360: Thy Father’s Spirit (Google Daydream).
SELECT POSITIONS:
2020-2024 // ONX Studio – Studio Fellow & Technical Director
2019-2024 // New Inc – Mentor
2019-2023 // NYU ITP & Tandon – Adjunct Professor
2019-2021 // Johns Hopkins ISET – Lecturer
2019-2020 // RLab XR Beta Residency
2015-2018 // MIT Center for Advanced Urbanism – Visiting Scholar
2015-2016 // MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology – Visiting Artist
2014-2016 // New Inc – Member
2014-2015 // Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting – Reporting Grantee
SELECT EXHIBITIONS:
2024 – SXSW XR Experience – “The Golden Key” & “Tulpamancer“
2023 – Venice Immersive – “Tulpamancer“
2023 – Plásmata II – “Parallels“
2023 – Archive of Desire – “Ekphrasis“
2022 – Plásmata – “Polymorphic“
2020 – Sundance New Frontier – “Metamorphic“
2020 – Siggraph Immersive Pavilion – “Metamorphic“
2018 – IDFA DocLab – “Zikr: A Sufi Revival”
2018 – Tribeca Film Festival Storyscapes – “objects in mirror AR closer than they appear“
2018 – Sundance New Frontier – “Zikr: A Sufi Revival”
2018 – MIT Center for Advanced Urbanism – “Housing +”
2016 – MIT Center for Advanced Urbanism – “Future of Suburbia”
2015 – Columbia GSAPP Studio X Beijing – “The Megacity Initiative”
2015 – Columbia GSAPP Studio X Rio de Janeiro – “Counterfeit Paradises”
2014 – Noorderlicht Fotofestival – Groningen – “An Ocean of Possibilities”
2013 – National Portrait Gallery – London – “Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize”
2012 – Fahey/Klein – Los Angeles – “Visions of Modernity”
2012 – LDDC – Beijing – “Mass Metamorphosis”
2011 – ME Contemporary – Copenhagen – “Grand Opening 2.0”
2011 – Noorderlicht Fotofestival – Groningen – “Metropolis: City Life in the Urban Age”
2010 – powerHouse Arena – New York – “Sound Kapital: Beijing’s Music Underground”
2010 – Proud Galleries – London – “Sound Kapital: Beijing’s Music Underground”
2010 – Govinda Gallery – Washington – “Sound Kapital: Beijing’s Music Underground”
2009 – Noorderlicht Forofestival – Groningen – “The Pursuit of Happiness”
SELECT AWARDS AND TALKS:
2024 – Jury Award for “The Golden Key” – SXSW XR Experience Competition
2020 – NYC Media Lab Summit – The Future of Visual and Immersive Experiences Panel
2020 – Siggraph – Advances in XR Panel
2020 – MIT Media Lab – Open Documentary Lab – “The Experiential Dynamics of Capturing Reality”
2018 – IDFA DocLab – Artist Talks – “Zikr: A Sufi Revival”
2016 – MIT Center for Advanced Urbanism – Future of Suburbia Conference – “Megacity Initiative”
2015 – American Photography – AP31 Selection – “Occupy Hong Kong”
2013 – American Photography – AP29 Selection – “Counterfeit Paradises”
2013 – John Kabal New Work Award – London – Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize
2012 – Carriageworks Artist Talks – Sydney – “Sound Kapital”
2011 – Audio/Visual – New York Photo Festival – “Sound Kapital”
2011 – Royal Asiatic Society Speaker – Shanghai – “Counterfeit Paradises”
2010 – This Is Beijing Speaker – CAFA – Beijing – “Visions of Modernity”
2010 – China Stories Speaker – UCCA – Beijing – “Visions of Modernity”
2009 – Fotoweek Speaker – Corcoran Gallery of Art – Washington – “Visions of Modernity”
The National Portrait Gallery – London
The Collection of Sir Elton John – Atlanta