Manischa Partowi is a researcher interested in affective strategies in contemporary art. In her PhD project, she investigates the aesthetic constellation of virtual reality-based art by focusing on the phenomena of intimacy and violence. Trained in art history, philosophy and cultural studies, she is affiliated with the Collaborative Research Center 1567 »Virtual Lifeworlds« at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Annette Urban (Prof. Dr.) is a professor of modern and contemporary art history with a focus on new media at the Institute of Art History at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. She is principal investigator of the sub-project »Virtual Art« within the Collaborative Research Center 1567 »Virtual Lifeworlds« and a member of the Research Training Group 2132 »The Documentary. Excess and Privation«.

Her research also focuses on site-relatedness in media art and digital (im)material labour in contemporary art. Manuel van der Veen (Dr.) is a research assistant in the sub-project »Virtual Art« within the Collaborative Research Center 1567 »Virtual Lifeworlds« at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Previously, in 2022, he completed his doctorate on the art history of augmented reality. His further research interests include the philosophy of technology and space in relation to contemporary digital art, intersections between new media and painting as well as the tradition of three-dimensional image carriers.