Spaces Tell Stories: Virtual art in the VILLA 102

KfW Stiftung in collaboration with the digital platform WAVA.

From September 2025 to September 2026 the foundation KfW Stiftung is working together with the non-profit, app-based platform WAVA to explore the potential of art in the digital age. Using GPS and Augmented Reality (AR), WAVA brings different forms of digital art to specific locations worldwide without the need for physical setup or infrastructure.

WAVA gGmbH aims to democratise hybrid spaces and make it easier for artists, institutions and audiences to virtually present and experience art in real-world locations.

The Potential of Virtual Art Presentation 

Three artworks are presented in the virtual space in ways that show the different possibilities and potential that virtual art has to offer.  

The sculpture Heavy on the Scale 121g (2025), created in collaboration with Salwa Aleryani, was newly commissioned and exists purely in the virtual space. Digitally modeled, it reflects on the question of value and worth not only in its content but also through its form: What is the value of virtual art? 

Elia Nurvista’s film The Evidence (2023) is shown virtually in the garden of VILLA 102. The film's immersive portrayal of Indonesia’s palm forest, gradually being engulfed in flames, is enhanced by the virtual presentation, which allows viewers to experience it life-size in three dimensions. How does a digital work change when it is shown virtually?

The presentation of the film Untitled (2011) by the artist Khvay Samnang, reveals a very specific potential of virtual art presentation: A virtual copy of the work was placed via GPS signal at the site in Cambodia where it was filmed in 2011. In the film, the artist draws attention to the ecological and social displacement of the local population of this area; a social and ecological system that no longer exists today. Here, WAVA becomes a tool for protest and spatial reclaiming, as the placement of virtual works via GPS signal is not subject to any restrictions.  

Download the App before the guided Tour for a full experience: The app is available in the App Store (iOS) and Play Store (Android).

Guided Tour by KfW Stiftung

 
Tour dates 2nd half of 2026

• Wednesday, 15 July, 13:00
• [Further dates will soon released]

Duration: 60 min. The guided tour is in German. Registration is required.

Image Credits:

01. MEET ME AT THE VILLA, Vernissage of KfW Stiftung, Photo: Jens Gerber
02. MEET ME AT THE VILLA, Vernissage of KfW Stiftung, Photo: Jens Gerber
03. Elia Nurvista, The Evidence, 2023, Installation in the garden of VILLA 102, Video: Pola Sell
04. Salwa Aleryani, Heavy on the Scale 121g, 2025, Installation in the garden of VILLA 102, Video: Pola Sell
05. WAVA App, Video: Pola Sell