The Infinite Library comes to the Goethe

This week at the GoetheInstitut Sri Lanka is ‘The Infinite Library’, a travelling installation that uses VR and other media to reimagine the future of libraries as interactive spaces that engage visitors through multisensory forms of storytelling.

The programme will be inaugurated by Mika Johnson, the creative director of The Infinite Library and a multimedia artist today, and a panel discussion will follow on Monday, 13th at 6 p.m. Titled ‘Our Ways of Knowing - Sri Lankan Knowledge Systems and Practices’, it will feature Sulakshana de Mel, Sudesh Mantillake and Ruvi Rodrigo, moderated by Radhika Hettiarachchi.

The VR project will be open from tomorrow, February 13th to 18th from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. (only with prior booking) or from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. (walk-in).

The Infinite Library seeks to embed human stories within a much grander narrative, one which includes the birth of our planet and the evolution of all life forms. The ‘Library’ part of the installation is conceived as a living organism, a kind of embodiment of knowledge that introduces itself to visitors personally before inviting them to explore its house.

This includes a QR code game, holograms, 3D-printed objects, audiovisual works, and the project’s central piece: a vast VR library set in a cave. Within this virtual space, the Infinite Library hosts smaller sub-libraries, the first ones dedicated to Polynesian Navigation, South Indian Puppetry, and European Alchemy.

More details on the project can be found on the Goethe Institut website and InfineLibrary.com