immersive
ART
Winner of Doc Edge 2024 Best immersive award 'Lane 25' combines VR and AR technology, preserving untold histories for future generations.
"Lane 25 is a testament to the power of immersive storytelling. By seamlessly weaving VR, projection, and installation art with AR elements, Shivani Karan has crafted an experience that doesn’t just tell a story — it engulfs you in it.
This is exactly the kind of bold, boundary-pushing work that defines the future of impact storytelling, and we cannot wait to see it resonate with audiences around the world." - Christian Jensen, Doc Edge.
This is exactly the kind of bold, boundary-pushing work that defines the future of impact storytelling, and we cannot wait to see it resonate with audiences around the world." - Christian Jensen, Doc Edge.
Lane 25 is only viewable at exhibitions.
Last shown at Fresh Gallery Ōtara:
16 Nov 2024 - 1 March 2025.
Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa.
See details
Last shown at Fresh Gallery Ōtara:
16 Nov 2024 - 1 March 2025.
Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa.
See details
"Lane 25 was a standout feature of Hidden Inheritance, demonstrating Shivani’s ability to merge digital technology with narrative-driven artwork. Her forward-thinking approach pushed the boundaries of traditional art engagement, creating immersive storytelling environments that deepened the audience’s understanding of the exhibition. Through AR and VR experiences, she invited audiences to step into digitally constructed spaces that re-imagined personal and collective histories, making the experience both intellectually stimulating and emotionally resonant."
EXHIBITION
Featured at Doc Edge 2025
‘Te Rerenga o Muriwai’ is a virtual reality artwork and story telling experience based on the voyaging ancestress Muriwai. Muriwai is well known as a voyager around Aotearoa and across the Pacific Ocean. She is a paramount ancestor and rangatira to the many tribes from the Mataatua waka and also throughout Aotearoa, from Te Whakatōhea to the Hokinga.
Co-creator Allana Goldsmith (Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tai) is a creative practice emerging researcher and musician who uses her voice to weave stories. Co-creator Shivani Karan is a digital artist and previously created and exhibited her own VR work ‘Lane25’ in 2024 and won the immersive award at Doc Edge. Together Allana and Shivani have developed ‘Te Rerenga o Muriwai’ VR as an innovative way of storytelling in the digital realm and develop their art forms in spaces that push creative boundaries.
Ngā Pou Māreikura is an interactive installation
of creative works developed by Dr. Deborah Heke
with expertise from Shivani Karan and the team at
Ngā Wai a Te Tūī Māori and Indigenous Research Centre at Unitec Institute of Technology, Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa.
See details
of creative works developed by Dr. Deborah Heke
with expertise from Shivani Karan and the team at
Ngā Wai a Te Tūī Māori and Indigenous Research Centre at Unitec Institute of Technology, Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa.
See details
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
immersive
workshops
Lane25 founder, Shivani Karan is dedicated to empowering youth through storytelling programs and hands on experiences with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Her art aims to showcase the diverse cultures of Aotearoa while preserving stories for future generations.
Find out more about Immersive storytelling workshops
Find out more about Immersive storytelling workshops
her
STORY
Shivani Karan is an award-winning VR and mixed-media immersive artist. She explores memory, migration, and blends personal photographic, audio and visual media with digital landscapes to create an evocative, immersive experiences.
A fourth-generation descendant of Girmityas, Shivani was born in Fiji and raised in Tāmaki Makaurau. Her practice weaves together intimate family narratives with expansive cultural histories, reimagining places and stories for future generations.
Shivani has collaborated locally and internationally, including with Grammy-winning producer Hazebanga on PM Playground and Māori contemporary musician Allana Goldsmith on the VR experience Te Rerenga o Muriwai. She also develops immersive projects with Māori health professor Dr. Deborah Heke, including Ngā Pou Māreikura, which explores wāhine’s embodied practices in te taiao as pathways to reciprocal healing.
Her award-winning project, Lane25, which was honoured at Doc Edge 2024, is an invitation to wander through liminal spaces, exploring how memory, sound, visuals and digital landscapes can be merged to re-imagine who we are. Through her practice, Shivani continues to expand the potential of VR and mixed media as tools for storytelling, healing, and cultural continuity.
A fourth-generation descendant of Girmityas, Shivani was born in Fiji and raised in Tāmaki Makaurau. Her practice weaves together intimate family narratives with expansive cultural histories, reimagining places and stories for future generations.
Shivani has collaborated locally and internationally, including with Grammy-winning producer Hazebanga on PM Playground and Māori contemporary musician Allana Goldsmith on the VR experience Te Rerenga o Muriwai. She also develops immersive projects with Māori health professor Dr. Deborah Heke, including Ngā Pou Māreikura, which explores wāhine’s embodied practices in te taiao as pathways to reciprocal healing.
Her award-winning project, Lane25, which was honoured at Doc Edge 2024, is an invitation to wander through liminal spaces, exploring how memory, sound, visuals and digital landscapes can be merged to re-imagine who we are. Through her practice, Shivani continues to expand the potential of VR and mixed media as tools for storytelling, healing, and cultural continuity.
"What I try to capture is a feeling, the real essence of a place. My work of course is inherently tied to a complex past but I want it to spark imagination and creativity and bold adventurous ideas about how we could express ourselves in the future." - Shivani Karan, founder of Lane25