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Fall 2026 Course Feature!

IML 575: World Building, Narrative Design and Design Visualization
Taught by Professor Alex McDowell

World Building is a narrative design methodology. It recognizes that media and other industries demand new stories and structures—no longer driven by linear, production-line processes. The worlds we build are laboratories for new ideas: immersive experiments in storytelling as an ongoing, emergent condition.

World builders collaborate across disciplines and with emerging forms of synthetic intelligence. We prototype multiple futures and design spatial environments that support shifting, adaptive, and interconnected stories.

In IML-575, we invite students to engage fully with world building in the intricate world of Planet JUNK.
Students dismantle the world they currently inhabit and imagine and build a society 300 years in the future. They develop new systems, cultures, environments, and stories—discovering forms of storytelling that move beyond the limits of linear narrative. They generate a storyworld that does more than imagine the future: it tests possibilities, reframes the familiar, and expands how we ideate, collaborate, prototype, and build.

At the end of the semester, each student produces individual narrative journeys from the world of JUNK that seed immersive and virtual production.

And a sneak peek of the projects on Stage 3 as well! We hope you can come by this week to check it out!

And a sneak peek of the projects on Stage 3 as well! We hope you can come by this week to check it out!

And a sneak peek of the projects on Stage 3 as well! We hope you can come by this week to check it out!

And a sneak peek of the projects on Stage 3 as well! We hope you can come by this week to check it out!

And a sneak peek of the projects on Stage 3 as well! We hope you can come by this week to check it out!

And a sneak peek of the projects on Stage 3 as well! We hope you can come by this week to check it out!

And a sneak peek of the projects on Stage 3 as well! We hope you can come by this week to check it out!

Sneak peek of the undergrad thesis projects on Stage 4! Come check them out tonight until 8:30pm, or later this week (10-4 Wednesday and Thursday, 10-12 Friday)

Sneak peek of the undergrad thesis projects on Stage 4! Come check them out tonight until 8:30pm, or later this week (10-4 Wednesday and Thursday, 10-12 Friday)

Sneak peek of the undergrad thesis projects on Stage 4! Come check them out tonight until 8:30pm, or later this week (10-4 Wednesday and Thursday, 10-12 Friday)

Sneak peek of the undergrad thesis projects on Stage 4! Come check them out tonight until 8:30pm, or later this week (10-4 Wednesday and Thursday, 10-12 Friday)

Sneak peek of the undergrad thesis projects on Stage 4! Come check them out tonight until 8:30pm, or later this week (10-4 Wednesday and Thursday, 10-12 Friday)

Sneak peek of the undergrad thesis projects on Stage 4! Come check them out tonight until 8:30pm, or later this week (10-4 Wednesday and Thursday, 10-12 Friday)

Sneak peek of the undergrad thesis projects on Stage 4! Come check them out tonight until 8:30pm, or later this week (10-4 Wednesday and Thursday, 10-12 Friday)

Sneak peek of the undergrad thesis projects on Stage 4! Come check them out tonight until 8:30pm, or later this week (10-4 Wednesday and Thursday, 10-12 Friday)

OPENING TONIGHT!!! Proof of Life: The Media Arts and Practice Undergraduate Thesis Exhibition.

We will kick things off with a live listening session of The Tides at 4:00 pm in SCI 106, following by the exhibition opening in Stages 3+4 at 5:00 pm. We will close the evening with a screening and accompanying musical performance of To You & Me, 40 Years Apart at 8:00 pm in SCI 106.

We hope to see you there! More preview pics to come!

OPENING TONIGHT!!! Proof of Life: The Media Arts and Practice Undergraduate Thesis Exhibition.

We will kick things off with a live listening session of The Tides at 4:00 pm in SCI 106, following by the exhibition opening in Stages 3+4 at 5:00 pm. We will close the evening with a screening and accompanying musical performance of To You & Me, 40 Years Apart at 8:00 pm in SCI 106.

We hope to see you there! More preview pics to come!

Setup begins tonight for PROOF OF LIFE, our undergraduate thesis exhibition!

The exhibition begins on May 5, with a listening session of "The Tides" at 4pm, and our exhibition reception at 5pm.

Setup begins tonight for PROOF OF LIFE, our undergraduate thesis exhibition!

The exhibition begins on May 5, with a listening session of "The Tides" at 4pm, and our exhibition reception at 5pm.

TONIGHT! As part of the iMappening 2026 PhD exhibition, we will be hosting a screening of PhD works at 6pm in the SCA 110 theatre. We hope to see you there!

If you have not visited the exhibition yet, there's still time! The projects will be on view until tomorrow, Thursday April 30, at 6pm.

TONIGHT! As part of the iMappening 2026 PhD exhibition, we will be hosting a screening of PhD works at 6pm in the SCA 110 theatre. We hope to see you there!

If you have not visited the exhibition yet, there's still time! The projects will be on view until tomorrow, Thursday April 30, at 6pm.

Fall 2026 Course Feature!

IML 453: Design Fiction and Speculative Futures
Taught by Professor Aisling Kelliher

Thinking about the future allows people to conceive of possible selves, which represent “what they might become, what they would like to become, and what they are afraid of becoming” (Markus, 1986). Critical to the exploration of alternate worlds - representing possible, probable and preferable futures - is the production, dissemination and contemplation of images of the future.

Artists and designers play a significant role in the creation of future images in the form of speculative literature, science fiction movies, envisioning artifacts, and design fiction scenarios. While it can be argued that all of design activity “is oriented towards the future” while “informed by the past and the present” (Margolin, 2007), the emergence of consciously
speculative design practices in the last 15 years has produced a rich body of provocative work that
bring design and the future together.

In this class, students will interrogate these works to then produce speculative media of their own.

*Markus, H and Nurius, P. (1986). Possible Selves, American Psychologist, 41, 1986.

*Margolin, V. (2007). ‘Design, the Future and the Human Spirit’. Design Issues, 23(3), 4-15, 2007.

What a great opening night for iMappening 2026 yesterday! Thanks to all who attended.

And congratulations to our exhibition participants: Zeynep Abes, Chantal Eyong, Maisa Imamovic, David Kelley, David de Rozas, Ellie Schmidt, Vivian Tian, Kai Wu, and Virginia Zangs.

Projects will remain on view until April 30, with a special screening on April 29 at 6:00 pm in SCA 110.

@zabes93 @chantaltewitt @iammans @kelley_atelier @davidderozas @tesellie gentle_southern_wind

A few more sneak peeks before iMappening opens tonight! Hope to see you there!

Exhibition Reception
April 23
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
5:00 pm

Screening Program
April 29
SCA 110
6:00 pm

Exhibition Gallery Hours
April 24-30
(weekdays only)
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Location
USC School of Cinematic Arts
900 W 34th St
Los Angeles, CA 90089

A few more sneak peeks before iMappening opens tonight! Hope to see you there!

Exhibition Reception
April 23
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
5:00 pm

Screening Program
April 29
SCA 110
6:00 pm

Exhibition Gallery Hours
April 24-30
(weekdays only)
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Location
USC School of Cinematic Arts
900 W 34th St
Los Angeles, CA 90089

A few more sneak peeks before iMappening opens tonight! Hope to see you there!

Exhibition Reception
April 23
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
5:00 pm

Screening Program
April 29
SCA 110
6:00 pm

Exhibition Gallery Hours
April 24-30
(weekdays only)
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Location
USC School of Cinematic Arts
900 W 34th St
Los Angeles, CA 90089

A few more sneak peeks before iMappening opens tonight! Hope to see you there!

Exhibition Reception
April 23
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
5:00 pm

Screening Program
April 29
SCA 110
6:00 pm

Exhibition Gallery Hours
April 24-30
(weekdays only)
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Location
USC School of Cinematic Arts
900 W 34th St
Los Angeles, CA 90089

A few more sneak peeks before iMappening opens tonight! Hope to see you there!

Exhibition Reception
April 23
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
5:00 pm

Screening Program
April 29
SCA 110
6:00 pm

Exhibition Gallery Hours
April 24-30
(weekdays only)
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Location
USC School of Cinematic Arts
900 W 34th St
Los Angeles, CA 90089

A few more sneak peeks before iMappening opens tonight! Hope to see you there!

Exhibition Reception
April 23
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
5:00 pm

Screening Program
April 29
SCA 110
6:00 pm

Exhibition Gallery Hours
April 24-30
(weekdays only)
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Location
USC School of Cinematic Arts
900 W 34th St
Los Angeles, CA 90089

A few more sneak peeks before iMappening opens tonight! Hope to see you there!

Exhibition Reception
April 23
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
5:00 pm

Screening Program
April 29
SCA 110
6:00 pm

Exhibition Gallery Hours
April 24-30
(weekdays only)
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Location
USC School of Cinematic Arts
900 W 34th St
Los Angeles, CA 90089

A few more sneak peeks before iMappening opens tonight! Hope to see you there!

Exhibition Reception
April 23
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
5:00 pm

Screening Program
April 29
SCA 110
6:00 pm

Exhibition Gallery Hours
April 24-30
(weekdays only)
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Location
USC School of Cinematic Arts
900 W 34th St
Los Angeles, CA 90089

A few more sneak peeks before iMappening opens tonight! Hope to see you there!

Exhibition Reception
April 23
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
5:00 pm

Screening Program
April 29
SCA 110
6:00 pm

Exhibition Gallery Hours
April 24-30
(weekdays only)
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Location
USC School of Cinematic Arts
900 W 34th St
Los Angeles, CA 90089

This weekend, MA+P and AIMS (AI for Media & Storytelling) are partnering with Flux, the Mozilla Foundation and the Gould School of Law to present Flux Festival on Saturday, April 25, 2:00 - 10:00 p.m.

https://www.flux.net/

Featuring dance, presentations, interactive experiences, workshops, live coding, and musical performances, the event explores the futures of storytelling. We're especially proud to feature work by MAP alums, current SCA students, the Ganek Immersive Studio, adjunct faculty members, and our fabulous MAP docents!

And we're also delighted to partner with so many people in the LA media arts community, including FEMMEBIT, Spectra, Fuser, and Project________. Special thanks to the Mozilla Foundation! We hope to see you there!

iMappening 2026 opens TOMORROW NIGHT!!

iMappening is a yearly exhibition of experimental works-in-progress from the interdisciplinary Media Arts + Practice PhD program, including film, video, installation, animation, performance, generative AI, sound, and other media.

Exhibition Reception
April 23
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
5:00 pm

Screening Program
April 29
SCA 110
6:00 pm

Exhibition Gallery Hours
April 24-30
(weekdays only)
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Location
USC School of Cinematic Arts
900 W 34th St
Los Angeles, CA 90089

iMappening 2026 opens TOMORROW NIGHT!!

iMappening is a yearly exhibition of experimental works-in-progress from the interdisciplinary Media Arts + Practice PhD program, including film, video, installation, animation, performance, generative AI, sound, and other media.

Exhibition Reception
April 23
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
5:00 pm

Screening Program
April 29
SCA 110
6:00 pm

Exhibition Gallery Hours
April 24-30
(weekdays only)
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Location
USC School of Cinematic Arts
900 W 34th St
Los Angeles, CA 90089

iMappening 2026 opens TOMORROW NIGHT!!

iMappening is a yearly exhibition of experimental works-in-progress from the interdisciplinary Media Arts + Practice PhD program, including film, video, installation, animation, performance, generative AI, sound, and other media.

Exhibition Reception
April 23
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
5:00 pm

Screening Program
April 29
SCA 110
6:00 pm

Exhibition Gallery Hours
April 24-30
(weekdays only)
Soundstage 4 + SCA Gallery
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Location
USC School of Cinematic Arts
900 W 34th St
Los Angeles, CA 90089

Currently on view in the SCI Lobby, as part of the Archiving Immersive Art Symposium: the Sensorama!

This device, developed in the 1950s-60s by Mort Helig, was one of the first attempts to create a fully immersive, multisensory mediated experience and it has inspired many VR technologies that followed. An early promotional brochure stated that the Sensorama combined "three-dimensional motion pictures, peripheral vision, binaural sound, aromas, and tactile sensations" all in one device for the first time.

Currently on view in the SCI Lobby, as part of the Archiving Immersive Art Symposium: the Sensorama!

This device, developed in the 1950s-60s by Mort Helig, was one of the first attempts to create a fully immersive, multisensory mediated experience and it has inspired many VR technologies that followed. An early promotional brochure stated that the Sensorama combined "three-dimensional motion pictures, peripheral vision, binaural sound, aromas, and tactile sensations" all in one device for the first time.

Currently on view in the SCI Lobby, as part of the Archiving Immersive Art Symposium: the Sensorama!

This device, developed in the 1950s-60s by Mort Helig, was one of the first attempts to create a fully immersive, multisensory mediated experience and it has inspired many VR technologies that followed. An early promotional brochure stated that the Sensorama combined "three-dimensional motion pictures, peripheral vision, binaural sound, aromas, and tactile sensations" all in one device for the first time.

Currently on view in the SCI Lobby, as part of the Archiving Immersive Art Symposium: the Sensorama!

This device, developed in the 1950s-60s by Mort Helig, was one of the first attempts to create a fully immersive, multisensory mediated experience and it has inspired many VR technologies that followed. An early promotional brochure stated that the Sensorama combined "three-dimensional motion pictures, peripheral vision, binaural sound, aromas, and tactile sensations" all in one device for the first time.

Currently on view in the SCI Lobby, as part of the Archiving Immersive Art Symposium: the Sensorama!

This device, developed in the 1950s-60s by Mort Helig, was one of the first attempts to create a fully immersive, multisensory mediated experience and it has inspired many VR technologies that followed. An early promotional brochure stated that the Sensorama combined "three-dimensional motion pictures, peripheral vision, binaural sound, aromas, and tactile sensations" all in one device for the first time.