Hong Kong's intangible cultural heritage, particularly traditional puppetry, faces existential threats from declining youth engagement and practitioner numbers—a "sunset industry" hampered by limited societal recognition and resource allocation. This study investigates how immersive digital puppetry can revitalize cultural awareness among youth (8–12 years old) by bridging cutting-edge technology with endangered traditions. Building on the award-winning Digital Puppet project (Gold, SVIIF 2024; Bronze, Geneva 2024), we develop an AI/VR platform integrating motion-captured techniques from master puppeteers and 3D-scanned historical puppets. Through school workshops, exhibitions, and interactive VR performances, we examine how blended physical-virtual experiences can foster intergenerational knowledge transfer.
This interdisciplinary research addresses critical gaps in: Innovative preservation methodologies – Creating scalable digital archives of vanishing puppetry techniques; VR’s underexplored role in cultural transmission – Quantifying its efficacy through youth engagement metrics; Participatory models – Empowering digital natives as co-creators of heritage narratives.
Key objectives include: Developing an AI-enhanced VR system incorporating motion data from veteran puppeteers, 3D-scanned artifacts, and generative storytelling tools; Evaluating cultural awareness outcomes via pre/post assessments of 60+ students; Establishing evidence-based guidelines for digital heritage pedagogy.
Preliminary results suggest immersive puppetry significantly enhances youth engagement by merging play with cultural learning, blurring boundaries between tradition and innovation. The project contributes a replicable framework for safeguarding intangible heritage globally while advancing STEAM education through technology-mediated art. Outcomes will inform policy recommendations for integrating digital preservation into school curricula and public funding initiatives, offering a sustainable model to counter cultural erosion in aging artisan communities.

Authors:
Keung Hung, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Hung Keung is an internationally renowned digital media artist, researcher, and scholar who has been involved in the creative and research aspects of film, video and digital new media art since 1995.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Wednesday Schedule

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