Interview with Advisory Board member Mir Wermuth: 'Technology is never contextless, and without being embraced by creators and the public, it is ruthlessly dismissed'

The CIIIC Advisory Board consists of 24 carefully selected members who provide both solicited and unsolicited advice on key content areas to our program team. As representatives of the IX community and ambassadors of IX in the Netherlands, they are crucial for the connection with the industry. But who are these members, what do they do, and – especially – how do they view IX?

In part 16, Mir Wermuth, director of HKU Media (since 2022).

Who are you, what do you do?

‘I am Mir Wermuth and have been working for over three years as the academy director of HKU Media. With about 900 students, HKU Media is one of the largest art academies in the Netherlands that trains for various media disciplines. Previously, I was involved for many years as a consultant in the creative sector, including as secretary of the Topteam Creative Industry, as talent development director at Media Perspectives (now Media Campus NL, for innovation in the Dutch media sector), and as new media director in advertising. HKU Media offers seven programs: Animation, Digital Media, Graphic Design, Film, Illustration, Image & Media Technology, and Photography.’

Why 'immersive', what is your connection with new content/technology?

'When I completed my Communication Science studies in the late eighties, I started a small company with some fellow students where we provided content for the very first websites of companies like Grolsch and the Postbank. Additionally, we began what was then called usability research of new media. In short, the question of what new technologies mean for user experiences has been in my DNA for several decades.

Although I am not a professional creator myself, I have a boundless curiosity about what new developments mean for society both in the short and long term. The Gartner Hype Cycles are always fascinating because you can clearly see that technology is never context-free and, without the embrace of users (creators and audiences), it is mercilessly dismissed.'

Why did you want to be in the Advisory Board, what specifically appealed to you in/about the program?

'Due to my background in both profit and non-profit organizations, I am a good connector between different worlds. I have often collaborated in so-called triple or quadruple helix collaborations, and that is CIIIC par excellence. Naturally, I hope that in my current role at HKU, the program sufficiently emphasizes the role of talent development. As a member of the advisory board, I see this as my main role: connecting and keeping things sharp.'

What is your IX dream/mission?

‘Immersive experience, in the sense of being able to completely immerse yourself, has always been the essence of art. That's why societies cannot do without art and culture: “The power of art is to transcend our own self-interest, our solipsistic zoom-lens on life, and relate to the world and each other with more integrity, more curiosity, more wholeheartedness” ~ Maria Popova.

My dream for the Dutch IX community is that we can truly make use of each other's talents (creative, technical, commercial) so that we can create 'immersions', within and outside the arts, that open up small windows in people, which they didn’t even know existed.

Only then can the Netherlands make that difference: by uniting all forces.’

What developments in the field do you see as important to strengthen and why?

Or: what do you see as the most important development in the IX field (as part of the creative industry)? ‘Many young creative talents enter the academy with an increasing aversion to Big Tech and there is a growing popularity of everything analog. This will turn against us in the long term. Therefore, we must provide ample room for experimentation to be able to play and tinker with new technology. Otherwise, the Netherlands will lose its edge as a top-notch creative country. At the moment, there are far too few resources and time in higher education. So that's really a sore point.

The other sore point is that IX makers often do not fit within the boxes of many cultural funds, because there is too little knowledge about the requirements of a full-fledged IX production, or because their plans do not fit within the current assessment criteria. That shout out was made by Steye Hallema, the winner of the Golden Calf for Digital Culture 2025 for Ancestors during the award ceremony, and I understand that very well.

And one very specific point: we often talk about the visual challenges we want to invest in at IX, but let's not forget the audio (think of virtual acoustics) as well.’

Public values play an important role at CIIIC, what is your perspective on that?

‘The emphasis on public values might initially raise eyebrows among many creators: why is this necessary? But as soon as their creative process really kicks off, that focus is inherently present, consciously or unconsciously. I believe Dutch creatives have always been strong in incorporating public values into their work. Many advertisers have been eager for years to create SIRE campaigns, and the old government Postbus 51 commercials also demonstrated the courage to link certain social values to humor. With the enormous influence of new technologies and the speed at which they come to us, that urgency has only increased, along with the realization that inclusive work is becoming the standard. Without inclusion and emancipation, there is no innovation. So without public values, only bare tech remains, and nobody should want that.’

Finally, the Advisory Board gives advice – what is your message to the community? And how can people find you and ‘engage’ you to possibly share their ideas with the community?

‘I think many individual creators find it difficult to understand why CIIIC focuses so much on abstract concepts for them like “strengthening the ecosystem.” So I see it as our task to translate their heartfelt pleas for funding, partners, and facilities into policies and arrangements that genuinely advance the entire sector. So people can always find me via LinkedIn or adviesraad@ciiic.nl to act as their interpreter!’

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Interview: Nils Adriaans

Photography: Ben Houdijk