Beneva, OASIS immersion and La Piscine present an innovative collaboration - LA VITAMINE IMMERSIVE, AN EXPLORATION OF THE IMPACT OF IMMERSIVE ART ON WELLNESS AND MENTAL HEALTH

MONTREAL, March 16, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Beneva has partnered with OASIS immersion, Canada's largest immersive destination, and La Piscine incubator, to initiate a collaboration exploring the impact of immersive arts on wellness and mental health issues, particularly in the context of stress and anxiety related to returning to the office.

For visuals, please click here.

The first phase of the project took place in the fall of 2021 and an observation report from this exploratory phase will be released in April 2022. The next phase will be implemented in the coming weeks, in step with the gradual return of people to their workplace. The focus will be on evaluating the contribution of audiovisual immersion at the emotional and cognitive levels to reduce stress and anxiety among workers and professionals. A team of researchers from the Université de Montréal is also participating in this initiative.

"The societal upheavals we have experienced over the past two years have caused distress for many people and the impending return to the office contributes to even more stress and anxiety. As stakeholders in downtown Montreal's cultural scene, and as managers of an immersive space whose main mission is to offer inspiring and soothing contemplative experiences to the public, it was natural for us to want to get involved. With the support of La Piscine and Beneva, we have created LA VITAMINE IMMERSIVE, one of the first initiatives in the world to leverage immersion to help solve economic, health and societal challenges," explains Denys Lavigne, president and co-founder of OASIS immersion.

Supported by Beneva, Canada's largest mutual insurance company, the preliminary exploratory phase of LA VITAMINE IMMERSIVE held in October and November 2021 included a declarative component and biometric information measured with technology developed in Quebec by startup RE-AK Technologies. During this first phase, three subgroups were observed.

"As an incubator for Quebec's creative industries, La Piscine is very excited about the implementation of LA VITAMINE IMMERSIVE. This initiative reflects our desire to contribute to the reorganization of our work lives and to the revival of economic activity in downtown Montreal. The initial phase has allowed us to determine that our three organizations make great collaborators, with the common stated goal of enhancing the expertise of creative talents and their contributions to societal innovations," added Delphine Beauchamp, Executive Director of La Piscine.

The preliminary exploration phase
Participants in the initial exploration phase were exposed to an immersive ritual while wearing a "Nucleus-Hermès" headset, a device developed by RE-AK Technologies to measure the emotional and cognitive impact of an experience based on psychological markers and biometric data.

Data collection included:

• A survey to determine participants' self-reported well-being
• Biometric assessment of psychological markers
• Behavioral assessment of participants during the experiment

The first observations of LA VITAMINE IMMERSIVE were submitted to our collaborators from Université de Montréal: Roxane de la Sablonnière, PhD, Professor in the Department of Psychology and Éric Lacourse, PhD, Professor in the Department of Sociology. These two scholars, who are also co-directors of the Laboratoire sur les changements sociaux de l'identité (Laboratory on Social Change in Identity), are currently providing review services and counsel for the project. The observation report for the exploratory phase will be released in April 2022 and a new version of LA VITAMINE IMMERSIVE is being developed under the supervision of our academic colleagues. Denys Lavigne, President and Co-founder of OASIS immersion, says: "This first step revealed several interesting avenues to be further explored, notably in terms of target groups, biometric analyses in relation to the digital creation process, and the general framework of experimentation. The project team is exploring new avenues to better understand the societal role of innovative art, and I was particularly inspired by the collaborative dynamics between our partners and experts; this bodes well for the future.

LA VITAMINE IMMERSIVE is made possible thanks to the support of the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation, through the Fonds d'initiative et de rayonnement de la métropole (FIRM).

About Beneva
For more information, please consult beneva.ca

About OASIS immersion
For more information, please visit oasis.im.

About La Piscine
For more information, visit lapiscine.co.

SOURCE OASIS Immersion

Contact : VITAMINE IMMERSIVE, Marelle Communications, Barbara Philip, 514 806 3673, [email protected]; BENEVA, 1 866 332-3806, [email protected]