When the Unseen History: [IN]VISIBLE Festival Turns KBR into an Augmented Reality Lab

From 25 to 27 March 2026, the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR) hosts [IN]VISIBLE Festival: an XR and AI‑powered event dedicated to making history’s “invisible” figures finally visible — a must‑go for queer, feminist and activist minds.

[IN]VISIBLE Festival is the first augmented art and AI festival in the heart of Europe focused on those who have been written out of official narratives: forgotten heroes, marginalised communities, erased voices. For its 3rd edition in 2026, the festival highlights “digital volunteers who work to preserve heritage”, aligning with the international year dedicated to volunteers for sustainable development. Artists, researchers, memory workers and technologists from Europe, Africa and Québec gather to rethink how stories are told and shared through immersive tools like XR, 3D avatars, data and artificial intelligence.

What is [IN]VISIBLE Festival?

[IN]VISIBLE Festival is a multidisciplinary event at the crossroads of art, digital technology and human rights, positioning itself as a reference platform to imagine the future of memory experiences. It offers conferences, labs, performances, networking moments and installations that question how we use XR, AI and other tools to restore visibility to people and stories that have been silenced.

The festival is organised by XR4Heritage with the support of partners such as the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, and co‑organised with institutions like AFRIA, CREDASSUR, the Digital Society Institute (KU Leuven), Urban Brussels, HUB Brussels, WBI Innovation and the Fédération Wallonie‑Bruxelles. It also connects with initiatives like AVATARS 200, which aims to create 200 historical avatars to celebrate the 200 years of Belgium in 2030.

For LGBTQ+ communities, this is a unique space where questions of visibility, memory, archives, intersectionality and digital justice are central — and where queer, racialised and feminist histories can be discussed, reimagined and literally rendered visible via augmented art.

What happens during the festival?

Across several days, [IN]VISIBLE Festival offers a rich programme that mixes public events and professional activities.

• Conferences and think tanks on topics like archives, democracy, heritage, new narratives, media of the future and women in tech, bringing together researchers, cultural institutions, activists and technologists.
• Labs and workshops (History Lab, “À Nous l’Histoire”, XR and gaming sessions) exploring how to use immersive tools to tell alternative stories and engage new audiences.
• Exhibitions and installations, including augmented circuits, Hall of Fame experiences and immersive works such as Noire, which has been presented at the Centre Pompidou.
• Networking events and B2B moments for creators, memory keepers and tech architects to meet and start collaborations.

The festival brings together three main communities: story creators (artists, authors, developers, gamers, audiovisual creators), guardians of memory (museums, archives, universities, cultural institutions) and technology architects (AI, XR, data, Web3, hardware and software). Together, they imagine how to build more inclusive, diverse and participatory memory ecosystems — an urgent conversation for queer history, where so much of our past has been censored or destroyed.

When and where?

For the 2026 edition, [IN]VISIBLE Festival takes place in Brussels at the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR), right in the city centre.

• Dates: 25–27 March 2026​
• Venue: KBR – Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique, Brussels
• City: Brussels, Belgium

KBR is easily accessible by public transport (Central Station and metro) and already a key site for archives and heritage — making it a powerful symbolic location for a festival about memory, invisibility and justice.​

More practical details (tickets, exact daily schedule, registrations and accreditation types — including free exhibition access and professional passes) are available via the festival and ticketing platforms.

Why it matters for queer Brussels

For queer, trans and intersex communities, [IN]VISIBLE Festival is more than a tech‑arts event: it is a space where erased histories et marginalised bodies can reclaim visibility in both symbolic and very concrete ways. The focus on XR and AI opens conversations about who designs the technologies that will mediate our memories tomorrow, and how we can ensure that queer, Black, migrant, disabled and feminist perspectives are embedded from the start.

Whether you’re an artist, a researcher, a cultural worker, a tech person or simply a curious visitor, the festival offers a chance to experience new forms of storytelling, meet like‑minded people and imagine futures where our histories are no longer invisible.

Useful links

General agenda & partners: https://xr4heritage.com/invisible-2026/

Info & registrations (PassPass): https://passpass.be/fr/events/1123/invisible-festival-2026

Festival info & context: https://xr4heritage.com/invisible-festival/​

2026 edition overview: https://msw.be/2026/02/17/invisible-festival-25-27-march-2026-kbr-brussels-when-heritage-meets-innovation/

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