Emily Godden (they/them)

Emily is Course Director for the BA (Hons) Digital Media Production at ARU.

They/them

[email protected]
Visit the Virtually There Studio website
View Emily's profile on our Creative Showcase

Background

Emily is founder and director of Virtually There Studio CIC. Emily works as an Academic, Artist and Creative Technologist in the space of immersive storytelling and social justice. They set up Virtually There to support humans with digital literacy and creativity, via events, exhibitions and educational opportunities. They have exhibited works around the UK and beyond, at galleries including but not limited to Somerset House, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Spike Island and Firstsite.

Currently Emily is undertaking a PhD in immersive storytelling and virtual heritage with StoryLab where they are also a research associate.

Emily won the Jury Prize at the Innovate UK Immersive Tech Awards 2025 for their night-time site-specific XR ghost story "The Dunwich Rose". Developed as part of their PhD research into sustainable approaches for developing virtual heritage, it tells the story of the lost city via lost technologies.

Research interests

• Immersive storytelling
• Virtual Heritage
• E-waste

Teaching

Emily currently teaches on the following modules:

• Thinking Digital: A Practical History of Digital Media
• Fundamentals of Digital Media
• Immersive Storytelling
• Research Project

Qualifications

• BA (Hons) Fine Art
• MA (Hons) Printmaking
• PG Cert Learning and Teaching with FHEA

Memberships, editorial boards

• STEM Ambassador

Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange

• 2025: PLAYTECH, an open-ended inquiry to test audio-visual tech with young children in a variety of contexts and settings: Youth Music Energiser Fund, Magic Acorns
• 2022: Levelling up digital literacy via video games development: Moving IT on, Norwich Puppet Theatre, Sewell Park Academy and Festival Bridge
• 2021: VR Adventures, co-creating VR experiences to improve wellbeing of people in care settings: Arts Council and Suffolk Artlink
• 2019: Arts Council & European regional development fund: R&D into Virtual Eco Therapy
• 2019: Unltd: Pilot of new youth group in Suffolk, Non-Binary code, offering 16-25 year olds who identify or associate with the LGBTQ+ community to empower participants with digital skills

Selected recent publications

Godden, E. (Forthcoming) "Augmenting archives, agency and authenticity: A case study for using WebXR to resurrect The Lost City of Dunwich". In: Stasiowski, M. (ed.) Rendered in Bits and Stone: Studies in (in)tangible digital heritage. Bristol: Intellect.

Godden, E., Rutherford, J. and Lee, R. (2021) ‘HOME BRICK: Exploring the sensations of home, voice, and brick making’, Epoiesen: A Journal for Creative Engagement in History and Archaeology, 5 October.

Godden, E., 2018. 'Handle with care: synthesising the sonic content of paintings by Thomas Gainsborough'. Essay for artists' book RE:PRINT, edited by Dr Veronique Chance and Duncan Ganley, Marmalade Publishers of Visual Theory

Recent presentations and conferences

Godden, E., 2023: ‘How can video games development support digital literacy and engage new audiences with archive collections’. Plug In Symposium.

Godden, E., 2023: ‘Reprinting The Lost City’. Close Look Distant View conference.

Godden, E., 2022: ‘Playing the past: Using WebXR to rebuild The Lost City’. (In)Tangible Heritage(s) conference.

Godden, E., 2022: ‘Re-building a ruin: Greyfriars, the ghost in the machine’. Beyond conference.

Godden, E. and Johnstone, L., 2022: ‘Antarctica Rising: Exploring the Social Value of Antarctic Heritage through WebXR’. Space and Place in Virtual Worlds conference.

Godden, E. , 2022: ‘Materials of memory’. Museums without walls conference.

Exhibitions

2017, Space to breathe, Somerset House, London

2016, SPILL Festival of Performance, Ipswich

2016, What is the future of art? Tate Modern, London

2016, Arcade, Firstsite, Colchester

2015, Eye Want Change, Tate Britain, London