Chiara Masiero Sgrinzatto

From 01/12/2024 to 31/05/2025

Paired Teams

See the Invisible

New York Institute of Technology

Chiara Masiero Sgrinzatto is a panorama artist based in Venice, Italy. Architect specializing in Visual Arts, her work is focused on the representation of environments through immersive hand-made drawing. She has been working in the VR industry for over a decade, creating photo, video, and illustrated 360º content for clients and institutions worldwide.

She is a Ph.D. student in Digital Media Arts at the University of Algarve and Aberta University, collaborator of the Centre for Research in Arts and Communication (CIAC), Lisbon, Portugal.

Titled See the Invisible, it is an art-based research that combines hand-drawn 360º panoramas with immersive generative AI to explore the collaboration between humans and machines in approaching, understanding, and representing complex subjects. It focuses on the interplay between reality and myth in the context of those cities – such as London, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, New York, Venice, etc. – that have become myths themselves.

The study explores how modern mythology shapes these cities, creating a powerful and complex relationship between their physical dimensions, cultural content, and narrative layers.

The M-Cube Foundation, with its extensive expertise in modern mythology and interdisciplinary collaboration, has contributed significantly to the content of the project, providing valuable knowledge and support in the analysis of mythological elements and their impact on urban environments.

The goal of the expedition at NYIT is to design and develop the prototype of a phygital publication and a creation of Virtual Worlds, focused on New York City, combining hand-made drawing and generative AI.

The project is designing and developing master formats and software for the combination of hand-drawn and AI-generated immersive panoramas. The theoretical and applied research I am conducting in New York is the prototype for the further application in other cities.

This knowledge will be integrated into the M-Cube Foundation’s initiatives, enhancing their exploration of modern mythology and its impact on urban environments. The results of this research will be disseminated through scholarly publications, conferences and digital platforms, ensuring wide access and engagement with the findings.

The research investigates and aims to represent the interplay between myth and reality in “eternal cities” using immersive drawn panoramas and generative AI algorithms. It explores how modern mythology affects places, content, and narratives, creating a circular, powerful, and complex relationship between these elements. The AI-generated panoramas are integrated with hand-drawn panoramas to create a comprehensive vision of mythological layers – to make the invisible visible.

The AI algorithms are under development, they are being trained on datasets from New York City, including photographs, historical materials, and spherical panoramas. The research has included the analysis of Modern Mythology and its elements applied to specific places in the city, validated through collaboration with the Curatorial Committee of the Fondazione M-Cube. The sociological research was carried out through questionnaires and interviews in the USA and Italy.

A scientific journal is going to be selected for the submission of papers highlighting the research results and advances in the workflow. The project will be presented at conferences, showcasing the innovative approach to immersive digital storytelling.

The fellowship has strengthened my collaboration with NYIT and between NYIT and Fondazione M-Cube, promoting interdisciplinary research and innovation.

The project has allowed me to make new contacts and strengthen the existing ones with academic researchers, artists, designers and professionals; at the Host Organization and in other institutions. The fellowship has provided opportunities for career advancement, expanding my expertise and professional network in the fields of XR technologies, immersive storytelling and cultural heritage.