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Photo Credit: John C. Hawthorne for StoryTrails
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Dr. Andrew Sempere (he/they) is an interdisciplinary artist, designer, researcher, and technologist whose work operates at the intersection of culture and computation. He holds a BFA in Design and Visual Communications from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, an MS in Epistemology and Learning from the MIT Media Lab, and a PhD in Architecture from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). His practice centers on building hybrid physical–digital systems that help people understand, navigate, and shape their environments, communities, and stories.

Andrew’s research spans interactive performance systems, computational craft, and the design of expressive technological tools. During his doctoral work at EPFL, he developed new software and hardware interfaces for live performance, collaborating with theater artists to integrate sensing, projection, and responsive scenography into contemporary practice.

Professionally, Andrew has worked across enterprise innovation, education, and immersive media. He served as Systems Design Lead at VRChat, where he contributed to the design of large-scale social immersive environments and the creator-tool ecosystems that support them. His earlier industry work includes research at IBM and Pearson Education and developing animatronic and embodied computing tools for early childhood learning at the MIT Media Lab.

Andrew has taught at institutions across Europe and North America, including La Manufacture (École de Théâtre, Lausanne), where he previously worked as a researcher and lecturer; HEAD Genève; ZHdK Zürich; Harvard Extension; the EPFL Extension School; and the HKB Bern University of the Arts.

He is also a co-founder and Director of Engineering at ToasterLab, a mixed-reality storytelling studio creating place-based XR experiences that blend narrative, performance, and emerging technology as well as the founder of The Place Lab, a consultancy and software engineering company that produced The Maptool community mapping project.

His work has been exhibited, performed, and presented internationally. In 2024 he delivered the Futurenote at the PXR Conference, highlighting future directions for immersive performance, participatory media, and technological authorship.

Andrew continues to investigate how emerging technologies can expand collective narrative, memory, and belonging through artistic and community-driven practice.

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