This paper explores how culturally distinctive minimal computational art practices open up spaces for emergent alterities that more accurately align with the innovative landscape of the Oceanic region. It argues for the necessity of future literacies, focusing on the potential of radically sustainable computing (Heikkilä 2020) and text-based forms of computa-tional poetics (Tenen 2017) to raise awareness of context-based social, material, and ecological relations. Drawing on feminist digital heritage studies and philosophers of technology (Doruff 2006; Gibbs 2011; Cam-eron, 2021; Dekker, 2023), the discussion analyses post-patriarchal computer subcultures and surveys media art emerging from the southern hemisphere. It compares and contrasts (implicit or explicit) intentions for efficacy to nurture a more holistic integration of technology, art, and culture. It examines the provenance of codework poetics to demonstrate how self-determined cultural inheritance can transcend digital colonial logic. A close examination of the provenance of codework poetics demonstrates how self-determined forms of cultural inheritance can reshape and transcend the restraints of digital colonial logic. The analy-sis highlights the significance of informal communities of art practice that engage in experiential forms of digital literacy, which can attract a more diverse range of constituents—describing the ways in which ‘Big Tech’ is enmeshed in colonial imperatives, driven by the accumulation of capital and unsustainable computing emissions. It critiques the de-pendence on 'Big Tech' partnerships witnessed in the uptake of the digital in art museums as seamless, immersive experiences, which procure audience engagement and optimisation through glib forms of instant gratification and token exploits. The findings offer insights for navigating future heritage paradigms within computational media art, advocating for context-grounded experiential learning and reciprocal economies of digital heritage.

This paper describes the sensory and emotional responses provoked by “Waterways: Past, Present and Future,” an immersive digital exhibition exploring human water relations in the Okanagan valley in Canada. It posits that the exhibition transcends traditional digital media displays, creating a deeply embodied and visceral interaction with the theme of water through sight, sound, and suggested tactility. Applying the visual matrix evaluator method, we discern that the exhibition captures the profound sensory engagement of participants, highlighting how the exhibition facilitates access to the emotional and cultural significances of water. We find that the exhibition not only amplifies the sensory experience of visitors but also resonates with Indigenous epistemologies that celebrate the interconnectedness of life and the holistic acquisition of knowledge. The findings illustrate that Waterways acts as a sensory catalyst that evokes a deeper cognitive and emotional awareness of water’s centrality in ecological and cultural continuums. The paper underscores the value of sensual ethnography in environmental understanding and the integration of Indigenous perspectives in contemporary museology, advocating for an enriched, inclusive dialogue on immersive exhibition design and evaluation.

Intangible heritage, globally, is under threat from aggressive urbanisation and globalisation, particularly in developing nations like Vietnam. To safeguard Vietnamese oral traditions, social practices, festive events and childhood play, the project Play to Preserve the Past uses augmented reality (AR) to undertake a nuanced exploration of creative practice methodologies and considerations for crafting immersive AR experiences. Central to this pursuit, the research endeavours to respond to a pivotal inquiry: "How can creative practitioners harness the potentials of AR for seamless transmission of intangible cultural heritage?” This pursuit has yielded a set of tailored AR game design considerations, including updating heritage aesthetics, physically involving the body in ritual movements, reconfiguring home space into ritual space, and embodying the evolving nature of knowledge and value systems. These considerations aim to provide nuance and contribute to the discourse by illustrating design steps and reflecting on them. Overall, the intention is to assist future creative practitioners in the field of cultural heritage preservation.