The Early Visual Media Lab — CICANT (Lusófona University), in collaboration with the Institute of Art History (FCSH, NOVA University of Lisbon), presents the first three videos of an interview series entitled ‘What is a Cosmorama?’. This series was developed as part of the FCT-funded research project Curiositas (2022–2026), and is based on interviews conducted during the exhibition The Cosmorama in Lisbon – Virtual Travels in the 19th Century, curated by Victor Flores, Susana S. Martins, and Ana David Mendes. 

Cosmoramas were 19th-century optical attractions in which images were viewed through magnifying lenses, creating an immersive illusion of depth. Travelling across Europe and the Americas, they combined science, education, and entertainment, occupying a transitional space between early peep shows and modern exhibition culture.

The series consists of six thematic videos released in two stages. While the first three examine the cosmorama’s nineteenth-century media context, visual themes, and audiences, the next three will focus on why it became a forgotten medium, the physical recreation of a Cosmorama, and the use of virtual reality and digital data visualisation as research tools.