“A friendly encounter? How does that work? when incompatible views & life worlds stand between us?” Visitors to ‘Close Encounters’ embark on an immersive & interactive journey of a third kind: equipped with virtual reality glasses, they explore the question of whether and how it is possible for people with incompatible views to live together in friendship. They follow 1) the virtual performance of acting, dance, video art & music, which shows that common points of contact can be stronger than any point of contention. And 2) they follow the thoughts of experts who critically examine the topic from different angles.