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From a farm in KZN's Kokstad to the global stage, Rick Treweek is not only showing the world his talent but also creating new worlds.
The South African 3D artist and immersive media creator has just added one of television's biggest accolades to his CV, with Uncanny Alley: A New Day winning Outstanding Emerging Media Programme at the 78th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, 5 September.
The production, created by Treweek's Virtual Worlds Company in collaboration with US-based Ferryman Collective, took the Emmy ahead of Blumhouse Enhanced Cinema and The World of Fallout.
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From Kokstad to virtual worlds
Treweek - who currently lives in Kommetjie in the Western Cape - grew up on a farm in Kokstad and attended Hilton College before building a career in 3D art, immersive media and virtual worldbuilding.
His journey into Uncanny Alley began with an idea inspired by Ernest Cline's Ready Player One: what if people could step into a world rather than simply watch one?
Then South Africa went into lockdown in 2020.
With physical connection suddenly off limits, Treweek began building a virtual space where people could meet, interact and feel as though they were somewhere else.
He called it Uncanny Alley – a cyberpunk back alley of the internet, created in VRChat.
What began as an experiment became an entire universe, complete with characters, venues and its own mythology. The project won the Spirit of Raindance Award in 2022 and continued to grow across the international immersive-media scene.
As MetaRick (his metaverse moniker) explains online: “I build worlds you can step inside.”
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The audience joins the story
Uncanny Alley: A New Day took the concept further, transforming the universe into live immersive theatre. The production places audiences inside a virtual world where actors perform live from across the globe.
The story follows Gh0st and a group of protesters attempting to escape a city controlled by Adaptive Learning Industries, whose planned ‘New Day’ update threatens to wipe the memories of its citizens.
Rather than sitting back and watching a performance, the audience becomes part of the environment.
The production premiered in competition at Venice Immersive in 2024, where it won the Fanheart3 XR Fan Experience Award. It subsequently toured international festivals including SXSW, NewImages and Raindance Immersive, and won an XR Immersive Award at Taiwan's Kaohsiung Film Festival.
Now it has an Emmy to add to the list.
A proud moment for KZN
Treweek's former school, Hilton College, celebrated the achievement, highlighting the journey from KwaZulu-Natal to the international stage.
“Congratulations to Old Hiltonian Rick Treweek (1998, Lucas), whose groundbreaking virtual reality production Uncanny Alley: A New Day has won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Emerging Media Program. From Hilton to the global stage, Rick continues to push the boundaries of creativity and technology. We are proud to celebrate this remarkable achievement and the curiosity, courage and creativity that drive his work.”
Treweek marked the win with a heartfelt Instagram post, dedicating the achievement to his parents:
“What a weird dream last night. Thanks to everyone, especially my parents, for just letting us dream. This is for you mom. Dad, I'm sure you are smiling down, watching and giggling at me dressed so fancy.”
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