XR:WA returns to the Perth Cultural Centre from September 15-18 offering participants immersion into the world of Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and gaming.
Now in its fourth year, the conference and public exhibition features the ideas, works, technology and constantly evolving environment of the VR, AR and digital screen industry across multiple locations in Perth.
XR:WA Director, Richard Sowada, says this year’s conference showcases close to 100 dynamic experiences.
These talks, discussions and exhibitions include innovations and approaches that take each of the forms to new and ambitious territory for WA audiences and we can’t wait to see the impact.
XR:WA is unlike any other screen-based conference in Australia and this year will host the biggest collection of VR experiences that WA has ever seen.
Best of all, the conference is completely free, designed purely to engage attendees, promote discussion and create opportunities for professional networking.
Participants can expect talks and experiences that showcase local and internationally produced VR and AR works plus keynote speeches on the immersive and digital screen-based forms of art and entertainment, education and training, science and research, and business.
The program also includes an Academic Conference focused on enhancing critical discussion and debate amongst VR and AR colleagues.
A highlight is the hugely popular Games and Experience Emporium hosted in WA Museum Boola Bardip’s Hackett Hall which features over 90 VR and AR experiences and computer games as well as industry talks.
Other highlights include Path 99, an audio-visual experience of a continent’s shifting weather systems screened at Scitech on 16 September and the State Library of WA’s two VR commissions: A City in Flux, which focuses on Noongar Boodja’s changing architectural landscape over the past century and History at your fingertips which examines Perth’s abandoned El Caballo theme park.
Game Jam, hosted in association with the Perth Games Festival, offers live free-roam VR experiences and locally developed table-top games and computer games. Held in Hackett Hall visitors can meet the makers and explore career possibilities.
PICA will present new locally developed works by Perth-based artists created over a 4-day Hackathon event that features exciting visions of artists who explore ideas ranging from native flora of the Southwest and experiments with shadows to online adult content creators and the religious and spiritual power of talismans.
Screen Australia and Screenwest will also host a series of roundtables examining relevant local and national strategies in the games and immersive sector across art, entertainment and documentary outputs.
Designed to inspire a new generation of creatives and business, explore the world of possibilities in VR, AR, Immersive technology and gaming at XR:WA. A full program of events can be accessed here.
