XR Sunday Social at A+E Lab
Sunday 23 March, 2025
3:00 to 7:30 pm GMT
A+E Lab
Unit 1, building 64, Main Gate Road, The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, ME4 4TZ, United Kingdom (map)
Connect, Explore and Experience the Future in a Chilled Atmosphere
Panels / Lectures / Installations / Networking
Time: 3:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Experience the future of XR (Extended Reality) at XR Sunday Social!
This engaging event brings together artists, innovators, and enthusiasts for an afternoon of connection, exploration, and inspiration. Discover captivating installations by A+E Lab Artists in Residency (AIR 2025) artists David Adeyemi and Camille Dunlop, and engage in a thought-provoking talk on XR inclusivity by XR Diversity Initiative (XRDI) Co-Founder and Innovate UK Immersive Tech Network lead, Asha Easton. Hear from David Rittershaus on Choreographic Coding Lab (CCL), explore the world of AI with Daniel Bisig, and immerse yourself in the dynamic lecture performance by Marlon Barrios Solano. Networking opportunities throughout the event provide a chance to connect with the vibrant XR community.
Respect for all attendees is paramount at this event. We aim to create a safe and inclusive space for everyone. Everyone, including families are welcome to attend.
The event is free but booking is required.
As we are at gated site, we will arrange a meeting point and these times are at 2:45pm, 3:45pm, 4:45pm, 5:45pm.
There will be refreshments but you are welcome to bring your own food and drink.
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Program:
+ ART + TECH Artist in Residence 2025 (AIR 2025) Exhibition: Dunlop & Adeyemi +
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Anatomy of Embodied Ecologies by Camille Dunlop
"Anatomy of Embodied Ecologies," a speculative live digital landscape of Medway within Unreal Engine. Responding to the Thames Estuary's intertidal mudflats, the work explores how human presence and movement shape reimagined ecosystems. Drawing from speculative design and rich history of Medway, it envisions ecology as an interconnected system in flux, questioning our role and influence on both real and virtual environments.
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm 2 Darn A Severed Spirit by David Adeymi
This installation delves into the tension between spirituality, imagination, and the compromise of authenticity in the face of societal expectations. It reflects on the erosion of ancestral wisdom and the ongoing suppression of non-binary identities, which were once revered in West African cultures. By blending the traditional art of batik with cutting-edge digital practices, this work seeks to forge a connection between the past and the future, offering a contemporary alternative for children of the diaspora.
+ Artist Talks, Speakers & CCL25 Launch +
4:00 pm - 4:30 pm Talk XR Diversity Initiative (XRDI) - Asha Easton, Co-Founder and Innovate UK Immersive Tech Network lead
Asha will talk about the importance and how we can make the XR community more inclusive and diverse.
4:30 pm - 4:45 pm Artist Talk - David Adeyemi
David Adeyemi (AIR 2025) discusses their installation "2 Darn A Severed Spirit," exploring spirituality, imagination, and identity through batik and digital art, reflecting on West African ancestral wisdom.
4:45 pm - 5:00 pm Artist Talk - Camille Dunlop
Camille Dunlop (AIR 2025) discusses "Anatomy of Embodied Ecologies," a live digital landscape in Unreal Engine exploring human interaction with reimagined ecosystems inspired by the Thames Estuary and Medway history.
+ Choreographic Coding Lab 2025 (CCL25) Opening +
5:10 pm - 5:15 pm Welcome and introduction of CCL participants and CCL Leaders
Aoi and Esteban, the hosts of the Choreographic Coding Lab 2025, will officially welcome participants and introduce the CCL25 leaders, marking the opening of CCL25.
5:15 pm - 5:30 pm Introduction of CCL by David Rittershaus
David Rittershaus will introduce the Choreographic Coding Lab (CCL) 2025, outlining its origin and purpose, the week's activities, and what to expect at Friday 28th of March sharing event.
5:30 pm - 5:45 pm Introduction to Artificial Intelligence by Daniel Bisig
CCL 2025 leader Daniel Bisig will provide an introduction to the world of Artificial Intelligence, exploring its connections to various creative fields, from audiovisual interaction and computer music to dance, digital arts, and immersive experiences.
+ Lecture Performance - Dive into the exciting intersection of XR and AI! +
5:45 pm - 6:30 pm Duets in Latent Space Lecture Performance by Marlon Barrios Solano
“Duets in Latent Spaces” is conceived as a lecture performance interacting with web apps programmed by the artist and powered by AI and Machine Learning, attempting to make tangible the remembered, the affective and the speculative. It combines a series of vignettes, storytelling, interfaces, software, movement scores and re-performances, weaving trajectories of cybernetics, art, lost ancestors, time travel, queer longing, recursion, and migrations with algorithmic playfulness.
+ Expand your XR network at XR Sunday Social! +
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm XR Networking
This is your opportunity to connect with artists, developers, researchers, and enthusiasts in a relaxed and engaging environment. Meet with fellow attendees, discover new collaborators, and expand your professional network, plenty of chances to make valuable connections.
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Artists and speakers' biography
Camille Dunlop (UK)
Camille Dunlop is a digital, spatial and speculative designer based in London, with a background in architecture. Her work transverses time-based and digital media, engaging with feminist, ecological and architectural perspectives. Camille has worked across a variety of projects with the speculative design studio Superflux, crafting immersive and experiential futures in both client and research projects. In parallel to practice, she is a Design Tutor for Cinematic and Videogame Architecture MArch at Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL), and an Associate Lecturer at Central St Martins (UAL).
https://www.camilledunlop.com/
David Adeyemi (UK)
David is a production artist and creative technologist based in Sittingbourne, specialising in video art and animated installation projects. With a strong background in VFX and production pipelines, David’s work combines technical skill with creative exploration. Their art delves into the absurdities of capitalism, unpacking these themes through fantastical, dreamlike imagery that captivates and challenges the viewer. In their recent project 'Midas' ATM Dreams', David reimagines the Greek myth of King Midas, utilising green screen production techniques to transpose the ancient story into the contemporary setting of a council estate.
Alongside their creative work, David has led workshops at the Royal Academy and hosted group tours of exhibitions at the Autograph Gallery, sharing their expertise and engaging with a range of audiences. Currently, David is pursuing studies in Virtual Production for Real-time Filmmaking at the National Film and Television School (NFTS), while also working freelance as an events technician. Assisting with the batik and choreography elements of this project is creative collaborator Jay Ee, a dancer, visual artist, and educator specializing in batik art and movement-based practices.
https://d4vidprodz.cargo.site/
Asha Easton (UK)
Asha Easton is currently leading the Innovate UK Immersive Tech Network, the UK government's cross-sector network for XR / immersive / spatial computing / Metaverse tech innovators. She has spent the past 6 years working to scale the sector in the UK. She works at the intersection of industry, academia, and government to make the UK's XR ecosystem less fragmented. Her work spans across all sectors that use XR technology, including but not limited to; creative industries, health, manufacturing, AEC, transport, etc.
Asha is also the co-founder of the XR Diversity Initiative, an organization which has been working to up-skill people from underrepresented backgrounds with XR skills since 2016 and is currently advising on ED&I strategy for the Arts Council & AHRC funded 'Immersive Artists' program. Asha is also an advisor to a wide range of startups, organisations, and funders. She has been actively involved in Open Metaverse startups since 2019, and she sits on the board of the first Metaverse fund for Europe, FOV Ventures.
She is regularly called upon to contribute as an industry expert for policy initiatives both nationally and internationally including the UK parliament's APPG on Metaverse & Web3, and the OECD Global Forum on Technology. She is invited to speak regularly at events around the world including London Tech Week, CogX, LEAP, SXSW, AWE, Cannes Film Festival, Laval Virtual, etc.
2024 TechWomen100 Winner
2024 Women in Tech Excellence ‘Emerging Tech Champion of the Year’ Winner
2024 Women in Tech Europe ‘Best Ally Award’ Finalist
2024 Tech Impact Awards ‘Promoting Digital Skills - Not for Profit’ Finalist
2024 Tech Impact Awards ‘Best Tech Inclusion Initiative’ Finalist
2022 TechWomen100 Shortlist
https://www.xrdi.org/
David Rittershaus (Germany)
David Rittershaus, based in Frankfurt (Main), is a dance and theater scholar with Motion Bank at Hochschule Mainz, a project originally initiated by the choreographer William Forsythe. In cooperation with a range of partners, Motion Bank is developing low-threshold, standard-compliant open source and free systems designed for use in a variety of contexts, including dance education, creation, research and archiving. Experimental software development and user interface design are tightly coupled with methodological research in the domain of dance practice and theoretical reflections from the field of dance studies. Further David Rittershaus is working as a media artist in the field of performance, sound and technology.
https://motionbank.org/
Daniel Bisig (Switzerland)
Daniel holds a PhD degree in Natural Sciences. He has worked at the Institute for Biochemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of the University. He is currently employed as an assistant professor at the Center for Dance Research at Coventry University and as a research associate at the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology of the Zurich University of the Arts. He is active as a researcher and artist in the fields of artificial intelligence and generative art. He has created several works for choreographers like Jiri Kilian and Pablo Ventura.
https://www.citerne.live/people/daniel-bisig
Marlon Barrios Solano (USA, Venezuela)
Marlon Barrios Solano is a Venezuelan-American interdisciplinary artist, creative technologist, and researcher with a background in dance, software engineering, and cognitive science. His work integrates generative AI, machine learning, creative coding, and performance. Currently, he serves as the Maker-in-Residence at the Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship (CAME) at the University of Florida in Gainesville, focusing on AI, arts, and diasporas. He is also an artist-in-residence with the Rewilding Cultures program at Radiona in Zagreb, Croatia, and at Lake Studios Berlin, Germany, where he is a founding member. His recent works are deployed as dynamic browser-based AI art, performance interfaces, improvisational scores, sound environments, AI chatbots, and videos, organized as installations, workshops, participatory performances, and lectures. All his work and code are published and distributed under open-source licenses.
In 2008, Marlon created dance-tech.net, the first social network of international practitioners dedicated to the interdisciplinary exploration of dance and digital technologies. Through this platform, he produced and published more than 200 video interviews, becoming one of the first international video bloggers at the intersection of dance, arts, and digital technology. He has also published several essays and developed pioneering XR projects for knowledge transmission within dance and art festivals.
Marlon holds an MFA in Dance and Technology from The Ohio State University (2004) and completed the General Assembly Software Engineering Immersive Program in 2021. He is also certified in Vipassana/Mindfulness Meditation by Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Embodyoga, and has completed the first year of the Somatic Experiencing Certification Program.
https://marlonbarrios.github.io/
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If you need any other questions, feel free to contact us an email at A+E Lab team aecreativeworkshops@gmail.com
This event is supported by Motion Bank @Hochschule Mainz University of Applied Sciences, Arts Council England, Medway Council through UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries (iCCi) - University of Kent, University of Florida, Visual Elements and the Centre for Dance Research and Coventry University.