Details:

Even during travel restrictions, augmented and virtual reality allow us to experience arts & culture from far away places. While it will never be a replacement for seeing the Mona Lisa or the Great Wall of China in person, VR and AR can bring these masterpieces right into your home.

Programs like “Let's Create! Pottery VR,” “Tilt Brush,” and “Kingspray Graffiti Simulator” allow our imaginations to run wild and try new art forms without the mess. Augmented reality can make works of art come alive, jump out of their frames and tell their story. Even programs as “simple” as Google Earth VR can shrink the world and allow people to walk a distant street, admire the local architecture and even observe the remote fashion trends.

Immersive technologies make the world seem both approachably smaller and larger than life with the wealth of possibilities to explore. Join us as we explore how arts and culture are being made more accessible through augmented and virtual reality.

What's The Format:

We will be using VirBELA as Avatars to host the program. We suggest that you download, set-up, get familiar with the VirBELA program and environment prior to the Meetup, as we will be unable to provide support during the event. The event will also streamed on Facebook.com/VRARChicago.

The virtual environment resembles a physical space, so you will be able to talk with other attendees during open networking both before and after the presentations. The sound is spatialized, so if at any point it feels too loud, feel free to move your conversation to another part of the room where there are less people.

We begin with informal networking and then start the stage portion promptly at 6:15pm CDT. There will be a handful of presentations before we move on to answer audience questions and then finish with more networking. We keep it simple and informal - this MeetUp is about you, our members, and not the host or presenters. Come and get your questions answered, take your next step into immersive technology.

6:00-6:15pm - Networking & Preparation

6:15-6:30pm - Introductions & Welcome

6:30-7:30pm - Panel Discussion and Q&A

7:30-8:00pm - Networking

Host:

Matthew Wren - BUNDLAR

Confirmed Panel:

Rosie Summers - VR Rosie

George Berlin - George Berlin Studios

Alex Coulombe - Agile Lens: Immersive Design

Erika R. Knierim - Chicago Symphony Orchestra Overture Council

About Our Panelists' Companies:

VR Rosie

Rosie is a 3D animator and Virtual Reality Artist, working at XR Games which recently released the title; Angry Birds Movie 2 VR: Under Pressure. Rosie often does public speaking, VR hosting and masterclasses at prestigious events and festivals, and continuously wows audiences with live VR art performances for numerous high profile clients such as BBC Studios and Youtube.

George Berlin Studios

George Berlin Studios augments reality by painting reality itself with projected light and energy. At Seattle’s 2018 Borealis Festival of Light, George’s projection epic “Let’s Dance” was voted Audience Favorite Award winner by the 120,000 guests who experienced performances over the four-day event. This victory led him to be selected for the prestigious iMapp Bucharest International Video Mapping Winner’s League where his projection epic “Moonbeams” thrilled 80,000 guests on the façade of the Palace of Parliament in Romania. His work can be seen all around the world- from over a million guests at BLINK Cincinnati Light Festival 2019 to a showcase entry coming to Vivid Sydney in 2021.

Agile Lens: Immersive Design

Agile Lens is a NYC-based XR studio crafting immersive experiences for the built environment and the spectacles within them. Clients have included architects around the world as well as Intel, Samsung, Unity3D, and Epic Games. Projects have included The Perelman Center, The Shed, David Geffen Hall, The Statue of Liberty Museum, Brockman Hall for Opera, and the dome of the Ed Sullivan Theatre for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra Overture Council

In its eleventh season, the Overture Council is a dynamic group of Chicago area young professionals aged 21–45 who have a love of music and a desire to learn more about how to support the CSO. With over 150 members and growing, the Overture Council has quickly carved its place amongst young professional groups in Chicago. Overture Council members receive exclusive access to member social events with CSO musicians and other special opportunities. Connect with new friends who share the same interests, by becoming a part of the CSO family.

For more details about our presenters or their companies, please visit the event page on VRAR Chicago's Website.

Thank you to 1871, BUNDLAR, VirBELA, and FinTank for providing venue, management, marketing & logistics support and to our partners 2112, VR Motion Learning, XR Women, & International Game Developers Association (IGDA) to the VRAR Chicago event series.