From May 29 to June 2, 2018, Montreal’s Society for Arts and Technology (SAT) presents iX, an annual symposium on immersive experience. The theme of the 2018 edition is The Conquest of Reality.
Artists, researchers, developers, producers and digital enthusiasts from around the world are invited to share their knowledge on the subject for four days at the SAT. Focused on exchange and learning, the iX Symposium program consists of lectures, workshops, demonstrations, dome shows (in the Satosphere) and hybrid works that can be discovered in the Parcours iX.
The reality that we are living in is changing: soon, 360°computer screens, augmented reality in cities, and virtual reality glasses in hospitals will be part of everyday life. On the industry side, we are witnessing a real race between the platforms that develop and propose alternative realities. Add to that advances in sensory enhancement, artificial intelligence, immersive computing, and cloud computing, all radically transforming the world we have always known.
“Reality” in every sense of the word is gaining depth and complexity, expanding the spatio-temporal horizon, disrupting our world views and habits. The boundary between reality and virtuality is increasingly blurred; the possible habitable worlds are multiplying; and our perceptions are expanding. In the face of this multi-faceted new reality, we want to understand, experience, and know how it will change our habits, but we also want to play a part in its creation.
Axel Hélie-Fontaine presents “Drichtel”, an immersive sound performance, accompanied by spatial audio-reactive visuals. It is inspired by underwater life, feelings of oppression and anxiety in the face of a gigantic world that we discover little by little… The work is built using the movements of the performer who places sound and visual objects in the dome. In addition to the lectures, workshops and shows planned in the program, the iX Symposium 2018 presents the Parcours iX, a circuit of 39 experiences at the SAT and in its surroundings that will allow you to live your own immersive experience (iX). Virtual reality, augmented reality and hybrid installations, the experiences offered were created by artists from all over the world coming to present their works specifically for this event.
The iX program is open and participatory, with an emphasis on workshops, demonstrations, lightning talks and premieres of groundbreaking artworks in the Satosphere (SAT’s state of the art large dome), the XR Sensorium and the neighbouring public spaces. These are all exemplary of the best practices in the immersive experiences creation and distribution ecosystem. iX 2018 participants will be invited to learn and teach one another, and to collectively forge the agenda for the medium of our time and spin its development.
More information about the program here
1/ Vergil Sharkya and Push 1 stop, « Nascent » (Performance) © SAT
2/ Max Cooper & Maotik, « Hyperform » (Performance) © SAT
3/ Tamiko Thiel, Gardens of the Anthropocene © Tamiko Thiel
4/ Axel Hélie-Fontaine, « Drichtel » © Axel Hélie-Fontaine
