XR:WA

Explore the immersive world of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and gaming at the annual XR:WA free Conference and Expo 17 – 19 September.

Spread across three days and taking place at multiple locations in the Perth Cultural Centre, this major conference and public exhibition showcases the ideas, works, technology and constantly evolving environment of the VR, AR and digital screen industry.

Delve into the immersive and digital screen-based forms of art, entertainment, education and training, science and research, and business. Listen to industry talks and panels with locals, national and international guests and explore the trade exhibitions and workshops with keynote speakers.

The enormously popular Games and Experience emporium gives you the opportunity to play with a range of VR and AR technology and join in on live untethered VR team gameplay. They also have a 360’ cinema showcasing a range of local and international cinematic works.

Other highlights include –

• Code-A-Story Workshop; a family friendly workshop where you’ll learn to program a robot to map out a story. Suitable for children aged 5-9, bookings are free but online registration is essential. Workshop #1 Sat 18 Aug 10am-11.30am, Workshop #2 Sat 18 Aug 12.30pm – 2.00pm.
• Reflections of Iwanoff; created as part of the WA Reflections partnership with Screenwest, this innovative new work brings the original plans of a mid-20^th century brutalist design of renowned West Australian architecture icon, Iwan Iwanoff, to life via 3D rendering and a bespoke tour of the home by Restoration Australia host Stuart Harrison.
• Social innovation: Closing the Divide; a panel discussion exploring the impact of limited access to digital technologies in a digital age.
• Deepfake; a panel discussion exploring speech-to-speech voice cloning in screen culture.
• Game Narratives to Cinema Stories; a panel discussion exploring the journey of computer game stories to film with Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid.

If you want more, head to the The WA Museum Boola Bardip where they will be hosting Game Jam at Hackett Hall in association with the Perth Games Festival.  Join in the thrilling live free-roam VR experiences, locally developed table-top and computer games and all manner of surprises. Meet the makers, explore the career possibilities and see what’s going on locally. Game Jam runs Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 August from 10.15am – 5pm and is free to the public and exhibitors.