Hundreds of artists, producers and technologists from across the UK will gather in Llandudno this September as a national event exploring the future of immersive arts heads to North Wales for the first time.
With over 60 sessions hosted in venues across the town, The Big Thing (9–11 September) features talks, hands-on workshops, live performances, opportunities for collaboration, and social events.
The inaugural event took place in Bradford last year and it’s part of a nationwide programme led by UWE Bristol called Immersive Arts which supports UK-based artists to engage with immersive technologies.
With a focus on the arts and artists, as well as the tech, The Big Thing is open to those newly curious about immersive arts to practitioners who are already well established in the field.
This year’s event is themed 'Play's the Thing' and will explore how artists use play, interaction and participation to create meaningful experiences for audiences – allowing them to become active participants and co-creators through gaming, virtual worlds, live performance and emerging technologies.
Keynote speakers include artist and game designer Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, whose interactive talk will explore participation as a creative tool, and games expert and YouTuber Quinns, who will examine how immersive artists can learn from the worlds of video games, tabletop gaming and live action roleplay (LARPs).
Several artists funded by Immersive Arts will be sharing works in progress, inviting attendees to test out their latest work and to offer their feedback and support. Among the projects is Pixel Puppets by Ben Carlin; a live, comic, digitally interactive theatre show for grown-ups where performers puppeteer custom-made cartoon characters desperate to escape modern life.
Image: Keyhan Modaressi