The beginning of this decade has brought XR (Extended Reality) to the attention of cultural institutions and artistic endeavours, due to the limited accessibility and little-to-no physical visitors, as a result of a global pandemic. In order to address this issue, museums, cultural institutions and galleries have shifted towards virtual exhibits, while others have incorporated AR and VR (Augmented and Virtual Reality) into their displays, presenting immersive, interactive, and multisensory experiences to their audiences, not possible in traditional exhibitions. What’s more, artistic groups have started using XR as a medium to explore new ways of storytelling. XR technology is gradually transforming the landscape of arts and culture by enabling greater accessibility and new forms of interactions with cultural content.
The capacity of individuals, groups and organizations that are active in the European cultural space to integrate those advancements in XR technology and include them in their audience, is becoming increasingly important to their sustainability and the range of cultural offers, even post-pandemic. However, while the areas of XR applications in the cultural sector can be extremely diverse, actors in the scene often struggle to find partners, collaborators and funding in order to introduce those advancements to their own audiences. The emerging European XR sector remains somewhat fragmented and difficult to navigate, even for large institutions and organizations, while designers and developers of XR software, and the employers of their application in cultural and artistic practices, hardly know each other in the absence of specialized networks within Europe.
The Metalogues program offers a virtual and physical platform for actors in the cultural and technological scenes of Europe, in order to facilitate and advance cross-sectoral dialogue and international cooperation, specifically in terms of adopting new approaches in cultural storytelling or the arts by means of AR and VR technologies. The platform brings forward the exciting potentials created by cultural-XR collaborations and empowers their realization through a series of events, which bring together XR professionals, cultural institutions and artists from all-over Europe. In its 2022 edition, Metalogues unfolds in three parts which take place online and physically, throughout the year.
Metalogues Workshops
Metalogues 2022 invites individuals, organizations and entities from the European cultural space that have an active interest or are involved in XR projects in their field, into a 3-days workshop with XR consultants, educators and professionals, which will take place online between 4-6 July, 2022. Based on their interest (AR or VR technologies), successful applicants will be supported to build on their idea of a cultural XR application in their field, and present it during an all-day virtual event.
Metalogues Virtual Event
The virtual event will take place online on Friday, July 8, at a dedicated digital platform. It will feature talks and roundtable discussions on the available XR technologies, examples from the gaming/entertainment industry, new media and artistic collaborations, while providing the necessary resources for speed networking meetings and group talks. The event will conclude with the presentation of the featured workshop concepts. The workshop participants will be encouraged to showcase their idea, which will help match them with an appropriate XR professional or company, in order to collaborate and produce a working proof-of-concept. The resulting teams will be provided with the necessary information and requirements, including administrative assistance and mentoring, to develop their projects.
Beyond International Expo
Beyond takes place physically from Sep.29 until Oct.1, 2022, at the Thessaloniki International Exhibition and Congress Centre. The Expo, a focal point for developing companies active in new technologies, will host a dedicated pavilion for Metalogues 2022, where the produced proof-of-concept projects will be presented, parallel to a rich program of events and workshops on AR and VR applications in cultural practices during the 3-day exhibit.
The Open Call is closed! We’re looking forward to our 3 day online workshop with the participants! Please visit www.metalogues.eu to apply for participation at Metalogues 2022. The language of the programme is English.
Metalogues is an initiative of the
Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki conducted in cooperation with
Malvi creative agency, supported by the
Academy of International Extended Reality and
TIF-Helexpo, and funded by the
German Federal Foreign Office.
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