Technology is rapidly changing the way we live and work, and New Zealand's creative industries are filled with innovative thinkers and tinkerers who are searching for ways to solve some of the world's biggest challenges using artificial intelligence, blockchain, augmented and virtual reality and the internet of things as creative tools. Join us in Wellington on 24 May and meet the innovators who are inventing a better future.
Hosted by comedian and actor Josh Thomson, Creative Realities is so much more than just a conference — featuring interactive displays, performances, workshops, thought-provoking panels and keynote presentations from industry-leading companies including Weta Digital, Soul Machines, IBM and so many more. See below for the full schedule.
What would it look like if the New Zealand classical performing arts sector was infused with science and technology in the same way that our agriculture sector, our film industry and our high performance sports sector already are?
Experience a glimpse of this potential in our opening performance, an ArtsTech collaboration between the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Digl, coordinated by futurist and ArtsTech project founder, Stephanie Pride
Watch and listen as the sounds and movements of live classical performers are transformed, in real time, into a work of visual art unique to the moment you are experiencing.
Duo Concertante (composer Daniel Schnyder)
Matthew Allison, Tenor Trombone
Shannon Pittaway, Bass Trombone
Digl, Live Digital Painting
Digl/Joe Dixon
Digl is a digital artist based in Wellington.
Matthew is the Associate Principal Trombone of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Shannon is the Principal Bass Trombone of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as well as a trombonist.
Stephanie is a professional futurist who initiated the ArtsTech project last year to make it easier for classical performance artists, scientists and tech innovators to connect and work together.
Playologist, inventor and trained psychologist Denise Chapman Weston describes herself as a “7-year-old in a lady suit”. Over the course of an impressive career, she has developed innovative entertainment attractions, gaming experiences, toys and waterplay concepts for children and families around the world. She’s also an avid inventor, holding over 120 patents, and has expertise in Actual Reality (AR) as director of imagination and founder of Apptivations. In 2018, she’s working directly with Weta Workshop to develop a partnership that has the potential to contribute millions to the New Zealand economy.
In this keynote session she will explore some of the common misconceptions about being creative in an age where the word is used as both noun and adjective, and she'll offer an insight into her newest creative projects.
Cathy Stinear's work as a clinical neuroscientist includes being part of the Creative Thinking Project, which focuses on the neurobiology of creativity. Where in the brain does the a-ha moment happen? Are the brains of highly creative people different from other people’s? Can you learn to be more creative? Can artificial intelligence be creative? These are some of the big questions that will be tackled in this talk.
Creative practitioners from five key sectors will showcase their ground-breaking solutions to global problems.Hear from prominent New Zealand specialists in the areas of TV, film, VR and Games in a fast-paced series of engaging presentations. Representatives from each company will then discuss how the technology they utilise - from big data to VR software - can be applied to solve human challenges.
Panelists include Dan Lemmon, Weta Digital, Wared Seger, Parrot Analytics (NZ), Mario Wynands, Pikpok (NZ), Jessica Manins, Mixt (NZ) and Adele Gautier, The Breast Cancer Foundation NZ (NZ).
What does it look like when we creatively combine technology, and collaborate with the wider business world? Get inspired with these quick-fire talks, followed by a lively panel discussion where we will meet the cross-sector creatives who are using technology such as blockchain, wearable tech and AR in alternative spaces, including culture, government, healthcare, fashion and more.
Panelists include: Benjamin Dunn, Swibo (NZ); Jesse Armstrong, Vaka Interactive (NZ); G. Thomas Esmay, Singular DTV (USA); Liz McPherson, Stats Government (NZ) and Sarah Jennings, Stretchsense (NZ).
Explore our expo area to experience the latest uses of AI, Blockchain, VR/AR, storytelling and games.
Thanks to a partnership with Microsoft, Massey University, Mixt & Designworks you’ll get to be the first to experience Design Stacks Up – an educational VR data visualisation experience.
The start-up showcase will begin with a short introduction from investors within the creative sector, and then it's over to the following companies who will share their stories! Each start-up will be given six minutes to present, followed by a question and answer session with the investors and audience.
Abhishek Kala - Titan Ideas ltd
Ben Markby - Oddboy
Ana Lyubich - Excio
Option 1: Sparking creativity with AI
Artificial Intelligence can augment your intelligence and your creativity. Learn how IBM Watson has infused the creative process of creators, designers, chefs, movie makers, DJs and artists. We’ll demystify the science behind AI, showing how IBM Watson can complement your own creative endeavours, and how Design Thinking can be used to create AI infused experiences. The day will be hosted by IBM NZ Analytics & Artificial Intelligence Leader Isuru Fernando and IBM NZ Cloud Innovation Expert Giovanni Vigorelli.
Option 2: How to use the art of storytelling to connect with your global customers
Learn how being of New Zealand (as opposed to ‘from New Zealand’) can play a powerful role in building and creating meaningful relationships with your customers and distributors. This hands-on workshop, presented by NZ Story, will help you engage with your customers through storytelling and by infusing the values and characteristics that make us the ingenious Kiwis we are.
You’ll leave with the tools and confidence to shape how your company is perceived by the public.
Option 3: The straight line redefined
In today’s fast-evolving digital world, the role of education is under ever-increasing scrutiny as employers and students look for new subject specialisations, new ways to learn and contextualise concepts and far greater flexibility around delivery and access. The demand for fixed knowledge, traditional experience and retained information has been replaced with a demand for a diverse workforce who can seek solutions, find answers, apply new knowledge and experiment. The future of work is recognised as a much more fluid environment where ‘gig’ workers, contractors, remote workers and fully digital and automatous employees co-exist together, and where productivity is measured by contribution rather than by the number of hours worked.
Welcome to the new world of learning and development.
Dylan Mulder makes garments to enter WOW®, drawing on international technological innovations. Prepare to have your mind blown in this short presentation, as this talented, driven and forward thinking designer demonstrates how the latest digital technologies can be applied to fashion in unique ways.
How much truth is there to the commonly held belief that creative industries need external support to survive and thrive? Do we have what it takes to build and scale? Hear from Angela Littlejohn from Pukeko Pictures talk about their commercial journey, including their entry into Chinese markets, followed by a robust panel discussion moderated by Creative NZ Chair Michael Moynahan on the opportunities and challenges for NZ companies commercialising IP.
Panellists include: Angela Littlejohn, Pukeko Pictures (NZ); Christine Losecaat MBE (UK – Strategic Advisor Creative Industries); Stephen Knightly, InGame (NZ); Samantha Witters, (SW & Partners) (NZ/USA) and more to be announced.
Blockchain has rapidly become a hot buzzword, but what is it? Blockchain entertainment studio SingularDTV and kiwi blockchain venture studio Centrality present a look at blockchain technology beyond all the hype and cryptocurrency mania, instead examining how the technology is already being used to empower artists globally.
Meet the unique company that's creating digital humans that not only react to what you say, but to how you feel when you say it.
In an era of AI, robots and machines, the team at Soul Machines are focused on making those machines more human-like because they believe emotions will drive digital disruption in the future.
The potential of this technology, which spun out from research at the University of Auckland, is virtually limitless - imagine a world where everyone has a digital financial advisor, a personal trainer, a teacher, a coach, a companion…
Increasing the sum of human delight has to be good for the world.
In this second ArtsTech collaboration between the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Digl, coordinated by futurist Stephanie Pride, we see how technology can augment live classical performance.
Using the same technology that opened the conference, Digl interacts with a different piece of music and different musicians to generate a completely different artwork to close the day.
Sit back and experience what it feels like when the creative and tech sectors come together to create live ArtsTech experiments, where the technology extends the bounds of a classical art form, whilst keeping faith with its essence.
‘Finale’ from Haydn’s "Sunrise" string quartet opus 76. No. 4.
Alan Molina, First Violin
Malavika Gopal, Second Violin
Victoria Jaenecke, Viola
Robert Ibell, Cello.
Digl, Live Digital Painting
Alan is a 2nd violinist in the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Malavika is a 1st violinist in the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Victoria is a violist in the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Robert is a cellist in the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Digl is a digital artist based in Wellington
Stephanie is a professional futurist who initiated the ArtsTech project last year to make it easier for classical performance artists, scientists and tech innovators to connect and work together.