It’s back! Join us on February 25th and 26th at the New Museum Theater in New York City for our second annual Versions conference, co-presented by us at Kill Screen and NEW INC. At Versions 2016, media theorist Janet Murray said it best: “You can predict the direction of change, but you can’t predict its rate.” Since then, virtual reality headsets have been released in droves, bustling games and art installations have started to bend expectations. For Versions 2017, as the hype has settled, we’re shifting our focus to beyond what virtual reality might be, to what it is and its future from here.
Versions 2017 is, fittingly, Facing Reality. We’re figuring out everything that’s working (and isn’t working) in the grand space of virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and everything in between. We’re posing questions about the opportunities these nascent technologies present: What experiences will these technologies offer? What new visual and sensorial languages will emerge? How will they affect our notion of what is real? How will we wield these new capabilities, and to what ends?
Our line-up this year includes some of the most promising voices from technology and beyond. Headlining, for our keynote address, is science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger Cory Doctorow. In addition to being co-editor of Boing Boing, he is the author of the nonfiction business book Information Doesn’t Want To Be Free; the young adult graphic novel In Real Life; young adult novels including Homeland, Pirate Cinema and Little Brother; and novels for adults like Rapture of the Nerds and Makers. Other speakers for Versions 2017’s many panels include VR pioneer Brenda Laurel, independent game developer Robert Yang, cyber illusionist Marco Tempest, influential VR director Jenn Duong, in addition to many more.
Interested in attending? You can apply for a potential invitation to Versions 2017 here and read more about what’s in store for the conference here.
All photos by Kill Screen, from Versions 2016.
