António Baía Reis
Bio
António Baía Reis is a researcher, professor, and digital artist. His work is interdisciplinary, combining areas such as emergent media, communication and performing arts, with a strong focus on immersive media (VR, AR, MR), film, collaborative practices, practice-based research, creativity studies, innovation in education, and social impact.
About the talk: Somewhere over the theatreverse: a working in progress artistic manifesto on live performance in virtual reality
As the metaverse hype grows, so does the interest in creating and developing artistic activities in it. Even if one does not clearly know what the metaverse is or will become, it is quite clear that in recent years, and with a specific intensity since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, we are witnessing the rise of emergent formats and practices of live performance combined with XR technologies and platforms. From medium to large live acting performances in XR such as the ones produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Ferryman Collective, Double-Eye Studios or La Cuarta Pared VR, to seemingly spontaneous performative moments such as poetry slams on VR Chat or Rec Room, live performance is an essential part of a post-pandemic future where digital performance will play a key role in giving live to the metaverse. In this keynote presentation, XR researcher and performer António Baía Reis will provide an overview of the main concepts and ideas related to live performance in XR, as well as the main potentialities and challenges surrounding the future of performing arts in the metaverse experience economy.