© 2024 IMMERSIVE X
The Africa VR Campus and Center is a grassroots tech organization dedicated to empowering the underprivileged and nurturing talent in remote areas, fostering Metaverse growth across Africa. The organization introduces learners of all ages to emerging technologies, providing VR/XR/AR devices to promote diverse African Metaverse participation. The initiative includes weekly events from an African perspective and a development project aimed at creating an open-source VR OS and apps, ensuring free access for Africans to express themselves.
In this session, Paul shares his story and offers insights into Africa’s role in the future of immersive tech and beyond. You will also have the opportunity to meet some of his students and talk about the learner’s perspective.
Panel and Presentation
REMIO | AREA X
Paul Simon Waiyaki
CEO and Founder at Africa VR Campus and Center
Paul Simon Waiyaki’s journey began with VOFCIN in 2012, addressing challenges for African children. In 2014, he entered real estate to boost African growth. In 2016 he became the first African in VR and pioneered the technology by founding the The Africa VR Campus and Center. In 2019, he hosted mainstream MetaVerse event hosted live from Africa. In 2022, he launched VR & Space programs customized for the African Learner.
This is the story of a team of passionate artists and developers who decided to bring a whole new value to the Metaverse, where visual art and science converge to create a transcendental experience.
The audience will be exposed to stunning artworks created by VR artist ShuShu VR and 3D artist Niko Lang, two of the most talented creators currently developing concepts in social VR platforms.
The Overview Effect Experience is an immersive cinematic simulation of the phenomenon defined by space philosopher Professor Frank White in his work “The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution“.
Here we take the position of humankind as we try to understand the precious value of our planet and how we can help Earth and ourselves survive in a better way.
The project was awarded the Honorable Mentions at the Awareness Film Festival in Los Angeles.
We are delighted to welcome our honorable guests to the Virtual Reality event: Professor Frank White, Tom Nickel and Jeremy Nickel.
Credits:
Design concept: VRium Creative Team
Producer: Nanea Reeves and TRIPP
Sound Design: David Starfire
Narrator: Space philosopher Frank White
Creative Director: Jeremy Nickel
VR Stream Filmmaker: Carlos Austin
Nymphs is an epic theatrical artwork performed by monumental art dolls. A holodramatic theater of love and death, submerged in an amorous yet lethal underwater dream.
The project was awarded Best Virtual Reality Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival and the Discovery Award at the Raindance Immersive Festival.
Experience
VRChat | Theatrum Anatomicum
ShuShuVR
VR Theatre Artist
ShuShu’s greatest passion is art and the emotional experience it brings to our life. Throughout his career, he has gained professional experience in various fields of the arts. He decided to “immerse” himself in the Metaverse, where all the disciplines he has mastered come together in harmony. His vision is to create a new Akropolis of the Arts in the Metaverse. He has founded a team of artists – the VRium Creative Team. So far, his team has created VR experiences that have won awards at several film festivals.
Niko Lang
IT-Consultant and 3D-Artist
Niko Lang is an IT consultant, 3D artist and a long-time wanderer between different realities. The worlds he creates shape our understanding of the sphere that may one day make the metaverse a reality.
Juliana Loh and Mada de Leeuw cordially invite you to embark on a journey of awe and wonder into the jaws of a dragon within their award-winning VR project, Dragon Magic: Freedom Giants. Meticulously hand-painted and optimized on the EngageXR platform, each facet of the world offers a truly distinctive perspective on VR design possibilities. Like layers of an onion, the story unfolds, celebrating diverse cultures and inspiring you to dream bigger.
Featured on prestigious platforms such as Raindance Immersive, Fivars, and Viff Signals, including the 2023 Passive Immersive Prize at AUSTXR Festival, their creations aim to mesmerize and inspire. Join this session and immerse yourself in our visionary world.
Experience
Engage
Juliana Loh
Creative Technologist
Juliana is a creative technologist who is passionate about imagining meaningful and playful scenarios. Since 2020, she has been recognized for vision, excellence in creativity and design as a nominee in various global XR Film Festivals and XR Creator Lists. In 2023, she was honored to have been awarded the Passive Immersive Award granted by AUSTXR Festival for her team’s 2023 VR experience entitled: Dragon Magic, Freedom Giants. Her works have also been included in various performances including live painting at the The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, Science World Vancouver (Creative Technology Gallery) and public art exhibitions. She has been a member of the Siggraph jury since 2022 and is currently experimenting with AI as an agent of positive change as well as embarking on experiential projects such as Spark and Sound 2024 XR choreographed performance.
Mada de Leeuw
Production and Development
Innovative Digital Artist and VR World Creator harnessing the fusion of creativity and cutting-edge technology, Mada is a digital artist specializing in the creation of immersive 3D models for digital experiences and interactive virtual worlds. With over a decade of expertise acquired at Daz3D, she excels in producing top-tier 3D models, a skill that is very valuable in designing and optimizing captivating VR environments and interactive experiences. In addition to artistic talents, she possesses a wealth of experience in project management and art direction within the publishing industry, allowing her to effectively oversee and guide creative endeavors.
Mystery and magic call to you. Can you follow this song? Drop your mind into your body and become more aware of your dreams and desires.
The Metaverse offers entirely new modes of creative expression and interactivity and as we enter the age of digital relationships – PlayRoomSX is the new erotic playground – where we unlock our potential as multi-dimensional human beings living in a magnificently sensual body.
VenusSX is a VR somatic educator and coach providing pathways to freedom from social and cultural conditioning through educational events, workshops and parties in sensational virtual fantasy worlds.
In the first part of our event, we dive into the enchanted beauty and sensuality of Elysium, a Tantric Meditation Space.
Discover underwater secrets, gigantic glowing flowers in the moonlight, at the Lake of the Goddess, the Home of Peace.
Breathe, fly and play in this magical world of freedom.
During the second part of our event, you witness Elysium pulsating with love as we reveal the empowerment of somatic experiential learning in a facilitated environment.
Do not miss the mind-blowing surprise and our VR dance party experience!
World Design by VRium Creative Team
Custom Avatar by WingZeroCreations
Experience
VRChat | Elysium
VenusSX
Virtual Sensory Designer
Meet VenusSX, she who comes from the Empire of Love. Venus is excited to be discovering the potential of VR to gain somatic awareness and to improve communications in all our relationships.
She is the founder of PlayRoomSX, a digital community of real adults providing a safe space to meet and share with each other. A pleasure advocate and a sexuality therapist and coach, she is on a mission to unlock human potential with simple conversations and events that stimulate and invigorate us, so that we are enlightened about what connects us and pleasures us.
The future of live concerts, sport events, and conferences will be shaped by advancements in Web3, XR technology, 5G, and bold entrepreneurs who understand how to use them. At the same time, technologies such as spatial computing, AR glasses, volumetric and motion capture, holograms, AI, digital twins, VR, avatars, blockchain, and crypto will revolutionize entertainment. Artists can extend their live performances, venues and promoters can expand ticket sales and marketing opportunities, and attendees can experience concerts in revolutionary ways.
In a conversation with XR pioneer Celeste Lear, we will explore the immersive future of the entertainment industry, followed by a live DJ performance in the VR venue Club Violet, hosted by VenusSX.
Talk & Live-DJ-Set
VRChat | CLUB VIOLET
Celeste Lear
Immersive Tech Specialist in Entertainment & Concerts
Celeste Lear is a Los Angeles based professional with two decades of discipline in the digital entertainment, XR tech and audio/visual world. She has led and worked with world-renowned production teams to consistently deliver well planned and executed futuristic events, including high-tech multimedia installation experiences, video mapping, conferences, immersive festivals, red carpet events and concerts – both physically and in VR in the “metaverse”.
Founder of Boutique Electronique Music and partner with DreamlandXR & Metacities, her work also focuses on the most current technologies and trends in VR, AR, hologram, holoportation, AV, sound engineering, spatial audio, performance, music curation, music direction and live video/audio broadcasting for concerts and entertainment.
Also experienced in virtual filmmaking, Celeste has worked on various LED stage and MoCap projects as production manager and coordinator.
She has a particular passion for projects around environmental sustainability, human connection and the arts, and has worked on exciting projects for the UN, including serving as executive producer on the ActnowXR campaign for the SDGs.
Be guided on a relaxing sensory journey with VenusSX through Elysium, the only VR tantric meditation space. The mystery and the magick calls to you. Do you want to discover the hidden treasures in VR Heaven?
Dive into a world that transcends physical reality as we explore how the sacred tantric union illuminated in Elysium affords the positive grounded emotional mood.
Drop your mind into your body. This is a somatic experience, becoming aware of your breath and the subtle sensations inside your body.
Enter PlayRoomSX, the next digital erotic playground where we learn to engage in this Metaverse of freedom of self-expression
Addendum
I am able to provide specialized experiences in VRChat.
Experience
VRChat | Elysium
VenusSX
Virtual Sensory Designer
Meet VenusSX, she who comes from the Empire of Love. Venus is excited to be discovering the potential of VR to gain somatic awareness and to improve communications in all our relationships.
She is the founder of PlayRoomSX, a digital community of real adults providing a safe space to meet and share with each other. A pleasure advocate and a sexuality therapist and coach, she is on a mission to unlock human potential with simple conversations and events that stimulate and invigorate us, so that we are enlightened about what connects us and pleasures us.
Whether fine or coarse, whether from Nuremberg or Thuringia, bratwursts from Germany are a hit in their own right. But that’s nothing compared to the Bratwurst Parties, a legendary series of events organised by our dear friends Mel and Klaus. Pimp your avatar, dip it in delicious ketchup or mustard and become part of the Bratwurst crowd!
Experience
VRChat
Conversation
REMIO | AREA X
Thomas Riedel
Journalist & Podcaster at Spatial Realities
Thomas Riedel is a freelance tech journalist, podcast producer, father and moderator based in Cologne, Germany. He has worked for deutsche-startups.de, Digitale Leute and Mediencluster NRW as communications officer and event manager for Gamescom and DMEXCO. He currently produces and hosts Germany’s largest Metaverse and XR podcast “Spatial Realities”, the Apple Vision Pro podcast “Beyond Reality” and the largest XR meetup in North Rhine-Westphalia. In the podcast “FutureFuture” he discusses future stories with experts from all fields. As a speaker on the topics of Metaverse, startups and digitalization, Riedel appears regularly on podcasts, meetups, conferences and as a tech expert on live TV.
Anne Seubert
Managing Director at Brands & Places
Presentation
REMIO | AREA X
Lukas Haack
Sustainable Futurist
Experience
REMIO | AREA X
Experience
REMIO | Area X
Virtual reality experiences often aim to replicate physical spaces, striving to create a sense of realism that can, however, sometimes feel deceptive and unauthentic. Abstract designs, on the other hand, are easily identifiable as virtual and can therefore be appreciated for their inherent qualities. This workshop will introduce you to the art of envisioning VR native environments that transcend physical representation. After an introduction via Zoom, participants will be able to join a tour through VRChat worlds, that propose alternative design elements. After the tour, the workshop members will collaborate to define new design archetypes of virtual architecture.
Preferred: Meta Quest 2 or 3 Headset + VRChat App installed + VRChat Account
Alternative: VRChat via PC + VRChat Account
Workshop
Zoom + VRChat
Simon Husslein
Co-Founder & Creative Director at Beyond.Place
Presentation
REMIO | AREA X
Gerhard Schröder
Founder and CEO at K3
In the METAVERSE we can fly.
In beautiful sceneries, as if we were living in a dream.
It is not only our AVATAR who flies, but our MIND.
Our SOUL.
We are the souls of the Metaverse.
What is “real”?
Is the Metaverse nothing but a virtual fake, or is there something there that is deeper than anything else we have known so far?
I have dedicated my entire life to the art of THEATRE.
This “Other Space” beyond our reality, the art that can touch our heart in its deepest places.
I realised that VR is the new incarnation of the theatre.
Together with extraordinary artists, with a great passion, we created a VR theatre and lost it.
I flew up in the skies and fell down to the abyss.
Were my tears real?
Experience
VRChat| NYMPHS
ShuShu VR
VR Artist
ShuShu‘s greatest passion is art and the emotional experience it brings into our life. In the course of his career he has gained professional experience in various fields of arts.
He decided to “immerse” himself in the Metaverse, where all the disciplines he has so far mastered combine together in harmony.
His vision is to create a new akropolis of the arts in the Metaverse. He founded a team of artists – the VRium Creative Team.
So far, his team created VR experiences which were awarded in a few film festivals.
The immersive cultural laboratory project 20 //TWENTY can be experienced publicly in a virtual municipal swimming pool that was multiplied ten times. Twenty interdisciplinary artist duos from 8 nations have been given one of 10 empty pools and a backend with interactive design tools for 2D, 3D objects, multimedia forms of expression in sound and video, room and light design options, object movement effects up to water and fog to explore new ways for their art in the virtual sphere. The artists regularly leave status and process reports on a digital white board to make the process tangible for the visitor. 20 // TWENTY is a project which explores art and and the process of collaborative artmaking in digital-virtual spaces and critically examines them. The project is accompanied by a interdisciplinary board with Dr. Thea Lautenschläger (head of the Botanical Garden Hamburg), Prof. Dr. Stefan Altmeyer (Cologne University of Applied Sciences), and the Belgian curator and galerist Benjamin Fleig.The project is funded by the Ministry of Science, Research and Culture of the State of Brandenburg.
TWENTY ist ein Projekt des STADTBAD e.V. / www.stadtbad.eu / www.virtualbathing.eu
Presentation
Anne Müller
Artist and Musician
The MedTriX Group is a media company that is specializing in medical information for healthcare professionals and patients. MedTriX believes that immersive technologies are not only changing medicine, but also medical journalism. That’s why the company recently opened the Future World, a virtual space the invites their stakeholders into the Metaverse.
What opportunity does the Healthcare Metaverse hold for media companies? Will immersive experiences soon replace traditional methods of medical education and training? And what potential solutions arise from the use of headsets beyond the traditional print business? In this session, we not only look at the future of healthcare, but also take a journey into the human body and experience the phenomenon of hypoglycemia.
Conversation
REMIO | Future World
Ines Heitkamp
Junior Marketing Manager and Project Manager „Healthcare Metaverse Solutions by MTX“ at MedTriX Group
Stephanie Bagehorn
Brand Manager at vm-people
Globally poor mental health leads to approximately 8 million deaths per year. Adoption of 2D online therapy tools have accelerated during the pandemic. However, 2D online therapy is not fully engaging clients. New innovative solutions are urgently required to tackle the mental health storm that will be coming. Anomie is a VR solution that was born during the pandemic out of need. It was co-designed with creative art therapists in lockdown and has been piloting with coaches and therapists worldwide.
Presentation
REMIO | Future World
Liam Mckill
3D Artist, Virtual Reality Creativity Consultant and Co-Fonder at Anomie
VRChat is currently home to one of the largest communities in the Metaverse and is visited every day by people from all over the world. The application allows every user not only to create imaginative 3D avatars, but also to design their own virtual spaces and worlds. As a result, an entertaining and constantly growing universe is created that expands with each passing day. Under the guidance of Klaus Lemm, an active inhabitant of this hemisphere, this session will take you on a journey of discovery through the crazy worlds of VR Chat and give you a vivid impression of the possibilities offered by Social VR.
Experience
VRChat | Various
Klaus Lemm
New Technology Experiencer
Guided Gallery Tour
REMIO | Art Gallery
Stephanie Meisl
Artist
Stephanie Meisl has been active in the field of visual media since 1997. With a background in communication science, she began her career as a live performing visual artist and has since been at the forefront of the transition from analogue to digital media. Stephanie’s pursuit of understanding the world and its transformations, randomness, repetitions, flaws, beauty, and stories has been an ongoing journey.
Since 2018, her research has explored the intersection of art and artificial intelligence. She co-founded “D#AVANTGARDE – new technology, art and creativity” a collective that aims to bridge new technologies, arts and society, together with Scharmien Zandi and Sarah Scherer.
Made possible by combined advancements in web3, XR tech, 5G, and so many bold entrepreneurs forging this incredible path forward for us, a facet of the future of live concerts, sports & conferences will revolutionize entertainment by utilizing technology like spatial computing, AR glasses, volumetric & motion capture, hologram, AI, digital twins, VR, avatars, blockchain, crypto, etc.
Performers are becoming more able to extend their live physical performances & concert venues & promoters can extend ticket sales, marketing opportunities & attendees can experience concerts in revolutionary new ways that people can enjoy from the comfort of their own homes.
In This presentation Celeste Lear will showcase some of her exciting work in the immersive tech entertainment industry as a case study, delve into some of the most pertinent tech & predict some future trends.
Talk & Live-DJ-Set
VRChat | VIOLET
Celeste Lear
Immersive Tech Specialist in Entertainment & Concerts
Producer, immersive tech entertainment specialist & music/sound director Celeste Lear is a Los Angeles based professional with 2 decades of discipline working within the digital entertainment, XR tech & audio/visual world. She has headed up & worked with world renown production teams to consistently turn out well planned & executed futuristic events, including, high tech multi-media installation experiences, video mapping, conferences, immersive festivals, red carpet events & concerts – both physically and in VR in the “metaverse”.
Founder of Boutique Electronique Music & partner with DreamlandXR & Metacities, her work is also centered around the most current tech and trends for VR, AR, hologram, holoportation, AV, sound engineering, spatial audio, performance, music curation, music direction and live video/audio broadcast for concerts & entertainment.
Also experienced in virtual film making, Celeste has worked on various LED stage & MoCap projects as a production manager & coordinator.
She has a special passion for projects around environmental sustainability, human connection & the arts and has worked on exciting projects for the UN including as executive producer on the ActnowXR campaign for the SDGs.
Conversation
REMIO | AREA X
Christopher Werth
Chief Creative Officer at VOK DAMS
Presentation
REMIO | AREA X
Dr. Jonas Heller
Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing & SCM, School of Business and Economics at Maastricht University - Scientific Director DEXLab
Roberta Di Palma
PhD Candidate, Department of Marketing & SCM, School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University - Lab Coordinator DEXLab
The digitized world has fundamentally transformed the relationship between brands and people. The audience no longer views themselves solely as consumers; they desire to actively participate and co-create. In essence, they aspire to immerse themselves in the world of brands and become integral parts of it.
What role do narratives play in altering attitudes and behavior? How should a brand’s story be presented to allow customers to perceive themselves as protagonists in this tale? What are the foundational elements of immersive brand worlds? Thus workshop not only imparts essential knowledge but also offers practical guidance for marketing implementation.
Workshop