Last week Dr. Carsten Brosda, Hamburg’s Senator for Culture and Media, opened up VRHAM!, the first German festival for virtual reality (VR) and Arts Hamburg, in the unique atmosphere of Hamburg’s Oberhafenquartier. Running from 7th June to the 17th June, VRHAM! is a unique showcase of all things VR and art with an accompanying award ceremony as well.
With a wide variety of VR experiences on display along with live performances by national and international artists, attendees of VRHAM! are in for a treat. Among those showcasing at the event are Jonathan Meese’s first 360-degree installation “Mutter und Sohn”, “Sea Prayer” by renowned novelist Khaled Hosseini, and “Geschichten aus Jerusalem” by Swiss director Dani Levy. Vistiors to VRHAM! will be able to enter these virtual worlds in specifically designed, separated rooms helping to immerse them within the experience.
The event will also feature four Hamnburg-based artists presenting their work for the first time along with a number of keynotes, discussion panels, and workshops on VR. Some of the live performances that will occur during the event in VR artist Tamiko Thiel and Virtual Reality DJ “The Glad Scientist” who played for around 200 guests.
“Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and 360° films take art to completely new dimensions. VRHAM! is the first festival to combine experiments and pioneer projects in this field. Hamburg, which has been developing into a pioneering location for Virtual Reality, is the perfect place for a festival like this. Activities from the realm of research, development, science, and economy are now completed by the sphere of art due to VRHAM!” Said Dr. Carsten Brosda, Senator for Culture and Media.
On the opening night of the festival an international jury awarded the best VR experience from the program to successful titles. The “VRHAMMY Award” along with a prize pool of €5,000 (EUR) went to “The Grass Smells So Sweet” by Dani Ploeger. The “HH Emerging Artists Residency Award” along with €500 (EUR) and a residency at Wood Arts Institute by art collector Rik Reinking, was awarded to “TRANS//FORM” by Suse Tietjen, Maria Gibert, Martin Kupfer, and Fabian Knieling. Both of the prizes awarded were donated to VRHAM! by ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius.
As the VRHAM! continues on until 17th June, VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest so stay tuned for more.
via Mint VR