When it comes to seeing the best that the virtual reality (VR) industry has to offer then bigger events like Gamescom or the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) aren’t always the best to go to. It’s the smaller dedicated shows like VR Days Europe which can showcase plenty of interesting ideas. And if you happen to be in Germany during the middle of May then you might want to check out Places_Festival.
Returning for its second year, Places_Festival is an event designed to welcome both those new to VR and professionals alike, through a varied programme of events such as startup pitches, workshops, hands-on demos and a hackathon.
Held over three days, the event is split across eight categories, helping to facilitate innovation and collaboration between companies and guests. These are as follows:
- Experience_Places (Fri & Sat): Partners of the festival present their applications at over 20 locations across the region.
- VR for Kids (Fri & Sat): Age-appropriate content for children and teenagers as well as a VR app informing parents about the current state of media research.
- Late Night (Fri): Select locations will be open until 10pm presenting entertainment options.
- WORKshops (Thurs & Fri): Aimed at executives of medium/large companies, the workshops are sector-specific and lead by acknowledged experts.
- Startup Pitch & Networking Event (Thur evening): Startups will have the chance to pitch to investors and experts.
- Hackathon (Fri & Sat): Participants have 24hrs to complete an XR prototype.
- DIVR Science Award (Fri & Sat): The award is for the most innovative university projects in the field of XR.
- Creative Places (Fri & Sat): Six artists form a week-long living and working group with a joint exhibition of immersive art at the end.
Before all of that can take place, however, submissions need to be made. Places_Festival has put out a call for participants with 17th February the last date for program partners, speakers and WORKshops, 9th March is the last date for DIVR Science Award and the Startup Pitch, while 13th April is the final date for sponsors, commercial partners and open calls. Currently, Creative_Place and the Hackathon have not begun their call.
Place_Festival is held from 14th – 16th May 2020, held at Gelsenkirchen-Ückendorf. For further updates on the event, keep reading VRFocus.
via Mint VR