XR Bavaria Meetup – Experimental XR featuring Mel Slater and Stefan Palitov
The increasing adoption of VR technologies both in the industry and with regular consumers, brings forth questions of the effects these tools have in its users. In this conversation with Prof. Mel Slater we will look into the effects of virtual body adoption on situation awareness, implicit attitudes and self-reflection. Furthermore, we explore what are the possibilities for using VR as a tool for psychological and social group improvement. These topics open up towards speculations on potentials, challenges and ethical issues surrounding behavioral data gathering and behavior modifications through VR design.
Mel Slater
Mel Slater is a computer scientist known for his pioneering work in virtual reality, in particular in the field of embodiment and presence in VR. He is currently Distinguished Investigator at the University of Barcelona. He is Director of the Event Lab (Experimental Virtual Environments in Neuroscience and Technology) at the University of Barcelona. He is a co-Founder of Virtual Bodywork Inc. In 2005 he was awarded the IEEE Virtual Reality Career Award in Recognition of Pioneering Achievements in Theory and Applications of Virtual Reality. He received the A. v. Humboldt – J. C. Mutis Research Award in 2020.
Stefan Palitov
Stefan Palitov is a XR and cultural researcher and filmmaker. His focus is storytelling, XR experience design, cultural spaces and art & tech. His academic background includes BA in Philosophy and MA in Media Arts Cultures Erasmus Mundus Excellence Program. Former Artist in Residence at ZKM | Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe and UNESCO Media Art Residency in Changsha, China.
This meetup will be in English
Please register
Link is here
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83882164413?pwd=WENudll2RnhzanNMTUNzTUtQU3Qvdz09

Introduction to nextReality.Hamburg e.V., Recap of 2021 and Get-Together
nextReality.Hamburg e.V. is a non-profit association based in Hamburg, Germany. We connect companies, startups, students and everyone interested in XR. During our community slot we want to introduce ourselves, and open the stage to our members to present their work and their XR projects.
Additionally, we want to connect with you and get together in our virtual space in AltspaceVR. Everyone is welcome, no matter if you already are a professional or are just interested in the fields of VR, AR and 360°.
Link to AltspaceVR: https://account.altvr.com/events/1876984772438261933
Livestream on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ogr-tGqO8
More about nextReality.Hamburg: https://nextreality.hamburg/
More about the Global XR Conference: https://globalxrconference.com/

To attend the event in AltspaceVR, you have to follow a few simple steps:
First, you need to download AltspaceVR. It is available for all common VR headsets (PCVR, Meta Quest and Windows MR) as well as without VR headset for PC and Mac (the MacOS version is currently in beta): https://altvr.com/get-altspacevr/
If you don’t have an AltspaceVR account yet, you can register for free directly inside the application.
The easiest way to attend is to follow the link and click on “interested”, then you can find the event in the main menu of your application. You can also enter by using the room code QAU131.
https://account.altvr.com/events/1876984772438261933

A VR meetup series in the field of immersive technology.
Meetup on the Social VR platform AltspaceVR
on December 6, 2021
at 12:00 EDT / 18:00 CET.
The network meetings aim to highlight and virtually connect women and gender-marginalized people from Europe and North-America working in the creative industries and around immersive technologies to create new international connections and foster potential cooperation.
These Meetups are planned as a series of events with a different focus for each event.
This meeting is presented by the Goethe-Institut Boston in collaboration with Women in Immersive Tech Europe:
MEETUP #7: IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING – HOW EMERGING MEDIA CREATE AGENCY AND SOCIAL CHANGE
Featuring artists and filmmakers Rashin Fahandej and Rebecca Merlic in conversation with curator Dr. Leonie Bradbury. The speakers will address how they use virtual reality and immersive storytelling as tools for co-creation, healing and social change.
Introduction by
Dr. Leonie Bradburyis the Henry and Lois Foster Chair of Contemporary Art Theory and Practice and Curator-in-Residence at Emerson College in Boston, USA. She directs Emerson’s platform for visual art “Emerson Contemporary” focused on presenting and commissioning new media art, performance art, and emergent technologies within a socio-political context. In 2020, she was a collaborator on the AREA Code Art Fair and curated and organized a drive-in movie theater experience featuring light projections and digital video art. Previously, she served as the Director of Art and Creative Initiatives at HUBweek, an innovation festival showcasing intersections of art, science, and technology.
A respected authority on both the creative and scholarly aspects of contemporary art, Dr. Bradbury has more than 20 years of experience in public programming, developing new work, creating compelling and innovative exhibitions, and promoting artists as thought leaders. Her dissertation Artwork as Network: A Reconceptualization of the Work of Art and its Exhibition questions how contemporary works of art relate to network culture and, alternately, how do networks redefine our understanding of specific works of art. At Emerson College, she teaches a professional practice seminar Curating Contemporary Art as well as a course on The Moving Image in Contemporary Art.
Presentations by
Rashin Fahandejis an award winning artist, independent filmmaker and assistant professor of emerging and interactive media at Emerson College. Her projects center on marginalized voices and the role of media, technology, and public collaboration in generating social change. A
proponent of “Art as Ecosystem,” she defines her projects as “Poetic Cyber Movement for Social Justice,” where art mobilizes a plethora of voices by creating connections between public places and virtual spaces. Fahandej is the founder of “A Father’s Lullaby, “ a multi-year community co-creative initiative that highlights the role of men in raising children and their absence due to racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Fahandej is the recipient of the 2021 Prix Ars Electronica Award of Distinction in Digital Music & Sound Art and 2019 Foster Prize at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston. She has served as a Boston Mayor’s Office Artist-In-Residence and lead artist at American Arts Incubator Austria at ZERO1 and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs where she launched the “Future of Inclusion Lab”initiative in partnership with Ars Electronica.
Rebecca Merlicretreats between Tokyo, Munich and Vienna. She graduated with distinction at the Academy of Fine Arts,
She specialized on analogue and digital art as well as architecture. Her work is strongly influenced by alternative ways of society and transgression in socioeconomic conventions as well as new forms of artistic and architectural production employing new technologies. During her masters she was able to study at Astushi KITAGAWARA Lab at Tokyo University of the Arts GEIDAI. She is a holder of the Marianne von Willemer Prize 2020 for digital media and the PIXEL,BYTEs & FILM residency supported by the BMKOES, ORF and Arte Creative. Currently her work is on display at bildraum07 on her first solo show TheCityAsAHouse 都市が家になるとき+ GLITCHBODIES WIP hosted by ARS ELECTRONICA.
Participation via VR headset, Windows PC and Mac OSX (beta version) in 2D mode and live stream via Zoom.

RSVP to participate via AltspaceVR| Code: KVK567
Link to participate via Zoom

Please note:
New users will have to first download the app and then make an account inside the AltspaceVR application. This works on all platforms like PC, Mac OSX, Oculus Quest, etc.

Download the app
Here’s more about technical requirements and how to join the meetup.

ABOUT CONNECT!
Connect!is a VR meetup series highlighting and connecting women and gender-marginalized people in the field of immersive technology, organized by the Goethe-Institut Montréal in collaboration with Women in Immersive Tech Europe (WIIT), initiated by Sara Lisa Vogl.More about the project.