CONFERENCE — DETAILED PROGRAM

All conference sessions will be held in English.

The Embodied Realms Conference was created as a meeting place for people working with immersive technologies across very different contexts — from art and film to education, research and memory, as well as medicine, business and technological development.

We want to create a space where artists, producers, researchers, technologists, representatives of universities, cultural institutions and companies can exchange experiences, discover different approaches to working with XR and find common ground across their fields.

The programme brings together project presentations, case studies, panels and conversations focused on the creative process as well as financing, distribution, research, education and the practical applications of immersive technologies. Our aim is not only to present finished projects, but also to discuss how they are developed, what barriers they encounter, and what different communities can learn from one another.

RESERVE YOUR SPOT

Choose Day 1 or Day 2 in the booking system.

Creative Europe Desk Poland is a co-organiser of the event.

FRIDAY, 16 OCTOBER: PRODUCTION, MARKET AND XR APPLICATIONS

CONFERENCE OPENING (10:00)

PRODUCTION, FINANCING AND THE XR MARKET (10:15-11:45)

10:15 It’s Not a Film. It’s Not a Game. Financing the Immersive World of Aquatia
Paweł Szarzyński

  • The presentation explores Aquatia as a case study in building an independent VR project from concept to production. It highlights what sets the project apart from other immersive experiences and how its unique nature has shaped the approach to production, financing, and distribution. It examines the project’s structure, combining models from film, new technologies, and the immersive industry, the key decisions made along the way, and where Aquatia stands today.

  • Director, animator, and new media artist, co-founder of the artistic collectives kilku.com and Kinhouse Studio. With experience as a graphic design teacher at the Warsaw School of Photography and Graphic Design, I have been working as a freelancer in the advertising industry since 2007, collaborating with renowned brands such as Prodigious, FCB, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and many others. I specialize in graphic design, 2D/3D, and procedural animation, as well as theater scenography and visualization, utilizing my skills to create engaging visual experiences that blend art and technology.

10:45 How to develop immersive content? – Insights from Creative Europe MEDIA projects
Marta Modzelewska

  • This session explores how Creative Europe MEDIA supports video game producers, XR studios and audiovisual companies in developing video games and interactive immersive experiences, strengthening their position in European and international markets and increasing the cross-border potential of their work. Marta Modzelewska will present the programme together with Emma Genet, representing beneficiary Lucid Realities. Part of CLPB Media Group, Lucid Realities is a Paris-based immersive production and distribution company co-founded by Chloé Jarry and François Bertrand. Its projects have been supported by organisations including Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Fund, Google DNI, HTC Vive Arts, NFB and European public broadcasters.

  • Within Creative Europe Desk Poland, she is responsible for support to Polish audiovisual industry professionals applying for grants within Creative Europe MEDIA programme. She provides information on the available funding schemes, delivers trainings and consultation, organizes events aimed at Polish applicants capacity building and dissemination of projects results. Before joining CED Poland, she was responsible for another EU programme – Europe for Citizens dedicated to Polish institutions and organizations conducting international projects on civic engagement, European remembrance, and intercultural dialogue. She holds a degree in Romance languages and literature from the University of Warsaw.

ART, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (11:45 - 12:15)

11:45 Art & Science Laboratory at PCSS: Creative Collaboration and XR Open Calls
Jan Skorupa

  • The Art & Science Laboratory is part of the New Media Department at PCSS and creates a space for collaboration between artistic practice, scientific research, design and engineering. Its work focuses on immersive and interactive environments, spatial audio, XR and real-time technologies, supporting experimental projects developed across disciplines. The presentation will introduce the Laboratory’s approach to creative collaboration and highlight opportunities for artists and creators to engage with PCSS through XR-related open calls and interdisciplinary initiatives.

  • Jan Skorupa is a sound artist, sound designer and researcher working at the intersection of art, science and technology. He leads the Art & Science Laboratory within the New Media Department at the Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center (PCSS), developing interdisciplinary projects and prototypes that explore immersive media. His practice brings together electroacoustic music, spatial audio, interactivity and audiovisual forms, creating multichannel installations and immersive experiences that explore how sound shapes space, emotion and our relationship with the surrounding world.

COFFEE BREAK (12:15 - 12:30)

XR MARKET AND ECOSYSTEM (12:30 - 13:30)

12:30 Baltic XR report: Insights from the region
Michael Barngrover

13:00 Two worlds, one barrier: mapping Poland's XR/VW ecosystem
Łukasz Pieczonka

COFFEE BREAK (12:15 - 12:30)

13:30 From Community to Catalyst: XR Polska and the Rise of Poland's XR Ecosystem
Atilla Arda Beşen

13:30 From Microscopy to Immersion: The Cancer Cell as an Object of Choreography and a Space of Experience
Karolina Bieszczad-Stie

14:00 From Immersive Art to Cancer Care: Creation of the Worlds
Vitalijus Žukas

LUNCH BREAK (14:30 - 15:15)

PORTFOLIO PITCH: SELECTED PROJECT PRESENTATIONS (15:15 - 15:45)

Two participants selected through the Portfolio Pitch open call will present their work to an industry audience and invited experts: one as a creative producer and one as a creative technologist. Each presentation will introduce the participant’s experience, working methods and selected projects, creating space for feedback, discussion and potential future collaboration.

XR IN PRACTICE: TRAINING AND EDUCATION (15:45 - 16:15)

16:15 VR? Do It Yourself. No-Code Solutions for Training and Education
Małgorzata Steciak

TECHNICAL BREAK — BYOXR SETUP (16:15 - 16:45)

BRING YOUR OWN XR (BYOXR): PROJECT SHOWCASE & MENTORING (16:45 - 18:00)

BYOXR is an open showcase of selected XR projects at different stages of development. Creators will present their work to the public and invited experts, with opportunities for discussion, feedback and industry networking.

The session will open with Laetitia Bochud, who will introduce opportunities for further project support, including online mentoring and the IMPULSE programme. Selected projects will receive additional mentoring after the festival.

SATURDAY, 17 OCTOBER: MEMORY, EDUCATION AND NEW FORMS OF XR

CONFERENCE DAY 2 OPENING (10:00)

XR, MEMORY AND HISTORY (10:15-12:15)

10:15 Beyond Presence: What Humanities Can Bring to Historical XR?
Przemysław Raczyk

10:30 Reich of Ashes: VR Documentary and Immersive Installation
Dr. Joanne Popinska, Tom C. Hall

10:50 If These Streets Could Talk: AR and Place-Based Memory
Barna Szász

11:10 Immersive Holocaust Memory: VR, AR, and New Modes of Experiencing and Educating about the Past
Dr. Sylwia Papier

11:30 Discussion: Immersive Technologies and Memory: Between Presence, Place and Testimony
Dr. Joanne Popinska, Tom C. Hall, Barna Szász, Moderation: Dr. Sylwia Papier

COFFEE BREAK (12:00 - 12:15)

XR ACADEMIA: EDUCATION AND STUDENT PRACTICE (12:15 - 14:05)

12:15 From Philology to Virtual Worlds? Finding the Place for XR in the Humanities
Prof. UAM dr hab. Konrad Dominas, Dominik Cywiński, Kacper Jasiński

12:45 Five Projects, Five Perspectives: Student Works in Immersive Media
Julia Mikzińska

13:15 Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology: Education at the Intersection of Technology, Design and Art

13:40 PJAIT Projects at the Intersection of Art, Design and Interactive Technologies
Dr hab. Anna Klimczak, prof. PJATK

LUNCH BREAK (14:05 - 14:50)

POLAND × TAIWAN: EDUCATION AND EMERGING XR CREATORS (14:50 - 16:00)

14:50 Immersive Art and XR Practices in Taiwan

15:20 Panel: Student Projects in Poland and Taiwan: Different Environments, Shared Challenges
Moderated by Dr Patryk Lichota

BREAK (16:00 - 16:15)

BEYOND THE HEADSET: EMBODIED AND MULTIMODAL XR (16:15 - 17:15)

16:15 Replica: Body, Dance and Mixed Reality
Displace Studio: Dr Kerryn Wise

16:45 From headset to space: designing multimodal XR installations
Bernard Mendiburu

17:15 The distribution bottleneck - How immersive works find their audience
Laetitia Bochud