The Immersive Experience Network (IEN), a peer-driven community of creatives, business pioneers, entrepreneurs and enthusiasts, has announced Summit 24, a new symposium exploring this rapidly growing sector.
The event will be held at Woolwich Works on 21 October 2024. It will see the most progressive minds at the cutting edge of immersive, experience-led, and tech-driven entertainment come together for a day of inspiring talks, presentations, and master classes. Woolwich Works is a culture and arts hub on the same campus as the permanent site of world-class immersive pioneers Punchdrunk.
Expert speakers
Attendees will hear from over 35 keynote speakers from the UK, USA, and Europe, who will discuss the creative, commercial, and operational aspects of this booming sector, which is already worth over £660 million to the UK annually and increasing.
Speakers include Sara Thacher of Disney Imagineering, James Seager from Les Enfants Terribles, Ollie Jones from SWAMP, Gijs Geers of DarkPark, Adrian Hon of Six to Start, and Lauren Storr, Sophie Hewlett and Sarah Georgeson from Punchdrunk.
“We’ll be hearing from some of the driving forces at Disney Imagineering, Punchdrunk, Marshmallow Laser Feast, Les Enfants Terribles, SWAMP and Rematch, amongst other household names of tomorrow,” says Sheena Patel, IEN co-founder & Summit content curator.
“We’re excited to offer a home for earnest, generous and transparent knowledge sharing and cross-pollination of ideas – be it how better to integrate technology to enhance storytelling, scale or accessibility, meaningful onboarding when offering new rules of engagement, commercialising creativity or optimisation of operations in these often multifaceted experiences.
“There’s much to be learned, shared and inspired by across the sub-strands creating immersive work and the many disciplines that make it happen.”
A growing sector
This event will serve as a benchmark for the industry by presenting new concepts, helpful guidance, and innovative technology.
The live immersive and interactive experience industry has grown rapidly over the past ten years, particularly among Gen Z and millennial consumers. The term “immersive” is now used to promote a wide range of products, from virtual reality experiences to 24-hour theatre productions to cooking classes. This conference aims to compile the results of these successful launches and provide information to those considering entering the field.
Genres include location-based virtual and augmented reality experiences, immersive and interactive theatre, escape rooms, immersive and experiential art, live-action role-playing (larp), scare attractions, immersive audio, transmedia, and themed attractions.
“What’s been most interesting about getting people making all this different work in a room together is understanding the similarities between the different creative processes and how many people share the same operational and commercial challenges,” say the event’s founders. “We’ve already seen a huge amount of collaboration and generation of ideas shared around how to smoothly and safely operate experiences for audiences.”
For the escape room category, IEN has partnered with the team behind the Escape Room Industry Convention (ERIC), which was last held in 2019 but has yet to return after a COVID-enforced hiatus. This team will curate a dedicated content stream at the conference, bringing experience and expertise to the summit through presentations and panel appearances.
“The UK is a global leader in the immersive sector and to remain so will need to be recognised as a credible and valuable part of the wider creative and cultural industries ecosystem,” says Dr Joanna Bucknall, one of the founders of the Immersive Experience Network.
“By providing more support to this innovative and vibrant industry we will be able to produce better shows and experiences, providing audiences with high-quality culture and added security for those working in the sector, support from funding bodies and government is essential if the immersive experience sector is to make the most of this potential.”
For more information and to register, please click here.
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