Digital arts festival NEoN announces the second wave of confirmed speakers

Oct. 1, 2010 - PRLog -- The international digital arts festival NEoN has unveiled the second group of speakers and delegates confirmed to appear at the event’s landmark conference, which takes place on Thursday 11 November and Friday 12 November, 2010 in Dundee.

This year’s NEoN welcomes the creative input of critically acclaimed and entertaining individuals currently leading their respective fields within film and digital media. The expanding line up features; founder of iconic Designers Republic, Ian Anderson, writer and consultant, Pat Kane, Digital Producer of Tern TV, Simon Meek and the highly respected Dr. Ken Perlin. The confirmed delegates will examine this year's curatorial theme 'character' with reference to the digital arts and media industry according to their own personal, professional and creative viewpoints.

The growing line up continues to build upon the diversity of the already exceptional selection of speakers and delegates descending upon Dundee for the NEoN festival:

A welcome addition to the NEoN conference’s list of delegates is the eminent Dr. Ken Perlin. Ken has been at the forefront of computer graphics and film innovation for over 20 years. He was systems architect on the iconic Tron, and received the Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1997 for his invention, the Perlin Noise, a technique used to produce natural appearing textures on computer generated surfaces for motion picture visual effects which played an integral role in film animation development. Passionate about film and the development of digital as having a fundamental role in both art and education, Dr. Perlin will draw upon his academic and professional roles as Professor and Director of the NYU Games For Learning Institute, appearing also as the entertaining animation and film guru.

“As an organisation devoted to contemporary art and culture, Dundee Contemporary Arts is delighted to have had a part in bringing one of the most important FX visionaries, Ken Perlin, to NEoN.  It is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Ken's amazing achievements which have had such a lasting impact on the development, not only of film technology, but film artistry as well.” enthused Alice Black, Head of Cinema, Dundee Contemporary Arts.

Ian Anderson of the Designers Republic’s appearance this year is sure to be one of the highlights of the NEoN festival. A leader in its field for almost 25 years, the Designers Republic created innovative designs for large consumer brands such as Orange, Coca-Cola, Sony, Nokia, MTV and Nike while remaining dedicated to preserving the creative freedom of design which is unhindered by boundaries or parameters. Ian holds a wealth of experience and knowledge of the digital arts industry and is sure to shed light upon many topical issues.

The cast of delegates will also be joined by highly respected writer and consultant, Pat Kane. Pat is certain to engage with audiences through his analytical and entertaining approach to the in depth discussions at the NEoN conference, illustrating his passion for culture, digital technologies and politics.  

Drawing upon his expertise in digital media platforms and television, Simon Meek of Tern TV has joined an inspiring list of delegates this year. Simon is involved with the digital wing of Tern dedicated to developing and producing digital and multi platform product, his team being responsible for the entertaining and engaging GUTS iPhone game, the award winning KNTV sex and relationship guide among other cutting edge productions.

The ever expanding NEoN list of delegates will entertain and engage with the audience while stimulating important discussion regarding digital development, the media and the arts.

For further information regarding the delegates, visit:

Ken Perlin   http://blog.kenperlin.com/
Ian Anderson   http://www.thedesignersrepublic.com/
Pat Kane   http://www.theplayethic.com/
Simon Meek   http://www.terntv.co.uk/

The NEoN conference will take place in the Centre of Excellence, University of Abertay, Dundee on Thursday 11 November and Friday 12 November, between 9am and 6pm and tickets are available for booking now at http://www.northeastofnorth.com/tickets/.

For a full programme of NEoN events, visit http://www.northeastofnorth.com/programme/.

For further NEoN festival information, visit the NEoN website at http://www.northeastofnorth.com/, join the NEoN community http://northeastofnorth.ning.com/, or follow the festival on twitter @weareneon

Ends

Contacts

Helen Reid
Revolver PR
E: helen@revolver-pr.co.uk
T: 0845 130 8992

Notes to editors:

North East of North (NEoN) is an international digital arts festival featuring moving image, performance, music and technology driven arts. The over arching curatorial theme for 2010 is Character: evaluating the abstracted or physical agent in a work of art; investigation of the fictional or psychological systems; observation of the unit of information, symbol, sound or written language. Through this focused dimension NEoN intends to explore the notion of collaboration between visual art, information communication, media production and gaming that will expand digital development and knowledge. (www.northeastofnorth.com)

NEoN was created by Interactive Tayside (www.interactivetayside.com).
Interactive Tayside is a partnership between public, private and academic sectors to develop and promote Tayside's digital media industry.

NEoN is sponsored by: Angus & Dundee City Council, Event Scotland, National Lottery Awards for All, The Japan Foundation, Creative City Challenge, Scottish Enterprise & the North Sea Screen Partnership

Partners include: Interactive Tayside, Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre (DCA), Dundee City Council, The University of Abertay, Dundee College, Hungry Boy, Realtime Worlds, Revolver PR, Red Pepper Events, Simultaneita & Insight Innovations

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