CONVERGENCE

About

‘CONVERGENCE’ is a symposium developed by two Cheshire organisations SHIFT and WEAVE and will take place at Macclesfield Town Hall on Tuesday, February 13, from 12pm to 8.30pm.

One of the key aims of the event is to demonstrate how the digital and art worlds fuse together to develop new technologies that captivate and inspire people.  Speakers include the Director of the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology, representatives from Siemens, and the University of Salford.

Funded by Arts Council England, SHIFT is a council-backed programme celebrating all things digital in Cheshire East, which is delivering the event alongside Weave, the industry-led creative digital network in Cheshire East.

Marieke Navin, programme manager of SHIFT, said: “Digital industry organisations are increasingly putting an emphasis on new employees having creative skills. That might include, for example, using art to drive advances in technology,”

“Our symposium event ‘Convergence’ provides a unique and free opportunity outside of the usual UK digital hotspots of London and Manchester, for people to learn and share new ideas, bringing together the worlds of digital art and creative technology for business.”

Julian Cobley, Weave member and managing director of the Skills and Growth Company, said: “The creative digital sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in the Borough, with around 2,000 businesses and strengths in gaming, software, marketing and new media locally. This event is a great opportunity to find out more about the exciting new part of our economy”

Scheduled activities planned for the day will include workshops, talks, an art exhibition and special digital lab. Attendees can expect to see unseen-before gadgets and technological tools, while there will also be opportunities to network with a range of industry professionals and academics.

Among the artists in attendance is Liverpool-based Laurence Payot, who was responsible for creating an interactive art installation at Crewe train station last year. The artwork, which made "ever-changing shapes" in response to passengers' hand movements, earned great acclaim and attention.

It is followed at 6:30pm by a Weave organised ‘Town Talk’ on IdeasPlace showcasing the proactive, community driven cultural scene and how this can be supported to deliver benefits beyond the arts community, for place-making, regeneration and the wider economy.  

For more information about the Symposium event, and to book your place, visit: https://convergencesymposium.eventbrite.co.uk