Nik Aberle is the Studio Chair for SIGGRAPH 2018. Here, he shares his thoughts on his hopes for this interactive and collaborative part of the conference, which will place 12-16 August 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia. If you are interested in being a part of the Studio, submissions are open now!
SIGGRAPH: How long have you been involved in SIGGRAPH as an attendee and as a leader?
Nik Aberle (NA): I’ve been involved with SIGGRAPH since 2012 when I started as a Student Volunteer. While I’ve never simply attended a SIGGRAPH conference, I’ve volunteered at seven SIGGRAPHs and four SIGGRAPH Asias.
SIGGRAPH: What’s the simplest way you can describe the Studio at SIGGRAPH?
NA: The Studio is the venue where attendee’s can come and be very hands-on with the tech present at SIGGRAPH. They can make pre-designed projects or create things of their own. We also offer great opportunities with hands-on computer led workshops as an alternative to lecture based courses.
SIGGRAPH: Why is the Studio such an important part of the SIGGRAPH conference?
NA: In a world where we are told to look but not touch, the Studio is an extremely valuable experience at SIGGRAPH.
Giving attendees the chance to be hands-on with technology they don’t otherwise have access to stimulates creativity and can invaluable to their work outside of the conference.
SIGGRAPH: How will the program be different this year?
NA: We will have a much greater workshop offering and no three-hour sessions. This will allow us to share even more content. There will also be progress courses that span multiple days, but cover increasingly difficult subject matter. Our submissions for the installations will be focusing on the next innovations in Manufacturing Technology and will allow attendees to interact with these technologies.
SIGGRAPH: What will people take away from the Studio?
NA: Hopefully they’ll take away something they created themselves with the tools and tech we provide. Additionally I hope everyone has a chance to sit in on one course and acquire a new skill set or tool they didn’t have before coming to the conference.
SIGGRAPH: If someone wants to contribute to the Studio, what should they know?
NA: That depends on the capacity they want to contribute. Donors or volunteers can reach out to me directly, while people looking to submit to our installations just need to be willing to help attendees create something while at their booth. The lifeblood of the Studio is creativity and enabling our attendees to spend as little or as much time as they’d like building, creating, making, etc whatever they’d like.
SIGGRAPH: What does an ideal Studio submission look like?
NA: The givens are size and requirements to make the booth happen. They key to a Studio submission is to include what attendees are going to be able to physically or otherwise take away from your booth. We aren’t a venue where attendees just get to look or interact with something, they need to be able to build a project. The project is entirely up to the submitter. It could be digital and emailed to the participant, or it could be a physical piece, like a cut out or something else. It just needs to have that hands-on component.
SIGGRAPH: What are you most looking forward to in Vancouver this summer?
NA: I’m most looking forward to engaging the Vancouver maker community to try to bring in a lot of local builders, both to the Studio but also to the greater conference. I’m excited about what the Studio and other Experience Hall venues will have to offer, and I think attendees across a wide range of disciplines will gain something from attending SIGGRAPH 2018 in Vancouver.
SIGGRAPH 2018 will take place 12-16 August in Vancouver, British Columbia. Join us!
