DiGRA Launches UK Chapter in Bristol!

Posted on May 1, 2014 Updated on April 30, 2014

Some great news from the Digital Cultures Research Centre and DiGRA!

We are delighted to announce the UK Chapter of DiGRA will be launching on 17th June at the Digital Cultures Research Centre, University of West England. The Chapter covers all of the UK, and we have a series of events planned already after two successful preliminary events earlier this year at the London Knowledge Lab, IoE and the Update Show at MediaCity, Manchester.

The chapter has a mailing list, accessible by joining:

http://mail.digra.org/mailman/listinfo/uk

We encourage everyone to sign on and take part. We are currently also in the process of setting up a webpage on the main DiGRA site, which will reside here: http://www.digra.org/the-association/chapters/united-kingdom-digra-chapter/

The launch event, entitled ‘Pervasive Provocations: The State of Games in the UK’, at the DCRC at The University of West England, Bristol, will interrogate key issues in Games Studies in the UK. You are encouraged to come along with a short provocation and get involved. Pop-up speakers throughout the afternoon already include Greg Foster (Larking About), Dan Hett (BBC Children’s Gaming), Prof Tanya Kryzwinska (University of Falmouth), with others to be confirmed. The afternoon will be followed by a DiGRA  inaugural meeting in the DCRC and a launch party in the Watershed. Please sign up for the event here as places are limited:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pervasive-provocations-the-state-of-games-in-the-uk-tickets-11446255057

 

The second event will be a DiGRA games track at Fascinate 2014:

FASCINATE 2014 27^th – 31^st August is an annual conference staged at Falmouth University, Cornwall. It is an interdisciplinary conference investigating the current and future applications of ubiquitous computing technologies in visual and performance arts, games, architecture, craft, design and interactive media. There is a specialist games track focused on the application of art and craft in games (30^th and 31^st August). This includes a two-day game jam preceding the conference (28^th and 29^th August).  Rex Crowle from Media Molecule and BAFTA winner for Tearaway and Dr Esther McCallum-Stewart will give keynotes for the conference’s Games track. For more details please go to http://www.fascinateconference.com/. There will be a DIGRA UK meeting on the evening of 29^th August in the AIR sandpit on the Tremough Campus.

The third event will be held as part of the University of Bedfordshire’s annual Under the Mask conference in November 2014. This year’s conference will provide an opportunity for discussion of Game Policy, Game Regulation, Communities of Gaming and LARPing, amongst others. Details to be announced in June 2014.