uncnews.unc.edu

Media representatives are invited to cover the interactive experiences and innovative speakers of the CHAT Festival – Collaborations: Humanities, Arts & Technology – at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

From the creator of the Xbox to a virtual underwater experience, CHAT will explore how technology is changing the arts and humanities, with representatives of Research Triangle Park companies and the faculties of UNC and Duke and N.C. State universities.

Tuesday (Feb. 16) through Saturday (Feb. 20)
9 a.m. to 10 p.m. most days; 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Feb. 20
19 buildings, UNC campus
Chapel Hill
Registration at the Campus Y required for non-media attendees

Reporters and photographers will be required to show media identification to cover most of the futuristic interactive experiences, talks, panels, workshops and performances.

Limited media parking will be available on a first-come, first-served basis in the ATM lot behind Davis Library off Raleigh Street. Coming from the east to campus on N.C. 54, cross Country Club Road, turn right at the next light and then left into the second drive. Additional free parking is available in the S-11 Manning Lot on Skipper Bowles Drive. You must show media identification to be admitted to the lot. Coming from the east to campus on N.C. 54, exit onto U.S. 15-501 South (Fordham Boulevard) toward UNC Hospitals. Turn right onto Manning Drive and then turn left onto Skipper Bowles Drive. The S-11 Manning parking lot is on the left. U and RU buses serve the lot.

For a schedule with descriptions and places, visit
http://www.chatfestival2010.com/schedule.html.
For campus maps, visit http://www.maps.unc.edu/.
Festival highlights will include:

Tuesday, Feb. 16

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: For programs, a map and assistance, check in at the Campus Y on Cameron Avenue.

3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: “The Future of Entertainment,” a talk by UNC alumnus Robert J. Bach of Microsoft Corp., who led the Xbox and Xbox 360 to fruition. Hill Hall, between East Franklin Street and Cameron Avenue. Audio feeds will be available.

5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: “The Bathysphere: Motion Capture as Art,” Gerrard Hall, Cameron Avenue. Feel as though you’re in the ocean; toss a beach ball and an octopus appears. Also Wednesday (Feb. 17), 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday (Feb. 18) 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.; and Saturday (Feb. 20) 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 17

9 a.m. to noon: For programs, a map and assistance, check in at the Campus Y on Cameron Avenue.

Noon to 1 p.m.: “Soundbyte: The Ubiquity of Games,” Hyde Hall, off East Franklin Street across from the post office. Is gaming a fad or a fixture? Is that good or bad? Chad Dezern of Insomniac Games and Alex Macris of Themis Group, an interactive entertainment firm, both of Durham.

Thursday, Feb. 18

9 a.m. to noon: For programs, a map and assistance, check in at the Campus Y on Cameron Avenue.

11 a.m. to noon: “Soundbyte: The Future of Learning in a Digital Age,” Hyde Hall. The Internet has brought a new way of learning that is the norm for high school and college students. What’s new in digital learning? What will tomorrow’s classrooms look like? Cathy Davidson, John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Duke, and John McGowan, director, UNC Institute of the Arts and Humanities.

4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.: “From Knowledge to Knowledge-able,” Michael Wesch, cultural anthropologist, Kansas State University, Hill Hall. Becoming more savvy about the information explosion on the
Web.

Friday, Feb. 19

9 a.m. to noon: For programs, a map and assistance, check in at the Campus Y on Cameron Avenue.

1:15 p.m. to 6 p.m.: “The Art and Culture of the DJ,” Hyde Hall. Scholars and DJs contend that the DJ is an artist and the turntable, an instrument. Contact Mark Katz at (919) 843-5335 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3264/66/.

For more information: Speakers: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3303/74/

Interactive experiences: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3250/66/

Electro-acoustic music: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3265/66/

News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589, (919) 219-6374