SPEAKERS 2025
BELFAST XR FESTIVAL
BELFAST XR FESTIVAL
DEEPA MANN-KLER
Deepa Mann-Kler is Director for Belfast XR Festival; XR Lead at Atlantic Institute, Oxford University; CEO, Neon; Executive Producer for Virtual Production at Aura Studios; Visiting Professor in Immersive Futures at Ulster University, an award winning Artist and a member of Euromersive and BAFTA Connect. Neon is a multi award-winning studio that harnesses the power of immersive technologies to create authentic augmented and virtual reality narrative driven experiences. Most recent achievements include The Metaverse & Me and Discover ME which shares real life stories of people living with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Long Covid. Neon launched The Metaverse & Me, AR Peace Wall and AR Street Art apps freely available on iOS and Play Store as part of their commitment to create equal access to emerging technologies. A TEDx speaker “Being Human” and thought leader Deepa regularly keynotes on the intersection of storytelling, digital transformation, technical innovation, leadership, inclusion, ethics, bias, data, AI, design and creativity.
RUXANDRA GP
Ruxandra Gabriela Popescu (known also as Ruxandra GP) is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She recently co-founded the studio Banana Shake Productions where she works as a Creative Director. Over the past 6 years, she has been working in a variety of creative roles on VR titles such as the Peabody nominated VR series “Reimagined” and she has had her work displayed in official selections at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival multiple times.
Before that, Ruxandra worked in kids TV animation and the games industry. She recently directed the VR narrative “PEPITOS: The Beak Saga” during a creative partnership with Meta which won the Italian Rai Cinema Award and in her spare time she runs VR animation workshops for various educational institutions. She also occasionally leads streams and community events for the virtual animation community on Discord.
DARREN EMERSON
Darren Emerson is a multi-award winning immersive artist and the co-founder of London production company East City Films. Over the last 10 years his pioneering storytelling work in VR has been recognised for its originality, technical excellence and its ability to reach delighted audiences.
His dedication to this craft can be seen in the development of his work from early 360 films Witness 360: 7/7 (2015) and Indefinite (2016), onto the multi-award winning room scale documentaries Common Ground (2019), In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats (2022), and Letters from Drancy (2023).
His work is noted for its hybrid approach to the medium of VR, utilising a wide range of techniques and styles to create experiences that fuse technical prowess with a transcendent storytelling that is profoundly humanistic.
TIMMY STEWART
Northern Irish DJ Timmy Stewart got his first major break securing a residency at David Holmes’ influential Art College events where he developed a reputation for his DJing and planted the seeds of his own future endeavours, going on to create his own popular Belfast club nights Digital Boogie, Tsunami, Islandhopper & Keep Diggin’. He has an extensive back catalogue of music production that includes remix work for artists such as Two Lone Swordsmen & Frankie Knuckles and recently had material featured on Ibiza compilations for Hostal La Torre & Cafe ́ Del Mar. Timmy is currently a resident DJ & promoter at the Night Institute in Belfast, which this year celebrates 10 years of running events. He is also one half of the crate-digging DJ and production duo Black Bones, who put their stamp on the production world over the last few years, after an initial edit series created 7 highly collectible 12”s, securing plays and plaudits from some of the world’s best DJs & record stores. This led to recording DJ mixes for Apiento’s Test Pressing & Tim Sweeney’s Beats In Space & original material for Touch Sensitive, Hoga Nord, Emotional Response & Optimo Music.
Recent guest sets have included Pikes in Ibiza, the Golden Lion in Todmorden, Romantso in Athens & Sarcastic Disco in Los Angeles. This alongside hosting a string of radio shows for the BBC and his mentoring/label project Extended Play about to hit its 100th release, ensures Timmy holds a significant place at the forefront of cutting-edge electronic music culture in Ireland, something he has done for decades.
JO WRIGHT
Jo Wright has been working in the music sector across Ireland for the past 25 years. Jo graduated from Queen’s University in 2004 with a BSc in Music Technology. She started out as a session brass player and a recording and live sound engineer, before moving into artist management, development, and consultancy across a range of genres including Trance. As a manager she has worked with an array of artists and currently represents Katie Richardson and Grainne Hunt. She is the Vice Chair of “Safe in Sound” an initiative set up to provide a safe space for underrepresented voices in the Northern Irish music sector. Currently she has returned to her technology roots and has joined the team at Digital Catapult, a deep tech innovation organisation. Jo is also the co-chair of Innovate UK’s Immersive Tech Network ED&I committee and a board member at Thrive Audience Development, Ulster Touring Opera and HoloEdge Digital.
LUCY BAXTER
Lucy is a Filmmaker and founder of VR company Sensalience, and a Film Practice lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast. Lucy has a long career in film/tv, digital and immersive content. She creates VR experiences around the internal experience of emotional trauma for the Health, Social Care and Justice sectors. Her current project is around Sex and Relationship Education.
ROSA COSTANZA
An Emmy nominated TV Producer, Rosa has been in production for 20+ years: films, episodic, short form content, commercials, music videos, Grammy selected music albums and international events. Rosa’s short proof of concept titled XING screened at the Festival de Cannes, Programme de Court Metrage, and 20+ other festivals, won 6 awards and a distribution deal, launching the development of her feature film of the same title plus the XING 360 Game, an interactive dance challenge app supported by Northern Ireland Screen (2024). Rosa has 50+ awards for Producing & Directing independent film & TV works; is Emmy nominated for a PBS TV program SPOTLIGHT ARTS (2017) highlighting performance art as a proven rehab for inner city youth.
Spending 17+ years as an Audio/ Video Engineer, she was one of the first 20 women ever to become a member of IATSE Hollywood Local 695 (2007-2018), with production credits for audio/video engineering such as: SULLY, TEEN WOLF and PARANORMAL
ACTIVITY.
Rosa taught filmmaking master classes at Cal Arts & Orange Coast College; hosts filmmaker panels and runs a Diversity & Inclusion Program at the Ojai Film Festival (2021-2024). She is lead judge for the “Social Vision & Impact Award” sponsored by Panavision.
She administered a $250K grant program for diverse artists, artAffect, for a private donor via HAVAS. She has participated as Workshop Coordinator for the Commercial Directors Diversity Program (CDDP) for the DGA & AICP, running a peer led panel series in 2023-2024. Rosa is committed to mentoring and volunteering in the arts.
NIGEL MCALPINE
Nigel is an experienced and innovative creative technologist. He spent over 20 years at the BBC, leading teams to produce unique digital projects including: explaining 30 years of the Northern Ireland Troubles in 3-minute motion graphics, strapping heart monitors to bikers travelling at 200 mph, bringing Titanic’s last moments to life in 3D and rebuilding a WW1 trench in Virtual Reality.
He established the Digital Catapult Immersive Lab in Belfast in 2017 and now has a trusted network that makes him central to the Northern Ireland Immersive ecosystem. Building relationships with technology partners and the XR community both in NI / UK and globally is a key strength and passion.
His current role with Digital Catapult as Immersive Technology Development Lead means he is engaging with a wide range of individuals, companies, academia and industry stakeholders to highlight the potential of Immersive Technology in driving innovative opportunities by showcasing the latest XR technology and Advanced Media Production techniques, at Digital Catapult studios and facilities across the UK.
RORY FRIARS
In 2024 Rory was commissioned to make his first two compositions for a full orchestra. ‘In Search of a Clearing’ was performed live on BBC television with the Ulster Orchestra at the Waterfront Hall. ‘When The Westlink Goes’ was performed at a concert in Townsend Street as part of Belfast 24 to celebrate the new permanent home of the orchestra.
In addition to his film work, Rory has established himself as an immersive artist working on a string of critically acclaimed commissions, collaborations and projects all rooted in spatial sound. In 2024 he worked on several of these projects; the interactive AI installation ‘Holonic Fields’, Helen Halls surround sound dance piece ‘Touch, Hear, Feel’, a spatial concert and VR experience at Mussenden Temple, recorded at two sold-out shows on the North Coast of Antrim, in partnership with the National Trust and Stunt Double Music and a collaboration with Melbourne-based digital artist Nate Hill to create the NFT project ‘Symphonies of Reality’, which premiered at Dubai's world-renowned Art In Space Gallery.
His sound and film installation All Together; All Alone enjoyed a month-long residency at Belfast’s W5 Science Museum. In 2023, he collaborated with award-winning director Ross McClean to produce HOME, a sound and video work commissioned by UNBOXED / Our Place in Space and produced by Dumbworld. In February 2023, Rory debuted his live Dolby Surround concert All Around Us at SARC as part of the Northern Ireland Science Festival, the first performance of its kind in the country. This groundbreaking show featured his ensemble of frequent collaborators, Michael Keeney and the Arco Quartet, and marked the beginning of a series of immersive concerts in extraordinary locations.
He created Jettison (2019), a 50-minute live audiovisual composition for eight musicians and string quartet, with an accompanying visual world created in Unreal Game Engine by artist Sam Wiehl (Mogwai, Actress). The work premiered at a sold-out Queen Elizabeth Hall at London’s Southbank Centre to critical acclaim
LINDA CURTIN
Linda Curtin is an award-winning filmmaker who has moved her creative practice into XR and creative technologies. As Creative Director at Immersive Ireland, she designs innovative XR training programs and leads initiatives that bridge traditional storytelling with emerging technologies.
She’s passionate about democratising XR and has brought thousands of people on free learning journeys in the field. Her recent work includes "Sit, Stand or Smoke," a playful take on the Irish War of Independence painting “Men of the South” and is in development with “Terrain,” an XR project about xenophobia and us ‘vs’ them mentalities - both collaborations with her creative partner David Keating.
Linda holds an MFA in Art & Process and is currently a PhD candidate with Ulster University and Studio Ulster exploring convergence in the screen industries.
DR JAMES STAFFORD
Dr James Stafford is the Business Development Lead at INCISIV, a pioneering VR company revolutionizing immersive sports and fitness experiences. With a PhD in Experimental Psychology from Queen’s University Belfast, his research focused on Virtual Reality’s application to real-time decision-making.
At INCISIV, Dr. Stafford has led marketing for its groundbreaking VR titles, CleanSheet and DodgeCraft, using dynamic social media campaigns to drive lead generation and grow INCISIV’s audience to 600,000+ subscribers and 400,000,000+ views across all platforms. He has built key industry relationships with Sony, Bytedance, and Meta, advancing INCISIV’s impact on performance, training, and wellbeing through immersive technology.
VICTORIA EYTON
Victoria Eyton has worked with DARKFIELD since 2016 across all projects, and has extensive experience working within immersive theatre performance. Her portfolio includes Brave New World for NBC Universal and ABBA’s new sell-out show The Voyage. Victoria has also worked for Punchdrunk since 2013 on projects including Sleep No More Shanghai, The Lost Lending Library, The Oracles, Absolut Silverpoint, The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable and various R&D projects. In 2022, Victoria co-founded the Ida XR Studio and Network to support women, trans and non-binary people working in XR.
KATIE RICHARDSON
Katie is an award winning composer, songwriter, recording artist and musical director with over 15 years experience working on screen, immersive, stage and live projects in a range of genres and styles. Some of her recent projects include: Shadowdock - an immersive, large scale, outdoor sound and light show; The Tragedy of Richard III in Lyric Theatre- named one of The Stage Magazines best plays of 2024 and The Big Dream - an immersive live gig experience for Little Amal's visit to Belfast. She has worked with a number of award winning companies including 'Out of Orbit Films' and 'Prime Cut Productions' and was a 2024 mentee on WFTV's coveted mentorship programme. She has recently been elected to sit on the Ivor's Academy Senate and is currently working on several exciting screen and stage projects for 2025 and beyond.
LUKE MCNEICE
Luke is the technical director of Hamilton Robson - A technology services company with a diverse portfolio of creative, software and hardware work including three successful B2B enterprise products and over 30 large scale interactive technology installations, including multiple spatial-audio experiences.
While Hamilton Robson’s core business is enterprise technology for clients like X, TikTok, Reddit and Etsy, it operates on a core principle that creativity is an important aspect to attracting and developing talented engineers and this is reflected in their many projects, working with creative directors to push the boundaries of what's possible.
Luke also has a passion for developing and teaching robotics, and has created a fully animatronic Furby that he uses to inspire young engineers around the world.
DR JIA-REY CHANG
Jia-Rey Chang is an artist/designer/researcher/educator focusing on immersive spatial interaction. In 2018, he received his Ph.D. in interactive architecture from the Hyperbody Lab at TU Delft, the Netherlands. After 4.5 years teaching in the Art and Design Department at the University of Delaware as an assistant professor right after his doctoral degree, he is now a lecturer in the Medialab in Queen’s investigating using Games and Emerging Technologies as creative concepts/mediums to create experimental interactive immersive sensory spaces. His creative research/works cover the trans-disciplinary topics of creative coding, speculative/interactive/parametric design, AI, generative art/sound, and VR/projection immersive environment. More info: archgary.com
DR ÚNA MONAGHAN
Úna Monaghan is a harper, composer, researcher and sound artist. She collaborates, improvises and performs with poets, visual artists, computers, writers, musicians, and others. Úna has held artist residencies at the Centre Culturel Irlandais Paris, the Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas Montréal, and Atlantic Music Festival, Maine, USA. She has released two albums of her compositions, most recently Aonaracht, for solo traditional musicians and electronics. Úna received the inaugural Liam O’Flynn Award from the Arts Council of Ireland and the National Concert Hall Dublin, and held the Rosamund Harding Research Fellowship in Music at Newnham College, University of Cambridge from 2016-2019. She is a lecturer in Sound and Music at Queen’s University Belfast, where her research examines the intersections between Irish traditional music, experimental music practices, improvisation and interactive technologies.
ASHA EASTON
Asha Easton is currently the head of the Innovate UK Immersive Tech Network, the UK government's national cross-sector network for XR innovators where she has spent the past 6 years building the infrastructure to help scale the UK's immersive tech sector. She works at the intersection of industry, academia, and government to make the national ecosystem less fragmented. Her work spans across all sectors that use immersive technology, including but not limited to; creative industries, health, manufacturing, AEC, transport, etc.Asha is also the co-founder of the XR Diversity Initiative, and an advisor to a wide range of startups, organisations, and funders - including the first spatial computing fund for Europe, FOV Ventures.She is regularly called upon to contribute as an industry expert for policy initiatives both nationally and internationally including the UK parliament's APPG on Metaverse & Web3, and the OECD Global Forum on Technology. She is invited to speak regularly at events around the world including LEAP, London Tech Week, CogX, SXSW, AWE, Cannes Film Festival, Laval Virtual, Venice Film Festival, etc.
THE THING IS
We're a band from Belfast that writes songs about real-life experiences women face. Our music focuses on standing up against the challenges that come from men. This year, we’re looking forward to releasing a lot of new music that reflects our journey and the things we care about. We write together with Bella Bryson (Bass) Eva Rowan (Voice) Edward Gilmore (Guitar) Mark Beattie (Synth) We hope our songs resonate with others who share these experiences.