Flying Virtually for Artiz Innovate 2019

What did you do over the last school holidays? 8 students and 9 teachers from across Queensland left their beach towels in the cupboard, and ignored the latest superhero blockbuster to spend 3 days at The Edge learning and using new technologies and exploring how science and art can come together to supercharge their creative urges.

Learning how to use sophisticated software tools to express their inspiration in a virtual space, and then translate their ideas into the physical with a 3D printer or a laser cutter – all before lunchtime – stretched comfort zones and sparked enthusiasm in equal measure. Using those products as a key to unlocking experiences in virtual reality they had created themselves was another revelation – and then they were installed around public spaces in The Edge for unsuspecting visitors to enjoy.

Day Two found the participants on Level 4 at SLQ, experience historical source materials that revealed the history and stories around one of the first buildings of Brisbane – the Spring Hill windmill, site of some of the first radio and television broadcasts in Queensland, as well as a convict treadmill and a large copper ball that dropped each day at 1pm. These stories became the focus for creating dioramas and automata using newly learned techniques in a prototyping sprint that challenged and inspired in equal measure.

After three days of applied learning, growing confidence and creative expression, everybody went home bursting with new ideas and glad they still had a week of holidays to recover before heading back to school. This collaboration between Flying Arts Alliance and The Edge has been running successfully for over five years and continues to receive an enthusiastic response from participants.