From November 15 - 17, 2001, The Banff New Media Institute at The Banff Centre will host North America’s first-ever Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Virtual Reality Software & Technology (VRST) conference. 

"The upcoming events brings together leaders in science and engineering with artists, to consider where virtual reality is now and what the future challenges may be," says Sara Diamond, artistic director of Media & Visual Arts at The Banff Centre. 

"The Centre is one of the world's leading institutions in the creative use of virtual reality technologies and the resulting worlds. From 1991 to 1995 we developed, discussed, and circulated some of the most dynamic experiments in VR. Our projects included storytelling worlds, networked games and experiences, rides, and installations," says Diamond. 

The inaugural VRST was held in Singapore in 1994 and since then has been held in Japan, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Taiwan, England and Korea. ACM / VRST is an annual conference devoted to virtual reality hardware and software. The conference brings together the foremost researchers in the field to consider new applications and the computer science and engineering challenges they represent. The Banff New Media Institute has a long history of research in the application of Virtual Reality technology to the arts.

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