Belgium House — Innovation Takes Over

Read more for highlights & all panel information!

🎟 Free – Registration Required

Get ready once again for the one-day creative collision where art, media, tech, and science meet. Belgium House (#BXGB26) is transforming the Shoreditch Arts Club into a hub of immersive innovation, cutting-edge talks, and meaningful networking.

🎉 Presented by Wallonie-Bruxelles International, wake! by Digital Wallonia, the Embassy of Belgium in the UK, AWEX, FIT - Flanders Investment & Trade and hub.brussels.

• wake! by Digital Wallonia: Explore interactive installations, live performances & multidisciplinary art-tech-science mashups.

• Expert Panels & Workshops: From VFX and XR to MusicTech and the future of media.

• Belgian Spirit Night: After-hours networking, gourmet bites, and Belgian DJs.

• Featured Orgs: Twist Cluster, KIKK, HITT, Stereopsia, LeanSquare & more.

13:00 - 13:50

With immersive technologies rapidly expanding across industries, from healthcare and urban planning to education and culture, the real challenge is no longer innovation, but execution.

This panel dives into the “missing middle” of immersive innovation: the gap between groundbreaking research and its real-world adoption. How do we move from prototypes to scalable impact? And how can Europe align its researchers, companies, investors, and public institutions to build a truly competitive XR ecosystem?

Expect a dynamic discussion on digital sovereignty, cross-border collaboration, and the role of immersive ecosystems in shaping Europe’s technological future, grounded in real examples from XR, immersive AI, and digital twins.

Special focus: Cultural and Creative Industries (ICCs)

Often the first to experiment with immersive storytelling and new economic models, ICCs are key to bridging creativity and industrial deployment. This panel explores how they can evolve from pioneers to powerful drivers of technological scaling.

To be announced!

14:00 - 14:50

For over a century, audiences have watched stories. Now, they want to step inside them.

As immersive experiences redefine entertainment, global IP is evolving from passive content into living, physical worlds. When fans can enter their favourite universes, does streaming become just the trailer?

This panel explores the transformation of storytelling, moving from cinema and TV to fully immersive experiences, and what it takes to turn iconic IP into scalable, story-driven worlds. Taking a look inside “Stranger Things: Face the Dark” and inspiring case studies, discover how they may influence the future of storytelling, what differentiates a true immersive experience from a branded walk-through and how narrative, technology, and business models converge to power the Experience Economy.

Seth Cover – CEO, Mycotoo
A global leader in live entertainment and immersive design, Seth brings decades of experience creating world-class attractions. He’ll explore how digital universes are translated into physical environments and what makes an IP truly “experience-ready.”

Etienne Sainton – Product Manager, Alterface
With deep expertise in interactive systems, spanning from show control systems, software architecture, multi-agent systems, web technologies, Unity 3D, and stereoscopic media, Etienne reveals how technology becomes an invisible storytelling engine, enabling responsive, adaptive, and player-driven narratives.

Dawn Foote – Co-Founder & CEO, Katapult; President of the TEA EME Division; Executive Adviser to Experience UK
A leading voice in themed entertainment, Dawn dives into licensing, narrative purpose, and what separates meaningful immersive worlds from simple branded environments. Her expertise spans storytelling, commercial strategy, and placemaking, translating powerful intellectual property into destination-led experiences that drive long-term value.

James Wallman – Founder, World Experience Organization (WXO)
James helps ‘experience pioneers’ combine creativity with commercial success, accelerating the growth of the Experience Economy. He’ll share his theory of Immersive Experience. Speaking about transformation, what emotional outcomes justify the investment?

Laurence Beckers – Creative Director, Alterface; TEA Board Member; Co-founder of La Nef

Creative Director working at the intersection of art, technology, and cultural innovation, with 25 years of experience shaping immersive experiences from theme park attractions to large-scale European cultural programmes.

15:00 -15:50

Immersive experiences are everywhere, from projection-based exhibitions to large-scale attractions promising to transport audiences into iconic worlds.

But are we truly pushing the boundaries of the medium?

This panel challenges the status quo and explores what lies beyond familiar formats like Van Gogh immersive exhibitions or Banksy adaptations.

While immersive art, XR, digital creators,contemporary art, artists, and curators have been experimenting for decades, from location-based VR and multi-user experiences to spatial sound installations and scenographic environments. Bringing together curators, immersive creators and experience designers, they will explore how immersive design can move beyond spectacle and become a powerful cultural format.

So how do we bridge the gap between artistic experimentation and mass audience experiences?

DARKFIELD – Immersive Theatre Pioneers

Globally renowned for multi-sensory experiences in total darkness, DARKFIELD pushes the limits of sound, psychology, and storytelling to create deeply personal audience journeys.

Eric Arnal-Burtschy – Artist

Dance and visual artist working across performance, installation and immersive environments. With a background in history, philosophy and geopolitics, he developped a multidisciplinary practice at the intersection of art, science and technology.

Marie Du Chastel – Art Curator & Artistic Director, KIKK Festival and co-founder, ikii studio

Curator and cultural entrepreneur working at the intersection of art, technology and digital culture.

16:00 - 16:50

In an industry dominated by algorithms, platforms, and trends, are we forgetting what music is really about?

From Spotify to TikTok, the conversation around music has become increasingly shaped by data, technology, and virality. But beyond blockchain, AI, and immersive experiences, one question remains:

Are we creating culture, or just following trends?

This panel brings the focus back to what truly matters: artists, creativity, and the human connection at the heart of music. An honest debate on how to balance innovation with the timeless value of music-making.

Olivier Maeterlinck – Head of Cultural & public affairs, SABAM

Gerrit Kerremans – Head Of Music, VRT

Jo Hermans: Professional Musician (Daan, Clouseau,..;) and Founder/Maestro at The Atomic Orchestra

Sam Rudy – Founder, Pro Studio Time

More to be announced!

Stijn Verdonckt – Founder, Daft Music Studios

Driving an internationally recognized studio, Stijn bridges creative production with business growth and industry innovation.

Info: Moderator: Laurence Beckers – Creative Director at Alterface, TEA Board Member, Co-founder of La Nef

Info: Moderator: Marie Du Chastel – Art Curator & Artistic Director, KIKK Festival and co-founder, ikii studio

Info: Moderator: Stijn Verdonckt, Founder of Daft Music Studio

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Shoreditch Arts Club, 6 Redchurch Street, London, United Kingdom

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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