{"id":15495,"date":"2024-06-04T10:43:57","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T08:43:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kingkong-mag.com\/?p=15495"},"modified":"2024-06-25T11:20:10","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T09:20:10","slug":"the-wid-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingkong-mag.com\/en\/the-wid-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"The WID Summit: the empowerment of women in digital creativity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\nFor its first edition, the Women in Digital Summit was a resounding success. Held at the TRAKK in Namur, it brought together inspiring women working in the domain of digital creativity. And opened up fields of possibilities for the numerous participants.\r\n<\/p>\n\n\n

Without a shadow of a doubt, the first edition of the Women in Digital (WID) Summit<\/a> was a success. On May 16, 2024, over one hundred people, primarily women, attended multiple activities aiming to promote the position of women in the world of the arts and the digital domain. And amongst the gathering, stars made numerous gazes shine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Digital creativity is an important issue to further feminise the tech professions and market. Organising a day like this, highlighting this industry\u2019s professions, but also women who are expressing themselves talentedly within them, enables visibility to be brought to the Walloon digital creativity ecosystem. And it is done so that other women can say to themselves: that might be for me. But also to remove the barriers which are often linked to the technical aspects of these professions,\u2019 explains Delphine Jenart, coordinator of Wake! By Digital Wallonia<\/a>, the new digital creativity community launched in January by KIKK<\/a>, a non-profit organisation which explores the intersections between art, sciences, technologies and society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9<\/strong> Louise Adelbrecht<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018We wanted this first edition of WID to be both inspiring and practical,\u2019 explains Marine Haverland, the WID coordinator. \u2018It is for that reason that the day was pretty rich and varied: in parallel with lectures and round-tables, workshops were held on technical knowledge, such as an introduction to Midjourney and online self-branding, as well as soft skills coaching.\u2019 Including the ways of giving and receiving feedback. It\u2019s a way of going back home with several new strings to your bow. That in any case is the opinion of one of the participants of the coaching session on \u2018how to present your project to a financial institution?\u2019 given by St\u2019art Invest. \u2018It was great, I learned a lot. I feel more confident about setting up my project,\u2019 she says, all smiles, whilst heading to another workshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Video games galore<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In terms of inspiration, the bar was straightway raised to somewhere in the proximity of the stars. At the age of just 30, M\u00e9lanie Courtinat<\/a>, who defines herself as an immersive artistic director and a contemporary artist based in Paris, came to explain her journey, without any empty rhetoric. Going over the difficulties she has experienced, her faith in her work, the opportunities she has been able to prise open. And, on the basis of her experiences, she revealed her tips to making an honest living in the digital arts domain. Whilst she was giving her presentation, the notebooks of the participants were blackened with scribbled notes, it was that inspiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9<\/strong> Louise Adelbrecht<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The special aspect of my work is that I create exclusively on the computer. I am fascinated by video game engines. I use software such as Unity to create video games, virtual reality, augmented, mixed reality. I also create images and films in 3D. Around 40% of my time is spent creating artworks which travel the world over via museums, institutions, festivals, art galleries, on the basis of a classic economic model of contemporary art.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018At the same time, since 2017, I have been working within the scope of commercial projects commissioned by brands or operators such as Dior, Dolce&Gabbana, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Cartier etc. In the world of luxury and fashion, there is a kind of curiosity and yearning for new technologies. And the video game lends itself to it marvellously. Working for brands always involves telling an emotion. It also means going very far in personal artistic creation, accepting dozens of back-and-forths with the client and numerous compromises.\u2019 And the examples of the results projected onto the big screen in the TRAKK\u2019s plenary hall are of a breathtaking beauty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world of music also reaches out to M\u00e9lanie Courtinat in order to make video clips. As was the case with the group Agar-Agar<\/a>, which granted her total artistic freedom. But also with Dixon, a famous house music DJ, for whom she created Nei, an avatar who shimmies along a pole dance bar<\/a>. \u2018It is completely crazy that what I have created at home is eventually visible on a giant screen to 11,000 people,\u2019 says the enthralled digital artist. She also creates face filters. \u2018My economic model, it\u2019s a lot of bricolage. I learn a lot on the job, depending on the commissions. And I am careful about making sure that my technological skills are always up-to-date.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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