Speakers
Hear from top talents and key opinion leaders in the immersive and experiential arts and entertainment space! Watch this space as we are continually updating our programme to bring you the best experience.
Vince Kadlubek
Founder & Director,
Meow Wolf
Vince Kadlubek is a Founder and Director of Meow Wolf, an art collective that has transformed into an award winning Art and Entertainment Production Company that specializes in immersive, open-world walk through experiences.
Vince acted as leader and CEO for Meow Wolf through its formidable years, having created the business plan for Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return and leading the team towards the project's completion in March of 2016. In January of 2017 Kadlubek formed Meow Wolf, Inc as a full fledged arts production company and creative studio positioned to create the largest, most innovative and audacious monumental art exhibits in the world.
Takeshi Yamada is a director of community engagement at teamLab. He joined teamLab in 2017. Since joining teamLab, he has been involved in community engagement and recruitment as well as working on specific art projects.
Takeshi Yamada
Director for Community Engagement,
teamlab
Andrea has been a Production and Project Manager for immersive and site-specific performances since 2005. With a background in technical production management, she is passionate about large, high-quality projects that unlock the potential of unusual locations. Drawing on her extensive experiential production knowledge, she implements both strategic technical thinking and her extensive production knowledge to deliver a creative project effectively. At work, her big picture is to achieve the best possible creative vision and deliver the best experience for the audience from the outset. Andrea has delivered projects for Punchdrunk since 2010 and is currently the Head of Production. She's also a co-founder of the immersive sound company - Darkfield.
Andrea Salazar
Head of Production,
Punchdrunk
Amy Novadnieks
Producer,
Punchdrunk
Amy joined Punchdrunk in February 2021 as an Associate Producer on The Burnt City in London and Sleep No More in Shanghai. Amy works closely with Punchdrunk’s international partners and internal teams to manage the preparation, delivery and running of productions, creative projects and development work. Punchdrunk was founded in 2000 by Felix Barrett and has since pioneered a game-changing form of theatre, which places the audience at the very heart of the action. Recently listed amongst the 50 most influential artists of the last 50 years (Sky Arts, 2022) alongside Bowie, Sir Steve McQueen and Vivienne Westwood, Punchdrunk disrupts the theatrical norm, creating worlds in which audiences can rediscover the childlike excitement of exploring the unknown.
Founder,
The immersive Experience Institute/No Proscenium
Noah J. Nelson
Noah Nelson is the founder of No Proscenium, a publication dedicated to the immersive & experiential arts, and The Immersive Experience Institute. He holds a BA in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University, and teaches at CalArts (Fall 2023).
Assistant Director, Experience Development
National Gallery Singapore
Jean Hair
Jean Hair is a Singapore-based arts producer with over 15 years of experience in the GLAM sector, across national arts institutions and cultural startups. She is currently serving as Assistant Director (Experience Development) in National Gallery Singapore, she was also the Lead Programmer for the Light to Night Festival since 2020 and a key figure behind milestone projects in the Gallery. She is also an advocate for accessibility and inclusive representation in the arts, having commissioned 4 disability-led productions for the Gallery and developing innovative modes of arts engagement utilising gameplay and non-visual senses to promote broader participation amongst new-to-art audiences. Jean is also the co-founder of Play it Forward Singapore - a public piano initiative activating public spaces in Singapore as sites for community engagement, with over 20 refurbished pianos placed across the city.
Lim Su Pei
Deputy Director,
Oh! Open House
Su Pei has over 14 years of professional experience working for the arts industry. Under the umbrella of The Old Parliament House Limited (renamed as Arts House Limited w.e.f. April 2014), she has managed international and regional arts-business programmes held locally and across the continent in South Africa and Eastern Europe. Su Pei spent the last 8 years with OH! Open House as the Deputy Director, telling alternative stories of Singapore through art experiences.
Melinda Lauw
Director, Experience Design
Lucid
Melinda is an artist and experience designer with over 8 years experience in immersive arts and entertainment. She currently leads the development of new attractions and heads the operations team at Lucid Experiences, an immersive company in Singapore. Key projects that she spearheaded include Otah & Friends: Camp Stardust in partnership with the National Museum of Singapore, Wellness Festival Singapore 2022 and 2023 for Singapore Tourism Board, and Stranger Things: The Encounter for Mighty Jaxx and Netflix. Melinda's mission is to create experiences that merge art, wellness, and entertainment, and to connect immersive communities around the world. She was previously based in the US, where she co-founded the hit immersive ASMR production Whisperlodge, and served as Story Lead at the Museum of Ice Cream. She has been featured on Netflix, PBS, and in The New York Times, and has created experiences for brands such as Audible, Refinery 29 and Marriott Hotel Group.
Raihan Harun
Artistic Director,
Void Deck Games
Raihan Harun, a visionary artistic director and co-founder of Void Deck Games, mesmerizes Singaporean audiences with unique immersive theatrical experiences. Raihan's creative impetus is to empower theatre audiences, inviting them to play characters in pulsating cinematic narratives. Through his immersive productions, traditional barriers between performer and spectator dissolve, granting audiences agency to shape unfolding events within the story. One of Raihan's notable works, "Dance of the Dead," fuses vampire mythology with Southeast Asian cultural influences, delivering an unforgettable vampire rave in an atmospheric warehouse. Esplanade has also commissioned him to create immersive shows like Changeling, a fantastical adventure where kids delve into the world of mysterious Bunian fairies and battle a Dragon made of test papers! Void Deck Games opens a new chapter with the Centre for Creative Play at Goodman Arts Centre, Singapore's first incubation space for immersive work.
Qi Qi
Founder and CEO,
Drama-plus Entertainment Group
Mr. Qi Qi, the founder and CEO of Drama-plus Entertainment Group holds a Master degree in Finance from Cass Business School, London; and a Master degree in Law from Swansea University, UK. He joined commodity trading firm in Switzerland after graduation from school. After 5 years in commodity trading business, he found his true passion and started his career in creative culture industry. His career path covered Equity investment, production management and International IP trading. His production portfolio including: West end Musical ‘Wind in the Willows’; Immersive show ‘Alice's Adventures Underground’, ‘Immersive the Great Gatsby’, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’; Immersive dinning ‘The Grand Expedition’ and ‘Yummy Studio’.
Co-Founder,
ANDSOFORTH
Stuart Wee
Stuart spent 9 years establishing immersive culture in Singapore, bringing over 65 concepts to life. He's a visionary in immersive dining, co-founding ANDSOFORTH and producing the immersive Around the World in 80 Days Book Analysis Workshop. In 2021, amid the pandemic, he launched Absurdities, the World's Most Absurd Restaurant, serving a sensory 6-course dinner in 6 immersive rooms. Absurdities received a prestigious THEA award in immersive dining, alongside Universal Beijing and Disney's Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, affirming its remarkable achievement.
Henry Soon
Creative Director,
Mighty Jaxx Group
Creative Director with over 17 years of product and marketing experience across the world where I've been pushing the envelope in exploring how art and technology can come together to create meaningful brand experiences for consumers.
Founder and CEO,
Surprise Lab
Albert Chen
Albert Chen is the founder and CEO of Surprise Lab, an experience design company which is dedicated to crafting the most inspiring and life-chaning experience for the audience. Albert excels in integrating various media for experience innovations. Immersive experience, food design, theater, photography, and filmmaking are all part of his repertoire. With an extensive portfolio, Albert pioneers in Taiwan’s emerging market of immersive experience. Since 2016, Albert has launched 10 experience projects, spanning diverse categories including dining experience with “Dining in the Dark” and 'Table for ONE,’ immersive theater with ‘The Great Tipsy' and 'Club Tomorrow,' street action project 'Project S,' and an indoor mini golf playground “WHEE”. The accumulated number of guests has reached 200,000.
Kuo Jian Hong
Artistic Director,
The Theatre Practice
Artistic Director of The Theatre Practice (Practice), theatre director, designer, and filmmaker, Kuo Jian Hong has always taken on multi-faceted roles. She has led more than 200 theatre projects, in a career spanning three decades. Transcending themes, genres and forms, Jian Hong’s vision encompasses Practice’s broad spectrum of works. Jian Hong is known for the critically-acclaimed Four Horse Road, Singapore’s most ambitious promenade theatre production to date. She is also a leading proponent of the Chinese Language Original Musical Theatre genre while her experimental ventures include I came at last to the seas for Esplanade’s ‘Huayi Chinese Festival of Arts’. She also spearheaded Practice’s groundbreaking exploration in Digital Theatre, notably through the interactive multi-platform murder mystery The Bride Always Knocks Twice – Killer Secrets and the livestream-streaming system XIMI. Under her direction, Practice continues to be a vital voice in the Singapore arts scene
Director, Marketing and Partnerships,
Museum of Ice Cream
Kia Yong Lau
At Museum of Ice Cream, founded by Figure8, he has contributed to establishing Figure8 as a global lifestyle brand recognized around the world for designing award winning, multi-sensory experiential developments. Through driving innovative marketing campaigns and strategic partnerships, he has helped MOIC welcome millions of visitors to its fully immersive, interactive spaces that create connection through the universal power of ice cream. With locations in Austin, Chicago, New York City, and Singapore, Museum of Ice Cream remains a pioneer in the experience-first industry, continuing to develop unique concepts that provoke wonder and creativity. In this summit, he will talk about his experience at Figure8 where they put human connection at the forefront to create experiums - places outside of distraction, away from expectation and beyond inhibition.
Deputy director, Festivals, Precinct Development,
and Development & Partnerships,
National Heritage Board
David Chew
David Chew is festival director of the Singapore Heritage Festival and the Singapore Night Festival, and oversees place-making efforts of the Bras Basah Bugis precinct as well as the Development and Partnerships division at the National Heritage Board. He has been involved in arts and heritage for almost two decades, starting out as the arts correspondent for TODAY newspaper, moving to various heritage policy and community outreach roles in NHB, MCCY and UNESCO. He has also been a curator at the Singapore Art Museum and was one of the curators for the Singapore Biennale 2013. He also ran the Singapour en France Festival of Singapore culture that took place in over 20 cities all over France in 2015. He holds an MA in Contemporary Art Theory from Goldsmiths College, University of London, as well as a Bachelor of Arts from the National University of Singapore and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Monash University.
Founder,
MeshMinds & The MeshMinds Foundation
Kay Vasey
Kay Poh Gek Vasey is technology lawyer turned entrepreneur focused on creating immersive and interactive experiences that promote climate and cultural literacy amongst youth and online communities. In 2023, Kay spearheaded the development of "Sky Farm Island", the first vertical farming game set in Asia on Roblox, which serves to capture the essence of modern digital education and motivate children to cultivate and consume healthy produce. Additionally, she led the creation of "Aquasia", launched at the VR Gallery at ArtScience Museum in Singapore, a captivating metaworld immersion which hopes to spark conversations and inspire young minds on the future of human habitats in the face of rising sea levels. Kay offers expertise and advocacy on XR creation & production; metaverse pedagogy; digital sustainability; digital transformation; and the future of art & creativity.
Business Development Director,
Dezign Format
Jonathan Chong
Jonathan Chong is the Business Development Director at Dezign Format, a design and build specialist in integrated spatial experiences. Well-regarded for its expertise, Dezign Format is the craftsman behind various engaging immersive experiences. A few of the company's notable projects include Cartier's "Into the Wild", Wellness Festival Singapore and Universal Studios Singapore Halloween Horror Nights, among others. One of Dezign Format’s original immersive exhibitions "The Beethoven Experience", unveiled in Shanghai, garnered significant recognition by receiving the Gold Award in the Experiential and Interactive category at the MUSE Creative Awards.
CEO,
Hustle & Bustle
Michael Lee
Michael started Hustle & Bustle (H&B) with a simple but big dream - to bring people closer to each other and to their passions through shared experiences. As Singapore’s leading immersive storytelling and edutainment group, H&B has curated unique event campaigns and groundbreaking exhibitions that seamlessly blend arts, culture and technology. These include the Fullerton Concours d’Elegance, Southeast Asia’s first of its kind premier celebration of the automobile, and Dale Chihuly: Glass in Bloom, Dale Chihuly’s first major garden exhibition in Asia amid the COVID-19 pandemic. H&B also organised the highly-raved Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, the first in Southeast Asia. Today, H&B’s team of Brand Custodians, Community Builders and Event Innovators looks to bring its brand of ingenuity and originality to the rest of Asia.
Founder/CEO,
Lucid
Tan Weiting
Weiting is an accomplished business leader with a strong track record in spearheading international teams and pioneering innovative products across the dynamic intersections of the tech and entertainment sectors. He also stands as the visionary behind the hit attraction, The Bubble Tea Factory. This immersive experience captured the hearts and imaginations of countless visitors in 2019, establishing itself as a trailblazer in the entertainment industry. With a diverse portfolio of experiences accrued from his extensive globetrotting, Weiting possesses a deep-seated passion for cultivating extraordinary and meaningful experiences. His unwavering commitment to pushing boundaries and redefining the realm of possibilities continues to be a driving force in his journey of making Singapore a prominent player in the international arena.
Honor Harger
Vice President of Attractions,
ArtScience Museum, MBS
Honor Harger is a curator from New Zealand interested in the cultural impact of scientific ideas and how futures are imagined by museums and cultural organisations. She is the Vice President of ArtScience Museum Singapore, and Vice President of Attractions at Marina Bay Sands.
ArtScience Museum presents significant exhibitions that explore science, technology and the future. Its permanent exhibition, Future World, a collaboration with teamLab, embodies its future-focused programme. ArtScience Museum has also held large-scale exhibitions by some of the world’s best known artists including Leonardo da Vinci and M.C. Escher, and has presented contemporary artists including Olafur Eliasson, Janet Cardiff, Anish Kapoor, Mariko Mori, Theo Jansen, Lynette Wallworth, Ryoji Ikeda, Yang Yongliang, John Akomfrah and many more. The museum has also presented significant exhibitions that explore aspects of science, including big data, particle physics, natural history, marine biology, cosmology, space exploration and climate change.
Prior to joining ArtScience Museum, Honor was the director of Lighthouse, a digital culture, visual arts and film venue in Brighton, UK. She was also the first curator of webcasting for Tate (http://www.tate.org.uk), where she also curated events and concerts at Tate Modern. She has curated an edition of the transmediale festival in Berlin, and led the AV Festival in the UK.
Honor has given talks at conferences and festivals such as TED, SciFoo, LIFT, Webstock, MuseumNext, Ars Electronica, Innovative City Forum, and World Architecture Festival, as well as lecturing at the European Space Agency, the Centre Pompidou, MIT, California Institute of the Arts, and the American Film Institute and other places. She is also one of the co-founders of the sound art collective, r a d i o q u a l i a, who are best known for Radio Astronomy, a radio station broadcasting sound from space.
In 2022, Honor was one of the members of the organising commitee of the Future of Arts and Culture study which examines emerging forces, drivers of change and the possible impacts that may reshape the cultural sector in the coming decade.
Senior Producer,
Esplanade
Shireen Abdullah
Shireen is a theatre and dance producer with 20 years of experience in the arts in Singapore. She works on festivals and productions of varying scales and across a range of contemporary disciplines and forms, both indoors and outdoors. She has particular interest in immersive and participatory work, puppetry and circus. Shireen is currently a senior producer and programmer with Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, Singapore, where she works on some of the centre’s key festivals and programmes, including Flipside, da:ns festival (now da:ns focus) and The Studios theatre series. Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay is Singapore’s national performing arts centre, offering a rich line-up of about 3,500 performances and activities featuring dance, music, theatre, visual arts and more, annually. Esplanade is operated by The Esplanade Co Ltd, which is a not-for-profit organisation, a registered Charity and an Institution of a Public Character.