C-LAB and the Society for Arts and Technology (SAT), respective leaders in immersive dome theaters in Asia and North America, signed a memorandum of understanding on March 21, launching a new era of creative and technological exchange in immersive audiovisual experiences. The signing ceremony took place at SAT's Satosphère in Canada, represented on each side by Kevin PENG, Chairperson of the Living Arts Foundation and C-LAB, and Jenny Thibault, General and Artistic Director of SAT.

A New Chapter in Taiwan-Canada Tech Art Exchange

Located in Montreal, Canada, SAT was founded in 1996 as a non-profit organization for digital culture, with the mission of advancing the arts, training and research. Its Satosphère, established in 2011, focuses on immersive creation, mixed-realities, and telepresence applications. Internationally recognized as the benchmark institution for immersive art and development, SAT shares common ground with C-LAB, specifically in the latter’s FVL DOME theater and immersive performance initiatives since 2020. The signing of the MOU is a commitment to shared explorations in artistic creation, co-production, and technological research through co-creation workshops and professional training, bolstering art and technical talent pool. This partnership opens a new chapter in Taiwan-Canada technology art collaboration.

C-LAB Chairperson Kevin PENG notes that C-LAB's immersive FVL DOME and Taiwan Sound Lab are entering their sixth year, having matured in ambisonics sound and immersive art experiences within a fully transportable structure. He hopes that future collaborations with SAT will foster cross-national dialogue in technology art, contributing to innovation in art and talent development. Peng also expresses gratitude to the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei for its assistance, as well as to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Montreal for their strong support, which helped ensure the successful signing of the agreement.

SAT General and Artistic Director Jenny Thibault says that both SAT and C-LAB are committed to technology art and share the goal of further inspiring cross-disciplinary and cross-national creative sparks through this collaboration.

First Immersive Lab Workshop with Taiwanese and International Artists Unveiling New Dome Art

C-LAB and SAT signal the beginning of their collaboration in launching the first professional workshop for creative exchange. The C-LAB team, Taiwanese composer William KUO, and new media artist Tim WEI attended the first Labos Immersifs, hosted by SAT and co-organized with France's Assemblée Artistique Des Diversités Numériques (AADN). The workshop involved four international partners, C-LAB, CULTVR LAB (Wales, UK), Chapel Sound (Canada), and AVX LAB (Brazil), inviting or selecting 18 participating international digital, sound, or multimedia artists. The lineup of master class instructors includes SAT's Visual Immersion Researcher-Integrator Vincent BRAULT, World Creation Studio co-founder and artist Milo REINHARDT, and sound and image researcher and artist Myriam BOUCHER.

The five-day workshop, running from March 17 to 21, focuses on professional skills development, collective creation in art residencies, and hackathons. Artists work in groups to create immersive art for dome spaces. International teams provide technical assistance and facilitate exchanges to reach the prototype stage, presenting works on March 22 at the 18-meter diameter by 13-meter high immersive Satosphère, with 8 projectors and a 93.5-channel sound system. This intensive workshop unleashed immense potential and excitement for each work.