Native Minds With Gabo Arora

Join the world’s leading virtual reality maker for a one-off talk & workshop.

Virtual Reality immerses you in an experience. Gabo Arora (USA) is an award-winning immersive artist, filmmaker and Founder/Creative Director of LightShed, a pioneering storytelling, technology and research studio focused exclusively on VR, AR and AI.

Heralded by the LA times as “game-changing” and “transcending all the typical barriers of rectangular cinema”, Gabo Arora’s widely acclaimed virtual reality documentaries have all premiered as official selections at major film festivals around the world. He is a professor at Johns Hopkins University, where he designed, leads and is the Founding Director of the new Immersive Storytelling and Emerging Technologies (ISET) program and lab.

Formerly, he was a Senior Economic Policy Advisor for Secretary General Ban Ki-moon; a UN diplomat with extensive field experience in disaster and conflict zones; and the United Nations’ first-ever Creative Director where he founded UNVR – a division of the UN focused on virtual reality initiatives and campaigns.

His work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, nominated for an Emmy, awarded a Cannes Lions, a Sheffield Doc/Fest award for best documentary, a Lumière Award, two Webbys, and has been featured in the New Yorker and the BBC world service.

VR film Clouds Over Sidra in partnership with UNICEF, continues to double direct to consumer fundraising contributions from 1:12 to 1:6. Sidra is distributed in 40 countries in 15 different languages and is the most widely distributed and viewed social impact VR film globally.

This workshop is a one-off rare opportunity (only 30 spots available!) to learn from the world’s leading VR creative.

Rangatahi interested in signing up for the rangatahi workshop should email match@maorilandfilm.co.nz

Gabo Arora will also deliver a NATIVE Minds kōrero on May 22 at 6:30 pm, tickets are $6 and can be purchased via iticket.co.nz

About M.A.T.C.H – Korakora Matihiko
Māoriland Charitable Trust has created M.A.T.C.H to enable and mentor our rangatahi to be leaders in the creative tech industry.

Korakora Matihiko is a two week expo with Indigenous games, indigenous games, animation, vr & 360 and comics including rangatahi workshops and public kōrero.

M.A.T.C.H – Māoriland’s tech creative hub will put new technology in the hands of our rangatahi.

Special guests include:
May 18 – Kuruho Wereta and Rosie Remmerswaal from Kaupapa (Game, Aotearoa).
May 22 – Gabo Arora (Leading VR creative, New York)
May 23 – Coco Solid (Animation, Aotearoa)
May 29 – 30 – Indigihack (Coding, Australia)

M.A.T.C.H runs from May 17 – June 1 at the Māoriland Hub.

Opening hours (By koha):
Tuesday – Friday 10 am – 4 pm
Saturday 10 am – 3 pm

School visits by appointment, contact match@maorilandfilm.co.nz for info.