Tech giants join festival

This year’s returning Emergence Creative festival is bringing in the social media and online giants.

Significant representatives from Facebook and Google are expected to be in the mix when the Margaret River-based international festival returns from a year’s hiatus in March.

Based at the Heart, the festival’s seventh instalment will see Google Zoo’s chief creative Dave Bowman and Facebook Creative Shop’s creative services lead Claire Davidson front the mic. Mr Bowman is responsible for finding creative solutions for clients using Google technology.

Ms Davidson produces and creates mobile-first advertising for brands, clients and agencies for Facebook and Instagram.

Joining them will be New York’s serial tech entrepreneur Bill Cromie, who has founded a tech incubator that supports New Yorkers living below the poverty line, as well as former Mamamia Women’s Network video content creators Briony Benjamin and Clare Gerber.

Also in the mix is specialist Andrew Hoyne and Gill Minervini, the creative producer of events such as Dark MOFO’s Winter Feast, the Sydney Mardi Gras, and Melbourne Docklands’ Firelight Festival.

Festival chairman Mat Lewis said Emergence Creative continued as an incubator of collaborations and connections.

“From developing festival beer cans with local artists that flip into national brands, to mentoring the next generation of content and filmmakers, Emergence has built a family of contributors that reaches far and wide,” Mr Lewis said.

This year’s conference from March 25-27 has the theme of Human Connection in a Post-digital World and speakers will “share their journeys and experiences, exploring how they — and we — can harness the benefits of new tech, dodge the pitfalls and connect as people in a post-digital landscape”.