Playgrounds Blend | Fest & conference on cutting edge creativity

By Wacom |

Playgrounds is an art festival and conference on cutting edge creativity. Since a decade, Playgrounds is a community and meeting ground for passionate motion designers, innovative animators, and amazing art directors. It is a perfect opportunity to catch up with international leading colleagues, to be inspired and get new ideas, expand your international network and – who knows – acquire new business leads.
Naturally, Wacom is part of the fest and present with our latest pen tablets & displays. This April they’re gearing up for the second edition of Playgrounds Blend, a fest and conference on cutting edge creativity.

4 & 5 April – Pier 15 Breda

In Breda, they’ll embark yet on another adventure, as the festival will take place at skatepark Pier15. On 4 & 5 April we’ll take over the area and we would love to meet you at this inspiring venue.

8 April – Tuschinksi Amsterdam

In Amsterdam, they’ll be hosting Blend at the amazing art deco venue Tuschinski on 8 April. A unique opportunity to mix the old with the new and merge the rich history of the venue with the future of the moving image.

During Blend, they’ll be showcasing a catwalk of inspiring, progressive and innovative makers who are known for stretching outside of a genre and mashing more things up. You will be able to pick their brains, see how they did it, how they started, what they studied, how they became famous as well as what amazing projects they are tackling at the moment.
Prepare for a Blend of vanguard artist talks, music, graffiti, tattoo artists, indie games, an expo by leading international illustrators and designers, food trucks, and much more! Confirmed artists are David Wilson (UK), DIA Studio (US), BUCK (US), Hedof (NL), Michael Marczeswski (UK) and Patrick O’Keefe (US).

Some highlights in the line-up:

Welcoming another power addition to the Playgrounds Blend line-up: Patrick O’ Keefe. He worked as a visual development artist and matte painter on a variety of films, video games, commercials, and television shows. Next to that he was part of the Emmy- award-winning VR-project Henry and as a background painter on Disney Television Animation’s Big Hero Six The Series. More recently, he worked as an art-director for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse at Sony Pictures Animation, so they are really excited to listen to insights about his vision and sources of inspiration.
They generate designs for typefaces, they produce brand identities but, most importantly, they constantly challenge the creative conventions. At first glance, DIA Studio might seem a small independent creative agency in SoHo, but wait until you check out their portfolio! Consistently showcasing artistry and innovation off the charts, with clients ranging from Samsung, Nike, NBC to the U.N to FX, DIA Studio simply had to be included in their Blend 2019 line-up.

There are some creatives that look at commercial projects like the ‘necessary evil’ that need to be completed in order to make artistic and innovative projects happen. BUCK thinks differently. This design-driven production company views commercial production as a playground. They take what the agencies give them and infuse everything with original concepts and design-driven extravaganzas. And the cherry on top? They always have the freedom of experimenting new things without getting hemmed in one style. Their playful style-blending mentality is exactly why they are thrilled to have them!
He blended genres, he broke tabus, he surprised his audiences making them always expect the unexpected even if that meant a psychedelic journey encapsulated in a seemingly classical live-action short. He is David Wilson and he is the epiphany of what the ‘blending’ concept means for the music video industry.
David has created work for artists such as Arctic Monkeys, David Guetta, Lady Gaga, Metronomy, Royal Blood, We Have Band, The Maccabees, Japanese Popstars and Tame Impala, receiving copious accolades including being crowned Best Director at the UK Music Video Awards and a Grammy nomination in 2015 for his video for Arcade Fire, ‘We Exist’.