Girls That Geek: Sustainable Futures

Sophie Hedderwick is a Birmingham based multimedia artist/researcher, using film, VR, 3D LiDAR scans and video mapping; and a lecturer in Creative Technologies at Birmingham School of Art, BCU. She is also artist in residence at the Hive, Jewellery Quarter, where she has set up a bio art lab/sustainable darkroom.

Sophie is passionate about sustainable practices, and how technology can be improved by using waste and recycling. She is currently researching biomaterials, to produce conductive textiles from waste products and seaweed. She is designing/making a bio mimicry motion capture costume for young dancers, based on pangolin scales, made from activated charcoal and seaweed.

Sophie has worked with artists, dancers, musicians, composers and ecologists on collaborative projects, including a film project on re-wilding a local nature reserve, which was shown at Tate Liverpool (2020 online) and Ikon gallery (2021). She has worked with dancers from Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Sonia Sabri Company, filming, editing and live video mapping six films in the Hippodrome Theatre (2012), and produced ten short films for Decadence, at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre (2013). Sophie was commissioned to produce an interactive light installation at the Hippodrome (2010). She subsequently showed Lightening Strike, a light installation, at the MAC (2011), as part of See, Hear Group Exhibition.

Sophie’s work has been exhibited worldwide, notably the Venice Art Bienale (2009), the Dutch Film and Design Festival (2011), Armory Arts, New York (2013).

Mikayla Sinead is the Immersive Studio Manager at BOM. BOM is an immersive arts organisation, empowering communities through immersive innovation & learning. Creating award-winning experiences in VR, AR and games that have strong social purpose. BOM are on a mission to diversify the immersive sector. BOM’s inclusive learning programmes give underserved communities the skills to become confident creators.

Mikayla has a wealth of experience in supporting diverse talent to reach positions of influence and leadership and as such Mikayla is in the 2019 cohort of Birmingham Live’s 30 under 30 in recognition of her work in this area. An enthusiastic gamer or serial backlogger and passionate speaker Mikayla is keen to ensure the region’s games industry has a healthy ecosystem of diverse talent development and retention into leadership positions leading to more inclusive, innovative and immersive experiences for all.

She is a board member for the industry body Create Central and is a Patron of the mental health charity Safe in Our World as well as a mentor for the Limit Break mentorship programme.

Shaka Tafari is a multi-award-winning multidisciplinary artist, designer, and creative technologist, specialising in inclusive technology and bio-design. Born in Iraq, Shaka fled to the UK as a refugee during the 2003 invasion and channelled her transformative experiences into a focus on the Mind-Body-Nature symbiosis. Her work bridges immersive technology, interactive art, and digital neurotherapy to push the boundaries of creative expression and healing.

A two-time winner of London’s prestigious XR Hackathon in the Meta category. As both the director and designer, Shaka spearheaded her team in developing a ground-breaking mixed reality mental health project HabitSpace. Pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the realm of mixed reality and how technology can address mental well-being.

Shaka is also the founder of Circuit & Clay, a playground for radical experimentation at the intersection of science, technology, culture, and art. The C&C fosters cross-generational collaboration bringing together diverse fields to cultivate new creators. From augmented reality heritage experiences to bio-art sculptures to neurofeedback VR therapy and brainwave art installations. She continues to redefine the possibilities of creative technology and its role in human connection.

Pamela Aculey is an award-winning author, entrepreneur, and the visionary founder behind Just Like Me Books and MIXD Reality. Inspired by her autistic son, Walter, Pamela launched Just Like Me Books to create an inclusive reading experience that reflects the diversity of our world.

This ground-breaking series is the first to incorporate augmented reality (AR), transforming storytelling into an immersive journey where children of all backgrounds and abilities can see themselves and engage with stories in new, interactive ways. Pamela’s dedication to inclusivity and innovation didn’t stop there. Through MIXD Reality, she pioneers AR technology to enhance storytelling and bring educational content to life. Working with publishers, authors, and brands, MIXD Reality creates powerful AR experiences that engage audiences across multiple fields—from education and play to brand marketing.

As a speaker and advocate, Pamela is passionate about advancing conversations around autism, representation, and inclusivity. Through her work with Just Like Me Books and MIXD Reality, she continues to break boundaries, ensuring children everywhere feel celebrated, valued, and seen.

Allie Joy is an artist working, though not exclusively, with creative technologies such as video, VR, 3D printing, 360 film, and projection installations. Her primary inquiry is to visualize and merge the parallels between our inner and outer natures. By often employing technology as her medium of choice, she explores wellbeing in its most fundamental state, creating artworks that embody these abstract understandings.

Allie Joy's art transcends traditional boundaries, merging technology and human experience into a seamless narrative.

Allie is also the co-founder of Syntropy, a new kind of wellbeing app which combines digital art and music for the purposes of breathwork and relaxation.

Lara is a freelance cultural consultant working in the cultural sector across the UK on projects specialising in diversity, innovation, leadership, collaboration and cultural policy. She works with arts organisations, universities and public bodies.

She also co-produces a series of cultural leadership programmes for people from diverse backgrounds linked to geographical place and also curates a digital Conference called Hello Culture.

Lara is on the board of Compton Verney, is on the UK Council for Creative UK and the Midlands Advisory Group for the National Trust.

Alex Billingham is West Midlands based with an international practice. She works across Live art / Dance / Theatre – Visual arts / Film and Digital media.

Pulling from her own lived experience of being “Othered” to tackle various subjects. Seeing how they collide and intermingle.

Often making playful and silly work about our continued survival. She uses ideas of Perma culture and our connection to nature as a start point.

She has worked with Tate St Ives / Indus valley – Karachi / Ackland University of Technology / Ugly Duck London / The Baltic / DASH / University of Birmingham.

She has recently had a major duo show at The New Art Gallery Walsall and had a 2023/4 SMQB residency with the university of Birmingham’s science department looking at how Ai’s see the world.

She is currently

• Developing a new body of work for her solo show Neon Caverns at Level Centre Derbyshire in 2025.
• Filming ‘Black Country by the sea’ a short film / computer game about Octopuses turning the Black Country into a human habitat. Release date 2025.
• Touring Submerged an adaptable theatrical / live art show about after the floods including projection and computer games.