SIGGRAPH, the world's premier conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques, will return to Vancouver in 2014. 

SIGGRAPH 2014 will build on the record-breaking success of SIGGRAPH 2011, when the Vancouver Convention Centre was selected as the first conference site outside of the United States in SIGGRAPH’s 35-year history. The city welcomed more than 15,500 artists, gaming experts and developers, research scientists, filmmakers, students, and academics from 74 countries around the world, breaking the city’s all-time conference attendance record and injecting an estimated $50 million into the local economy.

Vancouver’s strong digital community and immense popularity with conference attendees have made it one of the most memorable conference cities, according to a SIGGRAPH news release. “The fact that we are returning to Canada is a direct reflection of its strong and growing computer graphics community,” said Joe Marks, SIGGRAPH Conference Advisory Group Chair from Disney Research at The Walt Disney Company and Chair of GRAND's International Scientific Advisory Committee. 

While 2011 marked the first SIGGRAPH conference held outside of the United States, Canadian research and researchers have been consistently featured at SIGGRAPH conferences throughout the years.

“There has always been a strong Canadian presence at the annual SIGGRAPH conference, which is the top international venue for showing off 'what's new' in computer graphics”, explained Dr. Kellogg Booth, Scientific Director of GRAND.  “We hope to see future SIGGRAPH conferences held in other Canadian centres in computer graphics, such as Montreal and Toronto. The wealth of expertise across Canada provides the base for GRAND's research in computer graphics and other areas of digital media."

Photo credit: SIGGRAPH