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the hollywood reporter

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    📸Psych major.
    Ms. Jamaica Universe Runner Up.
    One of the youngest producers at
    Reggae Entertainment Television.
    Radio & TV Arts at Ryerson.
    Raindance Immersibe Film Fest. nod for A Christmas Carol VR.
    Founder of @oriondigitalinc

    My life has not been a straight line, it’s always been about story.

    During Toronto Tech Week, at The Hollywood Reporter’s @thrwiecanada event, I watched that in real time: women doing it all on their own terms.

    Barbara Williams (42 years in the game) reminded us you can have it all, just not all at once. Michelle Obama said this as well, but it hit differently in this room.

    With Pride Month coming up @lilly
    sharing her journey as an out, queer South Asian woman in entertainment felt like a mirror. Emmy award-nominated Andrea Martin closing her Impact Award speech with a RAP at almost 80 was the proof that creativity does not expire.

    Acting. Tech. Pageants. Queerness. Solo Immigrant stories.
    Women. Can. Do. It. All.

    From stages to startups, I am just getting started. Special thanks to @oyablackarts for making this happen!

    #WomenInEntertainment #TechFounder #ImmersiveMedia #VR #TorontoTechWeek PrideMonth OrionDigital RepresentationMatters Multihyphenate

toronto tech week

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    Toronto Tech Week was THAT girl ✨
    Two events. Too many gems. One unforgettable week.

    🎉 Event 1 - Heart Space @demoroom with @krista.kim@4korners was proof that culture IS the tech ecosystem. The vibes? DJ 4Korners had us moving. The mix was giving!! 🎧🔥 Spotted my @yspaceyu Venture Catalyst fam in the building too, we really are out here!!

    🎤 Event 2 — Reverse Pitch Night @ Smart & Biggar with Startup Grind Toronto completely shifted how I think about fundraising. INVESTORS pitched US. Their thesis. Their wish list. They told us their how-to-work-with-them guide. Revolutionary doesn’t even cover it.

    Takeaways in the slides: Tech, investment + culture intersect in a meaningful way. Community matters! Your peers will put you on. Reverse pitches are the future. Networking and raising can be FUN!

    📍Toronto | #TorontoTechWeek#StartupGrind#YSpace#ReversePitch

2026 blockchain futurist conference

VRTO: AI and Diversity Talk

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    Demystifying the connection between humanity and technology through an examination of XR today and AI use cases tomorrow. This talk was led by Creative #Technologist Debbie Deer. Debbie will be references her work with the Performance and XR/Single Thread #theatre IBPOC Fellowship and their project ‘Hidden Place’. She will also connects her research into ancient simulation theory (such as the Dogan, Hindu, Sumerian, Egyptian and Greek Cultures) and how this has been used throughout time to deconstruct the meaning and mechanics of life. She draw parallels in how the natural intelligence of life influences and informs our future with #ai It ends with a concept video or #vr demo for the piece ‘You Are The AI.”

Arcweave Showcase Feature

  • Read more at Arcweave.com

    Happy Monday friends! We all work hard to achieve our goals and dreams. Often in the dark. It's a beautiful experience when our work is showcased in the light. The folks at Arcweave have featured our hybrid theatre VR immersion 'Stories from the Desert Sky' from The Nefertiti Experience! We used this amazing UI/UX software to write the game design for our production.

    Featured in the Toronto International Film Festival's 'Deep Focus', The Center of Social Innovation, Blockobana and selected for the 2023 Fringe Festival. The Nefertiti Experience is an innovative hybrid production that takes bold steps into evolving the way we tell stories in theatre.

    Set in Ancient Egypt, Nefertiti (Story of a Rebel Queen) is an Afro-futuristic, XR theatre production including virtual , augmented and mixed reality.

    Featuring an Original Soundtrack Created by Head in the Stars Music: J Best

    Writer/Director and Producer: Debbie Deer

    Director of Virtual Production: Jason Spanu

    Special thanks to the OYA Black Arts Coalition who funded the VR component in the Scale Up Commercialization stream 2023.

Beyond Data Feature

  • Beyond Data Magazine Article

    Beyond Data Magazine Feature! ⭐ “If you want to enjoy success, before you engineer situations, first of all you have to engineer yourself”. If there is one thing I’ve learned as an entrepreneur and leader it all begins within. Success for me is the tail end of intensive personal development. We live from within outwards. This means that the trials and the triumph are both yours. The challenges are always the hardest part for those on the journey to success to follow. They are also necessary the gateway to evolution!

    Thank you to all who have supported the journey of debbiedeerproductions.com (11 years) and oriondigitalinc.com (4 years) and going strong. We tell stories, we build community and we make change.

    Check out this incredible new publication @inclusivity_institute shinning light on brilliant voices!

Arcweave Blog Post

  • This Arcweave Software feature on me and the IBPOC Fellow is special!! In the spirit of Black History Month its easy for me to reflect on how programs like the Single Thread Theatre IBPOC and Debbie Deer Productions Fellowship and OYA Black Arts Coalition Scale Up Immersive changes lives. Archweave, a UX/UI software I’ve used for both programs has signed on to the fellowship as a partner and has also featured me in their blog! It was great to chat about the journey of my career from mentee to mentor and what’s next for the fellowship. Check it out!

Arcweave Vlog

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    This @arcweave Software feature on me and the IBPOC Fellow is special!! In the spirit of Black History Month it’s easy for me to reflect on how programs like the @singlethreadtheatre IBPOC and Debbie Deer Productions Fellowship and @oyablackarts Coalition Scale Up Immersive changes lives. Archweave, a UX/UI software I’ve used for both programs has signed on to the fellowship as a partner and has also featured me in their blog! It was great to chat about the journey of my career from mentee to mentor and what’s next for the fellowship. Check it out!

    Follow Debbie Deer Productions: @debbiedeerproductions

    #blog #feature #blackhistorymonth #software #xr #ibpoc #fellowship #canada #jamaica

OYA Black History Feature

  • This #BlackHistoryMonth, let’s support the next generation of Black creators! Help us empower talents like our Scale Up Immersive alum, Debbie Deer (@debbiedeerto, @debbiedeerproductions).

    Debbie Deer has recently been featured in Immersive Wire’s latest article showcasing the best apps to try with the Apple Vision Pro. We love seeing the expansion of Black creativity in the XR market. By donating to OBAC, you can help us continue this work.

    Contribute to empowering Black Voices by donating

    ✨The donation link can be found in our bio ✨

    #DonateNow #Empowerment #OYABlackArts #OBACBlackHistory #NonProfit

    The Scale Up Immersive program is brought to you by @oyablackarts, in collaboration with @cfccreates and in partnership with @darkslopexr. Funding provided by @feddevontario

Dr. VR Podcast on Spotify

  • Debbie Deer was interviewed on the Dr. VR podcast with the insightful Dr. VR talking about Virtual Reality (VR) today. We touch on Debbie Deer’s journey as a creative technologist, VR being a great equalizer for coded biases and the future of VR, AI and the singularity.

Center for Social Innovation

  • The Center For Social Innovation featured a VR game built by our partner Orion Digital Inc. Stories from the Desert Sky is an immersive VR game that showcases stories from the era of Queen Nefertiti and King Akhenaten’s dynasty in Ancient Egypt. This historical, dynamic game is also part of a hybrid theatre production called The Nefertiti Experience (Story of a Rebel Queen), which was selected to be a part of this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival.

Luminato Festival’s Henry G20

  • As visual lead, Debbie Deer headed the photography, 3D modelling, graphic design of AR posters (portals) and AR videos for the production.

Blockobana Stackt Market

  • Showcased at Blockobana Stackt Market to demonstrate the virtual reality game ‘Stories from the Desert Sky’ built by our partner Orion Digital Inc.

VRTO Conference

  • Featured speaker at the VRTO Immersive Conference. Reframing for an Immersive Lens, stories from black creators.

The Next Stage Conference

  • Featured virtual reality artist and speaker discussing pioneering hybrid XR theatre production in higher education.