Press Release #4

SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 concludes successfully in Tokyo, Japan, reuniting the global Computer Graphics industry
  • 8,415 attendees from 60 countries and regions gathered to explore cutting-edge advancements.
  • SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 continues to inspire conversations about the future of computer graphics and interactive techniques with heavyweights from Sony, Fortiche Production, Industrial Light & Magic, Konyoshi Co., Ltd., LVM Inc., MAPPA Co., LTD., Megalis VFX, NVIDIA, SHIROGUMI INC., SOLA DIGITAL ARTS Inc., The University of Tokyo & Matsuo Lab, Toei Animation Inc., University of Toronto, Waseda University, Wētā FX & more.
  • Artists and creators were presented with various awards in recognition of their top-notched works at SIGGRAPH Asia 2024.
  • Strong support from Platinum Sponsor FORUM8, Creative Visionary Sponsor SONY, and Gold Sponsors IMAGICA GROUP and Digital Hollywood University.
13 December 2024Tokyo, Japan – This year’s edition of SIGGRAPH Asia, themed ‘Curious Minds’, successfully concluded at the Tokyo International Forum from 3 – 6 December. The event reunited 8,415 attendees from 60 countries and regions, celebrating cutting-edge advancements and fostering global collaboration in Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques.
“It was a great pleasure to host SIGGRAPH Asia in Tokyo. The last SIGGRAPH Asia in Tokyo was unfortunately limited to domestic attendees due to COVID, so it was wonderful to welcome guests from all around the world this time at the conference venue. The theme of the conference was “Curious Minds”, aimed to inspire attendees’ curiosity through presentations, demonstrations, and interactions with one another. We observed many lively discussions throughout the event, and we are proud to say that our conference was a great success.” Said Dr. Takeo Igarashi, SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 Conference Chair, and Professor at The University of Tokyo.
“I am incredibly proud of what the SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 team has accomplished this year. Bringing together the global Computer Graphics community in Tokyo has been a remarkable journey, and the enthusiasm and engagement from attendees reaffirm the event’s vital role in driving innovation and collaboration in the Asian region. It’s always inspiring to see how this industry continues to support and uplift one another. We’re excited to carry this momentum forward and look forward to welcoming everyone to Hong Kong in 2025 for yet another extraordinary edition of SIGGRAPH Asia!” shared Prakash Ramajillu, SIGGRAPH Asia Chief Staff Executive & General Manager, Koelnmesse Pte Ltd.
A diverse range of conference program sessions
Close to 700 speakers across diverse fields presented at the conference in-person to discuss the latest industry developments and future of the computer graphics and interactive techniques industry. The exciting line-up featured distinguished keynote speakers such as Yoshiyuki Miyamae, Design Director at A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE, he explored the evolution of textiles and technology, concluding with a live demonstration of innovative clothing creation. Hiroaki Kitano, Executive Deputy President and CTO of Sony Group Corporation, joined by creators across Sony, explored how game designers, animators, and filmmakers leverage technology to craft immersive worlds. From PlayStation’s 30-year evolution to cutting-edge film and animation techniques at Sony Pictures, Kitano showcased how technology drives creative storytelling while keeping artistry at its core. Renowned animation producer Jinko Gotoh reflected on her illustrious 30-year career, charting the evolution of CGI technology and its profound impact on the animation industry. She highlighted pivotal projects that harnessed CGI’s potential, showcasing its transformative journey from early innovation to becoming an indispensable tool in storytelling. Jinko also emphasized the vital role of diversity within production teams, providing a compelling perspective on how inclusive practices and technological innovation are shaping the future of animation.
Other highlights from the conference included the Featured Sessions program which invited industry figureheads such as Fortiche Production, Industrial Light & Magic, Konyoshi Co., Ltd., LVM Inc., MAPPA Co., LTD., Megalis VFX, NVIDIA, SHIROGUMI INC., SOLA DIGITAL ARTS Inc., The University of Tokyo & Matsuo Lab, Toei Animation Inc., University of Toronto, Waseda University and Wētā FX, giving the community exclusive behind-the-scenes insights on some amazing VFX productions such as Ultraman: Rising, Godzilla Minus One, Alien: Romulus, Yu Yu Hakusho, WAR IS OVER!, VFX in Shogun, Arcane Season 02, Transformers One and more.
The Technical Papers program continues to be the anchor program of SIGGRAPH Asia 2024. This year’s program received a record number of 899 full submissions from 40 countries. This growth indicates increasing interest in Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, especially in combination with the new and exciting developments in the field of AI. 11 ACM Transactions on Graphics (ToG) articles will be presented at the conference. All papers were presented in 48 sessions of up to 6 papers each, running in three parallel tracks.
The Trade Exhibition featured over 80 exhibiting companies and brands showcasing the latest developments in hardware and software applications in the Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques space. They include FORUM8, Sony, IMAGICA Group, Digital Hollywood University, ArchiveTips, Autodesk, Bones Studio, Carnegie Mellon ETC, Computational Visual Media, Tsinghua University, Dell Technologies, France Pavilion, IO Industries, Lenovo Japan, Live2D, NOKOV Motion Capture, Panasonic, Pixel Light Effects, Qualisys, Ritsumeikan University, ROTOMAKER, Xverse, and Wētā FX.
Exhibitor Talks covered technical topics such as The Autodesk Technology Summit, which featured three insightful sessions covering advancements in cloud-based production workflows, procedural environment generation, and case studies from Godzilla Minus One and The Wild Robot. Netflix and Eyeline Studios highlighted the importance of VFX supervision with case studies and expert panels. Amazon Web Services explored the future of production with AWS cloud technology. ANIMINS Project (IMAGICA Group) showcased AI-driven tools for anime production, including character drawing and image search. Pixar Animation Studios shared insights into the future of digital art, featuring examples from Inside Out 2 and RenderMan XPU, and delving into AI’s role in transforming VFX.
The Experience Hall, encompasses the Art Gallery, Emerging Technologies, and Extended Reality (XR). This year’s Art Gallery theme “Neither Utopia nor Dystopia,” explored the complexities and diversity of the real world. 18 cutting-edge art works were selected from 200 submissions around the world.
Extended Reality (XR) program celebrates the latest innovations in XR, encompassing Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). It showcases state-of-the-art experiences spanning the reality-virtuality continuum, as first proposed by Milgram, to offer groundbreaking immersive interactions. 32 works (22 XR Demos and 10 XR Theater exhibits) were selected from 138 submissions.
The Emerging Technologies program, themed “Beyond Boundaries”, showcased 18 exhibits that included novel and high-quality projection mapping technologies, haptic interfaces, robotic operators, VR experiences for trekking and skiing, and fishing etc.
Live drawing performances and the Production Meetups also took place at the Hall E Talk Stage. The live drawing performances by Katsumi Takao and Masahiro Ito were spectacular and had overwhelming response onsite. Production Meetups featured 45 companies from the Games, Interactive Techniques, Computer Graphics and Animation space, and attracted over 500 students for the 2 sessions on 5 and 6 December 2024.
Real-Time Live!, a showcase of virtual technologies demonstrated live in front of our attendees, wrapped up SIGGRAPH Asia 2024. Attendees were captivated as creators unveiled 11 groundbreaking live demos on stage, ranging from interactive music playgrounds and cutting-edge medical imaging to generative AI and rapid robot design. This dynamic mix of innovation demonstrated the future of real-time technologies in action.
Artists and Creators Recognized at SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 – Awards
Every year, ACM SIGGRAPH celebrates exceptional contributions to the fields of computer graphics and interactive techniques at the ACM SIGGRAPH Asia Conference. The prestigious awards highlight innovative achievements, with winners selected by the respective Program chairs, an international panel of experts, and conference visitors. See details here.
Next year’s edition, SIGGRAPH Asia 2025, will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, from 15 – 18 December 2025. Visit https://asia.siggraph.org/2025 for more details.
Notes to Editors:
  • Access Bios, Program Fact Sheets, and Event Photos HERE.
  • See details of Awards HERE.
About ACM SIGGRAPH
ACM SIGGRAPH is an international community of researchers, artists, developers, filmmakers, scientists, and business professionals with a shared interest in computer graphics and interactive techniques. A special interest group of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the world’s first and largest computing society, our mission is to nurture, champion, and connect like-minded researchers and practitioners to catalyze innovation in computer graphics and interactive techniques.
ACM SIGGRAPH offers two of the premier technology conferences in the world, one in North America and one in Asia. Attended by tens of thousands of computer graphics professionals, SIGGRAPH and SIGGRAPH Asia are highly respected venues for the presentation of new computer graphics technology and research. For more information, please visit www.siggraph.org.
About SIGGRAPH Asia
SIGGRAPH Asia is an international conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques, organized every winter in Asia by SIGGRAPH, a chapter of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM).
About SIGGRAPH Asia 2024
Hosted by ACM SIGGRAPH, SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 marks the 17th edition of this premier conference and exhibition showcasing innovations in computer graphics and interactive technologies. This will be the fifth time SIGGRAPH Asia is held in Japan, following previous editions in Yokohama (2009), Kobe (2015), Tokyo (2018), and Tokyo (2021). The event will be held from 3 December to 6 December 2024, at the Tokyo International Forum.
With the theme “Curious Minds,” SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 will feature presentations by researchers and companies from around the world on the latest technologies, including computer graphics (CG), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI). In addition, there will be immersive exhibits of these technologies by companies and universities, screenings of top-class CG/animation/film works at the Electronic Theater, and other unique cutting-edge programs.
Many Japanese universities and research institutions will present their work, providing participants with opportunities to deepen their knowledge of advanced technologies and engage in cross-national and regional exchanges.
For more information, please visit https://asia.siggraph.org/2024/. You can also follow the event using the official hashtags #SIGGRAPHAsia and #SIGGRAPHAsia2024 on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube.
About Koelnmesse
Koelnmesse Pte Ltd is one of the world’s largest trade fair companies. Its more than 80 trade fairs and exhibitions have the broadest international scope in the industry, as 60 percent of the exhibitors and 40 percent of the visitors come from outside Germany. The Koelnmesse events include leading global trade fairs for 25 sectors, such as Imm Cologne, Anuga, IDS, INTERMOT, Interzum Cologne, gamescom, and the International Hardware Fair Cologne. Koelnmesse is ACM SIGGRAPH’s event organizer for the last 16 editions of SIGGRAPH Asia. For more information, please visit www.koelnmesse.asia.
Media Contacts
SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 PR Team
Hitoshi Kasai, MIACIS Associates – Head of Communications
hitoshi.kasai@siggraph.org | Mobile: +81 9043760123
Jamie Huang, Koelnmesse Pte Ltd – Marketing & Media Partnerships
jamie.huang@siggraph.org | Mobile: +65 90277270