I attended ACVA Lab in Melbourne, 18-20 February 2010 (http://www.acva.net.au/acva_lab). I was one of ten participants from around Australia, representing a range of practice in virtual art. It was a great experience for me. These are what I took away from the Lab:

• A much better understanding of the range of “virtual art” – the theory, practice, issues, personalities, possibilities – in Australia (and beyond) which broadened my horizons immensely;
• Good introduction to practicalities of Second Life and other real-time, 3d environments/engines, and also motion capture and related technologies;
• Met very interesting people (everyone there) who I'll want to be in touch with continuously regarding virtual arts (and others things, such as music and Greek mythology);

Overall, it was a revitalizing and inspiring few days (too short a time) that challenged me to think harder about, and find more resonances and synergies between virtual arts and community arts (the two are not mutually exclusive).