In January Digital Catapult and Arts Council England began the application process for the second year of CreativeXR, an accelerator programme for immersive content prototypes. Today, they’ve announced the 20 successful candidates to receive funding and mentorship.
The 20 teams will each receive £20,000 of funding and access to immersive facilities and industry mentors, allowing them to focus on R&D to create riskier, content-driven projects using virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) technology. They’ll gain guidance from industry experts from a range of organisations including: RYOT Studio, Royal Opera House, Serpentine Galleries, Science Museum, BBC, Unity, Abbey Road Studios, NBCUniversal, and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
“CreativeXR is all about encouraging the development of new formats leading to new markets for cultural applications of immersive technologies,” said Jeremy Silver, CEO, Digital Catapult in a statement. As a new medium, the ideas and approaches that can succeed are as likely to come from edges of contemporary art or from more commercially focussed industrial design. This year’s cohort is an inspiring combination of inventiveness, tech ability and commercial approach. We’re super excited to see them get started on their projects, and to be working again with Arts Council England.”
The 20 teams selected to join the CreativeXR programme are:
- COSMOS Immersive by Abandon Normal Devices, Manchester
- Dazzle Ball R&D by Gibson Martelli, London
- Invisible Light by 59 Productions, London
- Therese & Peta: A Tale of Two-Spirits by Queer Media CIC, Lancashire
- Rory Mullarkey’s Flood by Megaverse, London
- Bedlam by Mat Collishaw, London
- A Split Second by Also Known As, London
- Goliath by Anagram, Bristol/London
- Europe After the Rain by Imitating the Dog, Leeds
- The Time Machine by The Old Market, East Sussex
- Breathe by Darkfield, London
- UnDust by Satore Studio, London
- Basic Tension by Jamila Johnson-Small Dance, London
- What is Normal? By Call & Response, London
- Present by Fight in the Dog, London
- Zia Dance Duet by BespokeVR Ltd, Middlesex
- Through the wardrobe by Colour My Reality, Bristol
- Madrid Noir: The Office by No Ghost, London
- basilisk by Studio Leg, Manchester
- Game Over by Blackwatch Entertainment in association with Circa69, London
“It’s fantastic to be working with Digital Catapult again on a second round of CreativeXR. These projects demonstrate the potential of immersive content to produce new forms of creativity and cultural experience when artistic vision is combined with technology. We’re very pleased to have all the teams on board, and look forward to seeing their projects develop,” Francis Runacres, Executive Director of Enterprise and Innovation, Arts Council England adds.
The programme will culminate in a final showcase event later this year, where teams will have the opportunity to pitch their prototypes to commissioners, distributors and financiers. As CreativeXR continues to support the UK’s arts and cultural sector, VRFocus will keep you updated on the latest developments.