Join us as we open the doors for the inaugural launch of UK House during SXSW. Opening the UK House and as part of the official SXSW schedule, this live experiential VR event on Tuesday 16 March features a world-first 3D virtual music showcase, with tuba maestro and SXSW music artist Theon Cross.

Open to SXSW ticket-holders to attend via VR Chat, the event will also be live-streamed to the UK House for viewing.

The event will showcase the first ever motion capture tuba player avatar performance, exploring the merging of music and immersive technology. Devised by British Underground, the avatar was designed and built by FKB in association with Arts Council England’s Future Art and Culture and UK Research and Innovation’s Audience of the Future programme.

Instructions on how to join the event in VR Chat

Prof Andrew Chitty, Challenge Director, UKRI

Asha Easton

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LUKE RITCHIE | PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA | HEAD OF INNOVATION & PARTNERSHIPS
MERIKO BOROGOVE | TECHNOLOGIST, PHOTOGRAPHER, AND ADVISOR OF TEAMS WHO PUSH ENGINEERING BOUNDARIES IN THE SERVICE OF ART AND JUSTICE
CLARE REDDINGTON | WATERSHED | CEO
ALEX ROWSE | PUNCHDRUNK | SENIOR PRODUCER
ROBIN MCNICHOLAS | MARSHMALLOW LASER FEAST | CREATIVE DIRECTOR

This panel is taking the opportunity to talk about technology in the future of live performance. Discussing the current Audience of the Future project Dream, and other work which is exploring this with a panel that has spearheaded multi-disciplinary approaches and collaborations. Join this range of practitioners to discuss their work and ideas on the future of live performance.

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SIMON REVELEY | FIGMENT PRODUCTIONS | CEO
ANNETTE MEES | ROYAL OPERA HOUSE | HEAD OF AUDIENCE LABS

Discover more about Current, Rising is a 15-minute hyper reality opera experience, combining virtual reality with a multi-sensory set, inviting audiences to step into a bespoke ‘Opera Tardis’ and experience a dream-like journey carried musically by a poem layered in song. Developed by a female-led creative team, Current, Rising is a timely experiment blending historic stagecraft, artistic excellence and cutting-edge technology, turning the notion of what it means to go to the opera on its head. You can view the walk-through experience here

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MAURICE JONES | MUTEK.JP | ARTISTIC & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

This spotlight session with Maurice Jones, Artistic & Communications Director from MUTEK Japan will offer valuable insights into the Japanese arts, music, and technology sector. Looking at the key opportunities for connecting and collaborating with the Japan sector through artists, creative producers, and technologists.
Presented by Arts Council England and British Underground Future Art and Culture in Partnership with British Council

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SAM HUNT | FESTIVAL UK* 2022, | PROGRAMME DIRECTOR
ELLE OSILI-WOOD | TELEVISION PRESENTER AND JOURNALIST, SPECIALISING IN ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, AND VIDEO GAMES.
PAT KANE | WRITER, MUSICIAN, FUTURIST AND ACTIVIST – AUTHOR OF THE PLAY ETHIC,CURATOR OF FUTUREFEST, AND ONE HALF OF HUE AND CRY
NWANDO EBIZIE

A session discussion exploring how 500 creatives drawn from across the worlds of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics were brought together to imagine and design Open, Original and Optimistic concepts that will reach millions and the role of creativity in people’s lives and policy development.

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The CreativeXR accelerator programme was launched in 2017 with the goal of supporting early stage XR projects and helping them navigate and raise funding in the fragmented and ever-changing XR financing ecosystem. In this panel, we will hear from creators from all three cohorts of CreativeXR, discuss their development processes, explore what future projects might need in order to finish and distribute successfully, and reflect on how the immersive UK landscape has changed since CreativeXR was launched.

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REBECCA GREGORY-CLARKE | STORYFUTURES ACADEMY AND NFTS | HEAD OF IMMERSIVE
NATHALIE CLERMONT | CANADA MEDIA FUND | VP PROGRAMS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
ANTOINE CAYROL | PRODUCER, ATLAS V
SANDRA RODRIGUEZ, | VISITING LECTURER MIT, MEMBER OF UCIE COHORT 2020-21 | DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
PERSIS JADÉ MARAVALA | MEMBER OF UCIE COHORT 2020-21 | ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ZU-UK

International collaborations on immersive media projects can bring huge advantages to creators piecing together the best talent, and the most viable funding options. But it can also be hugely challenging to work across borders, particularly during a pandemic. Following the successful launch of the inaugural UK-Canada Immersive Exchange, this panel will talk about what we have learned so far about international XR co-productions, and why it’s so important for the future of the industry.

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JOEL MISHCON | CHROME PRODUCTIONS | FOUNDER AND CEO
KIM-LEIGH PONTIN | NEXUS | CREATIVE DIRECTOR
MATTHEW DUHIG | FX DIGITAL | CO-FOUNDER AND TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
AISLING CONLON | UKAEG | MARKETING MANAGER

With the global pandemic forcing most of us to stay at home during the last year, society has taken root in the world wide web and our lives are more dependent on digital media than ever before.
We have all heard the term new normal but is there is a sense then that we have actually been writing a new future? This session will use examples of how audience behaviour has changed and the opportunities this is opening up to create new ways to reach, connect and engage with people.

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ZAID AL-ZAIDY | THE BEYOND COLLECTIVE | GROUP CEO
OLIVER YONCHEV | SOCIAL CHAIN | US MANAGING DIRECTOR,
JIDÉ MADUAKO, | YOKE NETWORK | CEO
GEORGE JAMES | BE-HOOKD DIGITAL | FOUNDER & CEO

Brands HAVE to play in social at a time when it’s arguably most risky and dangerous for them to do so. Puts pressure on brands to get their house in order. And to work out how to navigate a minefield of matters ranging from D&I / BLM, to ethical and green matters, to questions around politics, democracy and freedom of speech etc. etc. with the fear of getting it wrong, being caught out and cancel culture. Not the controlled environments brands are used to. Classical brand production values’ have taken a backseat in Covid.
This session will discuss is it creator first, brand advertiser second and what that means for brands going forward.

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UK Tech Envoy to the US, Joe White, joins DIT to kick-off the UK House with Will Jackson, founder of Engineered Arts. 
Joe, Will, and Mesmer the robot will explore the role of entertainment and performance in designing the most advanced humanoid robots that can mimic living and historical characters. From a single character to a software platform that can enable an army of robots – what’s next for applications of AI, facial recognition, and natural language processing in an almost human form? 

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DANIEL CHEETHAM | HAPPY FINISH | CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER
SOL ROGERS | REWIND | CEO AND FOUNDER
TRACEY MCGARRIGAN | POLYSTREAM | CMO
NIALL THOMPSON | DANDELION + BURDOCK | MANAGING DIRECTOR

The pandemic, with its requirements of physical distancing has brought people into online digital environments for a growing range of shared human experiences. The Metaverse is arguably as big a shift in online communication as the telephone or internet.
This session will discuss why the Metaverse is the new buzz word. Showcasing how brands have embraced the metaverse to engage with consumers and what creative possibilities that opens up for brands going forward.
Presented by UKAEG

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KATIE DEIGHTON | WALL ST. JOURNAL | REPORTER
VERTA MALONEY | *GAMERHERS | CO-FOUNDER AND THE CHIEF COMMUNITY OFFICER
MARTIN BEVERLEY | ADAM&EVEDDB. | CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER
ADAM WHYTE | EDGE | CEO

Brands are starting to realise the power of gaming and virtual worlds as a media channel of the future. Looking at what brands such as Adidas have done with GMR (in sole technology that counts towards your progress virtually in FIFA), FIFA’s #ElTornado campaign which put a new move in the game that was then adopted by the real world (it’s usually the other way around) and PlayStation 5’s launch ads which focused on the virtual world mirroring real-life thanks to adaptive triggers and haptic feedback – blurring online and physical worlds has never been more possible nor more powerful. In this proposed panel session, we will discuss how hyperreality can be used effectively in marketing through gaming and beyond.
Speakers to be announced shortly.

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NEIL DAVIDSON | HEYHUMAN / HEYLAB | CEO
AOIFE MCGUINNESS | HEYHUMAN / HEYLAB | NEUROSCIENCE CONSULTANT

Join SXSW fan favourites HeyHuman as they explain the role for brands in shaping a human-led approach in a world after COVID-19 and how neuroscience insight and research techniques can help unlock true human connection.

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JANE ASSCHER | 23RED | FOUNDING PARTNER AND CEO
CHARLOTTE WALSH | DIGITAL DETOX | CO-FOUNDER
AMY WILLIAMS | GOOD-LOOP | FOUNDER
AISLING CONLON | UKAEG | MARKETING MANAGER

We have heard a lot that this year has been unlike no other for brands, and we have seen a shift in consumer behaviour that has been accelerated due to Covid-19. Consumers are increasingly aware of their role in driving change and are keen to live sustainably.
You have probably heard about the concept of the 4Ps in one way or another. For over 60 years, the concept of price, place, product and promotion has helped marketeers. 
To be future fit can organisations rely on only the traditional tool kit or is it time to implement a new foundation that can serve as a guiding principle addressing the importance of Planet, Purpose, People and Profit. 

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GARETH DEAKIN | AI MUSIC | HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING
CHARLOTTE MIKKELBORG | PICTURE THIS PRODUCTIONS | DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
EMANUELA MAGGIONI | OWIDGETS | CEO & CO-FOUNDER

We have five senses – sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste – and yet traditional entertainment has focused almost exclusively on the audio-visual. The director/creator of interactive, multisensory, VR experience ‘Fly’, and new multisensory AR game ‘Tudors Augmented’ comes together with award-winning multisensory artists and psychological and neuroscientific researchers to explore the power of stories that truly immerse all of our senses and how these experiences can promote social inclusion in the ‘new normal’.

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ANNA FOGG | THE MILL | STRATEGY DIRECTOR
NEIL HENDERSON | ST. LUKE’S

Stories of the past have been carved, painted and printed. Today, they are whispered through earbuds, watched through screens and available to download. Over the last 12 months we have needed to be physically distanced. However, we still have a strong human need to be socially, and emotionally, connected. Stories have a unique ability to help us overcome isolation, to bridge divides, and to make us feel part of something bigger than ourselves. Never has that been more important than the past couple of months.
In this session we will discuss how brands stories have changed, current trends and how to be better prepared for future strategies. 

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CHANTAL EPP | CLICKNCLEAR | FOUNDER & CEO
MARK BAMFORD | VIKTRS | FOUNDER & CEO
PASCAL DU MUL | EXIT LIVE | CEO
CASANDRA STRAUSS | BPI | SENIOR SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER

The music industry has undergone a radical transformation in the past decade and is innovating at a rapid pace. The music industry is now more open than ever to innovation and working with tech startups that can help unlock incremental value.
Two core areas of growth include new platforms that capture the imagination of new audiences and work to deepen the fan-artist relationships; and companies that can help generate new revenue streams. In this session, three British startups present the opportunities for growth they’ve identified – and talk about how their business models fill gaps and can make a difference in the music space.

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The year 2020 seemed to hold so much promise, but things didn’t quite turn out the way everyone was expecting. Across the Creative Industries the best laid plans were undone by Covid-19. For the UK’s brilliant creators, makers, producers and researchers the immediate impact was immense.
This is the story, narrated by HAM The Illustrator, of some of the projects supported by Audience of the Future and Creative Industries Clusters Programme as they faced these challenges using art, technology, passion and creativity.

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Welcome: AotF Live @ UK House

Prof Andrew Chitty, Challenge Director, UKRI

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This session will explore how world class innovation propositions can be developed with international partners. Drawing on case studies of what has been learnt from collaborations between the Creative Industries Clusters and Discovery and StoryFutures’ ongoing work with Canadian partners developing a new immersive talent pipeline.

Prof James Bennett, Director, StoryFutures

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Prof James Bennett, Director, StoryFutures

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COVID-19 affected every aspect of our lives. This session explores how lockdown impacted on audience engagement across the Creative Industries with a presentation of key research insights from a spread of sector representatives, followed by the opportunity for deeper analysis in the panel session.

Prof Chris Speed, Director of Creative Informatics, Creative Informatics, University of Edinburgh

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As necessity drives forward invention, the last 12 months delivered some extraordinary creative responses. This session provides a tour of the best of this work, from the worlds of gaming, theatre, VR, music, film, TV and visitor experiences, from the UK and beyond.

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What have we learnt from the breadth and depth of creative output from the pandemic and how do we ensure that the best of this innovation is retained as we enter the next phase of the pandemic?

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This session takes an in-depth look at FRAMERATE. Created from thousands of daily 3D scans and hundreds of billions of precisely measured points the work observes change on a spatial and temporal scale impossible to see with the human eye or the lens of traditional cameras. This session is supported by White Light | SmartStage Studio.

Prof Andrew Chitty, Challenge Director, UKRI

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Join renowned immersive producers and the team behind the new Immersive Arcade: The Showcase, the first national collection of the best of British immersive experiences. The showcase reimagines these celebrated productions, providing an opportunity to look back at groundbreaking immersive content.

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CreaTech is where creativity meets technology. It brings together creative skills and emerging technologies to create new ways of engaging audiences and to inspire business growth and investment. This session discusses the latest CreaTech insights from the Creative Industries Council and Tech Nation, and asks the question – has the pandemic been the defining period for CreaTech?

Prof Andrew Chitty, Challenge Director, UKRI

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