The first four arts projects that bring together digital technology and research to extend their reach and offering are to receive funding from the Digital Research & Development Fund for the Arts in Wales.

The Digital Research and Development Fund for the Arts in Wales is a partnership between the Arts Council of Wales, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Nesta to support arts projects across Wales that work with digital technologies to expand audience reach and engagement and/or explore new business models for the arts sector within Wales.

These four projects are the first group to be backed by the £400k fund receiving a total amount of £238,322.

  • Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru will work with North Wales based digital agency Galactig, to develop Sibrwd - an innovative platform that will ‘whisper’ into the ear of the audience member, allowing them to understand and enjoy performances in other languages. Primarily designed in relation to Welsh-language theatre performances in order to enrich and deepen the experience for non-Welsh speakers and learners, this application will have the potential to open up performances and projects in any language, anywhere in the world.
  • NoFit State Circus and National Theatre Wales’ research and development project will attempt to understand whether the process of data capture can be incorporated into the creative process in new ways. Working with Bristol-based Joylab, they will investigate new digital tools and process that help organisations to better understand the data available to them and the ways that this can be used to enhance their relationships with audiences.
  • UCAN Productions, a performance and creative arts co-operative for blind and partially sighted young people, will work with app creators Calvium, to develop UCAN GO, a mobile application that attempts to verbally map arts venues in order to improve their accessibility for audiences with visual impairments. The project will test the development of a ‘verbal map’ delivered to audiences’ mobile device, for Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff and The Torch Theatre, Milford Haven.
  • TaikaBox a contemporary dance company based in Cardiff, will work with Moon, digital folk who craft interactive products and experiences, to create a new type of performance titled Please Switch On Your Mobile Phones which will ask members of the audience to contribute stories through their mobile devices which will then be used by dancers and choreographers to devise, rehearse and deliver a new performance each night.

Rob Ashelford, Programme Manager, Digital Research & Development Fund for the Arts in Wales said:

“Using digital technologies can revolutionise the way arts and culture organisations reach new audiences. Each of the projects we are supporting highlight potential barriers to enjoying the arts and will experiment with technology to find new ways of reducing them. These projects also focus on the diversity of innovation in the arts and culture sector across Wales at the moment. They are fascinating projects and I look forward to seeing them progress through their time with the fund.”

Each of these projects are supported by Re-DrAW, the academic research consortium from the University of South Wales, Aberystwyth University and the University of Surrey. The second call for submissions is now open. The deadline for applications is noon on Friday 10th January 2014. Applications can be submitted now and eligibility and selection criteria for the second call can be viewed on the Nesta website.

Part of
Nesta Cymru