The Digital R&D Fund for the Arts in Wales supports two new innovative digital projects.

Today, Arts Council of Wales, Nesta, and Arts and Humanities Research Council announced that a further two arts and cultural projects will receive funding from the £400k Digital R&D Fund for the Arts in Wales. Each of the R&D projects are testing the use of digital technologies to widen audience access and engagement in the arts, with the purpose of developing useful products, services and knowledge for the wider the arts and cultural sector.

The arts and cultural organisations that are being supported and who are receiving a total in excess of £100k are Oriel Plas Glyn-y-Weddw and Community Music Wales.

Oriel Plas Glyn – y- Weddw is situated in Llanbedrog, between Pwllheli and Abersoch, on the Llyn Peninsula. It first became a public arts venue in 1896 and is today recognised as Wales' oldest art gallery. The gallery will work with its technology project partner – Cwmni Da to develop an iOS and Android mobile application which utilise new iBeacon technology to deliver extra information to visitors to arts exhibitions at Plas Glyn y Weddw. 

Working alongside the Art and Design Programme Area at Coleg Menai also, they will develop a prototype iOS application for the Fine Art’s department’s exhibition in Galeri, Caernarfon. This will provide a more traditional service which offers bilingual multimedia information on each individual art work in the display. Arts students will provide multimedia content for an iOS/Android iBeacon application which uses estimotes creatively to enhance the work produced for their June exhibition. iBeacon technology is a feature on the latest mobile devices and projects which utilise the new technology are rare.
 
Community Music Wales is Wales’ leading music charity and has a reputation for excellence both nationally and internationally. Working with Zequs, Community Music Wales will develop Tocyn, a ticketing and crowd funding platform that will allow audience members to donate their booking fees to one of a number of community arts projects. The aim is to develop an innovative digital concert ticketing system that re-purposes the traditional booking fee as funds to be distributed to community focused arts projects. The project is inspired by the token giving concept seen at some super markets after checkout.
 
The traditional online crowd funding concept relies on the consumer financially supporting a commercial product or service they wish to purchase or subscribe to in return for exclusive access or personalised added value. Tocyn aims to take the concept of crowd funding to a more philanthropic, socially inclusive and community funded level. It will enable individuals to financially support community arts projects that they feel relevant to the wellbeing of their own communities.
 
Gwyn Jones, Oriel Plas Glyn – y- Weddw commented: “This funding allows us to explore with partners the potential of integrating modern technology in an established arts environment. This is an age of great transition, where the majority now carry in their pocket, in the shape of a smart phone, more technological power to that which took man to the moon...we have to embrace and take benefit out of this.”

Adam Williams, Community Music Wales added: “We’re delighted to be successful in being awarded funding from the R&D fund in Wales.  This is essential in helping us develop, and contribute to our strategies and creativity for future sustainability. I believe it will reveal valuable insights into how digital culture can have a positive impact on localised economies, creativity and wellbeing within our communities. It will help us facilitate our need to explore new ways of thinking, providing data to answer questions, and present us with opportunities for new and exciting challenges. “
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For more information please contact Siân James on 029 2044 1344 or email [email protected]
 
Notes to Editors
 
About the Digital Research & Development Fund for the Arts
 
The Digital Research and Development Fund for the Arts in Wales is a partnership between the Arts Council of Wales, Arts & 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.

This £400k fund aims to support collaborative partnerships between organisations with arts projects and technology providers to provide a body of rich research evidence, data and case studies that inspires and supports the capacity of the wider arts sector to innovate.