The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has announced a £39,860 investment in digital arts and music initiatives, supported by The National Lottery and Future Screens NI. As part of the National Lottery Organisations Digital Evolution Awards, the funding will support organisations exploring digital and immersive technologies for the first time, with a strong focus on musical innovation.

Among the recipients are Accidental Theatre, Tinderbox Theatre Company, Ulster Touring Opera, and Wheelworks, each receiving up to £10,000. The projects include immersive children’s theatre, AI-generated visual art, and a unique initiative from Ulster Touring Opera. Their Carbon Women VR project retells the Andromeda myth through a feminist lens, incorporating 360-degree VR, immersive spatial audio, and animated environments, aiming to push the boundaries of classical music and opera.

Matthew Malcolm, Arts Development Officer at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, commented, “Today’s announcement is welcome news and I congratulate all of the organisations involved. Thanks to The National Lottery and Future Screens NI, this game-changing investment will support the creation of art using digital and immersive technologies and will help organisations to develop skills in the use of these new technologies.”

He added, “The National Lottery Organisations Digital Evolution Awards reflects the Arts Council’s commitment to encouraging experimentation, innovation and artistic risk taking, and to building digital capabilities within the Northern Ireland arts sector. I look forward to experiencing these exciting new projects as they develop.”

Professor Paul Moore, Director of Future Screens NI, added, “The companies in this round of funding continue to illustrate the high degree of innovation and imagination needed to ask new and important questions of emerging technologies. They also show that however complex the hardwares and softwares being used to deliver a project are, ultimately success comes down to the relationship between the storyteller, the audience and the story being told.”

For more details on Arts Council funding opportunities, visit www.artscouncil-ni.org.