Previous programmes: CreativeXR

For immersive creators in the arts, culture and entertainment centre, run in partnership with Arts Council England.

A showcase for immersive content creators

Enabling UK creative teams to experiment, iterate and bring immersive project ideas to reality.

Launched in 2017, CreativeXR offered support for UK content creators to develop their early-stage experiential concepts in VR, AR, XR, immersive audio and haptics. This support included guidance on how to navigate the fragmented and ever-changing XR financing ecosystem.

The programme offered access to early stage finance, facilities, industry leaders and commissioning bodies, and the opportunity to pitch for further development funding. Over three completed cohorts, it supported creators from prototype development through to funded projects that reached audiences at media studios, galleries, universities, large corporations and museums across the UK.

Many of the completed works also featured in major film and industry festivals around the world, including Tribeca and Venice film festivals, South by SouthWest, Sundance, Sandbox, and the UK’s own National Television Awards.

CreativeXR concluded in 2021.

Over £1.2 million in funding

For the development of 60 immersive content prototypes.

£851,000 in production funding

Enabling 12 project teams to build fully-fledged immersive experiences from their prototypes.

£312,000 in development funding

With follow-on funding, four projects went to on further develop their virtual reality and audio experiences.

International recognition and awards

At 35 different festivals around the world.

Reaching UK audiences

With cultural and heritage live experiences and installations, and two products being made available through Oculus Store.

Annual Showcase event

Bringing together the international immersive community and investors to experience the best of the UK’s creative content creators.

Future-proofing the UK creative industry

CreativeXR enabled the development of new business models and access to new funding streams, boosting growth and company turnover.

Many of the cohort companies from a creative background had minimal prior experience in immersive but pivoted their business models to include more examples of immersive technologies in their work and portfolio, and nearly all established new partnerships and collaborations across multiple sectors, including education, government, healthcare and charity.

With the pandemic creating a dramatic shift in the way content needed to be delivered, CreativeXR supported many creators in redeveloping their experiences so that audiences could view them safely. This included an augmented reality pop-up book, Story Portals by Yonder Beyond, and Transportalists by FANDCO, a brand new platform involving a tabletop stage delivered to the user’s home, multi-modal streaming, projection and AR.

An innovator's perspective

(Hi)story of a Painting, by Fat Red Bird
This animated VR and 360 series engages young audiences with art, by creating conversational experiences focused on the human stories behind famous pictures. It received its world premiere at SXSW 2021.

Gaelle Moure, Fat Red Bird

“Without the CreativeXR programme, we wouldn’t have been able to make our pilot. The support allowed us to access a professional network that not only enriched our project, but also our skills and careers as XR makers.

Everyone on the programme was extremely supportive and gave us the tools to succeed. We couldn’t have asked for better.”

Developed and funded by:

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