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Emerging Technology for the Performing Arts

A Grand Challenges ad hoc funded project.

A dark empty stage with lights

3 October 2018

Grant

Grant: Grand Challenges Ad Hoc grant
Year awarded: 2018-19
Amount awarded: £500

Academics 

  • Rob Thomspon, Institute of Communications and Connected Systems   

UCL Grand Challenges funded a workshop which took place at the Bloomsbury theartre and was focused on exploring how future trends in engineering and technology could support new artistic expression and opportunities in the performing arts. The workshop brought together academics, members of the creative and cultural industries, and artists from across Europe and the UK. Partners included organisations like Sadler's Wells, National Theatre, English National Ballet, and the Madison Square Garden group.

The discussion at the workshop centered around what new things performing arts organisations would like to be able to do that they can't currently, and how emerging technologies like AI could potentially support and enable new artistic expression and opportunities. The goal was that this workshop would lead to future collaborative work between the academic and arts/cultural partners to explore the application of new technologies in the performing arts.

Outputs and Impact

  • The project was able to run a successful workshop in 2019 that brought together academics, members of the creative industries, and artists from across Europe and the UK. 

  • The workshop led to some follow-up work, including an application submitted to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) for a project on distributed performance using 5G technology. 

  • A proposal was developed with English National Ballet to explore using AI for audience understanding, but this did not receive funding due to the impacts of COVID-19 on arts funding.

  • Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the planned follow-up activities and collaborations were not able to move forward as the focus shifted to survival for arts organisations. 

Grand Challenge of Transformative Technology

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