2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Tamlyn Jones)
An initiative which is aiming to help develop and connect creative tech firms with the arts across the West Midlands has been awarded £6.75 million in new funding. The money from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will be invested in training, research and development in fields such as video games and immersive reality.
Called CreaTech Frontiers, the programme brings together the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford and Birmingham City, Birmingham, Coventry and Warwick universities with the tech industry to boost skills and develop new products and content. This will include using virtual reality, 3D-modelling and animation techniques in live events and adapting video game software for use in music, theatre and film. Performance projects curated by the RSC will be showcased at the South by Southwest media and arts festival in Texas in 2026 and both Birmingham Opera Group and The Rep theatre will stage new works, including co-creations with young people in deprived areas of the West Midlands.
Lamberto Coccioli, professor of music and technology and project lead at Birmingham City University, said: "CreaTech Frontiers will bring together the most valuable assets of this region - a young and diverse talent pool, world-class research, outstanding arts organisations and a budding tech sector - to spark innovation and stimulate growth. "We're delighted to support creative technology companies in the West Midlands with a comprehensive programme of grants and skills development led by industry needs. It's fantastic news for the people and businesses of Birmingham and beyond.
" Separately, the MusicFutures project in Merseyside will also benefit from £6.75 million to bring together partners to provide funding and training for musicians, educators and small businesses to harness new tech. The West Midlands and Merseyside were selected in the Government's so-called 'Creative Industries Clusters' which are delivered by the Arts and Humanities Research Council on behalf of UK Research and Innovation.
This aims to grow specialist creative subsectors across the UK. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: "Talent is everywhere but opportunity is not. "That's why we are supporting firms, artists and freelancers that are innovating, using new technology and driving growth in creative clusters across the country.
"Birmingham and the West Midlands have a rich industrial history and we are putting them at the forefront of a potential new industry, developing the amazing technology that will revolutionise visual effects in film, theatre and gaming." Christopher Smith, executive chairman of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, added: "The two new clusters, MusicFutures and CreaTech Frontiers, will create vital support for technology and innovation in the UK's world-leading creative industries and expand our regional investment. "These clusters will support artists and creators so they can benefit from new technologies across a wide range of platforms and develop their innovation and business skills.
"The remarkable projects made possible through our Creative Industries Clusters span sustainable fashion, game design and extended reality and have attracted major co-investment. "They have helped solve real-world problems and they deliver commercial benefits to the UK economy in line with the Government's Industrial Strategy.".
