British Underground’s Award-Winning “Future Art and Culture” Returns to SXSW with More Pioneering Creative Talent
Words: Truda Spruyt and Ben McKnight
Cover Image: Ristband
Future Art and Culture (FAC) has over the past decade built a reputation for premiering major work by artists, technologists and scientists, collaborating to explore new ideas about the human condition, society, the world around us, and the furthest reaches of space.
Journey through the breathtaking, high-resolution imagery like never before with Cosmos: Through the Lens by Atlantic Productions, hearing from the scientists working with NASA and ESA on what the images reveal, and how they are shaping our understanding of the cosmos. Image: Atlantic Productions
The innovation showcase is curated and produced by British Underground, with funding from Arts Council England and additional support from British Council. Many of the artists and creatives that FAC has presented previously at SXSW have picked up awards at the festival and subsequently elsewhere. Tonya Nelson, Executive Director, Enterprise and Innovation, Arts Council England, says: "We are proud to support the creative talent forming this year's Future Art and Culture showcase at South by Southwest. Innovation in new technologies is crucial for the future growth of our creative industries, and for the UK’s position as a world leader in this space. We look to forward to witnessing the latest explorations in cross-sectoral collaboration and cutting-edge technology by British talent on this important international stage."
This year’s FAC Ambassador, Hatsumi’s Sarah Ticho won the SXSW XR Special Jury Award last year for Soul Paint, an immersive experience that invites participants to embody their feelings through painterly strokes of vivid colour and sound. FAC 2025 features world premieres presented at the XR Experience, including Proof As If Proof Were Needed by acclaimed Taiwanese artist Ting-Tong Chang and the internationally renowned Brighton-based interactive artist group Blast Theory, and Cosmos in Focus, an immersive journey through the cosmos on Apple Vision Pro, created by Emmy and Bafta award winning Atlantic Productions in partnership with University of Sussex.
FAC are also teaming up with award-winning creative studio Ristband for a brand new Future x Music showcase, the biggest they have presented at SXSW. Taking over UK House, which FAC are sponsoring for the first time, it includes a groundbreaking live music mixed reality concert performed by artist and producer Venice Bleach, plus a diverse lineup of live bands and DJs. Future x Music brings together music, tech, film and gaming, offering a window into the future of entertainment.
The FAC programme includes timely panels exploring urgent issues, including how the advances being made with VR, XR, AI and other technological developments can be utilised to improve mental health and well-being; address the representation of overlooked experiences and underserved communities; and improve disabled access to arts and culture. There will also be a panel focused on how the UK can build on its world-leading success in the field by enabling artists of all backgrounds to access the resources needed to create XR and immersive works.
Proof As If Proof Were Needed directed by Ting Tong Chang is an interactive single screen video installation from Blast Theory. Visitors move around the floorplan of a Taiwanese house. As you step into a room, the video projection switches to show that room. Image: Blast Theory
“Future Art and Culture has been making waves through the support of UK artists and creative organisations working at the helm of cross-disciplinary arts, new technologies and science”, says Joel Mills, Head of Music, British Council. “We’re delighted to support Future Art in Culture in partnership with British Underground and Arts Council of England to ensure this vital platform showcase UK arts and innovation internationally.”
Amongst those taking part in the panels are dance company AΦE (AI), who work with live performance, tech and AI; access scheme All In; award winning creative studio Anagram; Atlantic Productions; artist Thomas Buckley; music, disability and technology innovators Drake Music; creativity & wellbeing consultant Tasha Golden; multidisciplinary agency Hatsumi; Hume AI; women-led neuroaesthetics agency Kinda Studios; immersive studio Kost Inc; experiential art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast; funding agency Immersive Arts; creative technologist incubator open-ended; Royal College of Art; University of Sussex; University of Southern California; disabled arts commissioning organisation Unlimited.
"We're really excited to be bringing our Future Art and Culture programme to SXSW again, giving a platform to some of the brightest and best UK creative talent at the biggest art and tech event in the world,” says British Underground’s CEO Crispin Parry. “We're presenting some amazing world premieres and brilliant panels reflecting on important research and contemporary issues, from science and cosmology to well-being and look forward to building on the impact of previous years."
Future Art and Culture (FAC) is a major UK showcasing and networking initiative that focuses on the intersection of art and technology. Hosted annually as part of SXSW in Austin TX, FAC is produced by British Underground and Arts Council England with partnership support from the British Council.
