British Underground launch Future Art and Culture 2024
Future Art and Culture (FAC) is a major international showcasing initiative held annually at SxSW. The project focuses on art and technology from the UK through exhibitions, panel discussions, partnerships and networking events.
Explore our schedule, specials events and the official SXSW panels and XR Experience at futureartandculture.com , designed by Craig Oldham.
“The design is a building upon a Future Art and Culture story which started in 2023 and, in a way, a visual telling of a history of computers which is very much a UK story—despite what many think,” says Craig. “From Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace (who essentially published the first ever algorithm), to Alan Turing, the Manchester Baby and Ferranti, the genesis of computers isn’t in Silicon Valley at all, but the UK”.
From a powerful first-in-the-world Virtual Reality (VR) exploration of Holocaust memory, which uses cutting-edge technology to take you on a journey with real-life Holocaust survivors, to a Mixed Reality experience that explores what it means to live with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), to a VR journey taking you into the depths of Northern Ireland's stunning Tullyard cave system and live performances from Eli Crossley’s Smart Suit-fronted band, Askew, this year’s programme will redefine the boundaries of immersive storytelling.
The diverse, interactive experiences will feature in the SXSW XR Experience track and include immersive AI (artificial intelligence), VR (virtual reality) and XR (extended reality) projects, together with panels on the future of the arts in the digital realm, from timely themes focused on AI to Quantum Computing. High-profile presentations will include both US and international premieres of multidisciplinary commissions, including exceptional collaborations focused on music, film, photography and history.
Future Art and Culture is produced by British Underground and Arts Council England with partnership support from the British Council.
