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.
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What is Future Art and Culture?
Future Art and Culture (FAC) is an international showcasing initiative which promotes world-leading UK talent at South by Southwest Interactive (SXSW) – the annual convergence of tech, film, music, education and culture.
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What is SXSW?
SXSW is a gathering of global professionals featuring sessions, panel, music and comedy showcases, film and television screenings, world-class exhibitions, professional development and networking opportunities, tech competitions, awards ceremonies, and much more.
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What do BU do?
Through Future Art and Culture, British Underground brings the UK’s top creative minds to SXSW’s world-leading interactive festival.
Our expertise, developed over many years working in complex, large-scale international activations across the arts and creative industries, allows us to deliver high-profile events that provide unparalleled exposure for UK artists.
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Who has participated from the UK?
In 2023 projects that exhibited as part of Future Art and Culture including Karen Palmer’s Consensus Gentium won 3 major awards, and 2024 saw more success with Adam Cole’s Kiss/Crash as the winner of the XR Audience award, Hatsumi’s Soul Paint winning the SXSW XR Experience award and most recently Beatie Wolfe’s Smoke and Mirrors winning the Prix Ars Electronica’s “Golden Nica” award.
As part of the Future Art and Culture 2024 programme, British Underground has collaborated with multicultural creative champion B3 Media to support four emerging artists at SXSW and this panel explores their work and ambitions for the future. -
How do I apply?
Whether you're an artist, production studio or industry professional, you can apply to exhibit a piece of work or host a panel at SXSW.
Submissions for Sydney 2024 are now closed, although the Austin 2025 application portal opens toward the end of June 2024.
Keep up to date via SXSW’s application portal.
“As we enter a new frontier, showcasing artists at the intersection of art and future technology help us look towards the endless possibility of exploring our creative potential.”
– Almass Badat, Producer and Digital Communications Manager
The Future Art and Culture podcast
British Underground the Future Art and Culture podcast, a conversational gateway into the world where tech, art and culture meet.
The series is hosted by Crispin Parry and Almass Badat and is available to listen to now:
EP 1 Art + VR
features Luke Ritchie, Chief of Strategic Partnerships at Reactional Music and Creative Technology Advisor at San Francisco Symphony.
Read more
EP 2 Art + AI
features Karen Palmer, AI Thought Leader, XR award-winning Artist and storyteller from the future.
Read more
EP 3 Art + Quantum Computing features Harry Kumar, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of Moth, with a background in the arts, philosophy, and mathematics.
Read more
Kiss/Crash is an immersive, multi-screen installation by new media artist Adam Cole. The piece uses artificially generated imagery to explore the theme of desire and the expanding gap between real experience and artificial representation in the digital age.
Originally exhibited in London, ‘Kiss/Crash’ was reproduced at SXSW 2024 in Austin, Texas, where it won the XR Experience Special Event Audience Award.
Explore our current projects
