Projects
Addiction, Intimacy and Immersive Technologies
Addiction, Intimacy and Immersive Technologies
How can kinetic body and immersive technologies deepen our understanding of complex human experiences such as hidden experiences of addiction.
The first strand of planned activity would involve a 6-day creative research residency. Here together with sound designer, engineer, & interactive technologist Ross Flight, I’d experiment with my structured improvisation in combination with Ross’ motion-tracking audio systems, interactive video design, & kinetic body instruments. This collaborative, hands-on exploration will provide both the technical & creative foundation for Inside: Out, my next major creative project.
Explore
£5,000
How do these technologies integrate with movement to evoke dream states, fragmentation, intimacy and sensory disorientation.
Aims of project
This project seeks to create immersive artistic environments that directly engage bodies, sound, & space through lived experiences of addiction. The hope is to find ways of shifting what a performance experience is, positioning the audience as part of the performance as much or as little as they wish to be.
Secondly, this Explore funding would enable me to attend the Crux Festival in April 2026 at Rich Mix, London. Through a weekend of workshops, talks, & networking opportunities, I will expand my understanding of current developments in immersive technologies & strengthen my professional networks. This will directly enhance the development of Inside:Out while ensuring my work is connected to wider discourses in immersive arts. The Explore grant would act as a vital catalyst, supporting my creative experimentation, technological research, & professional development.
Meet the artists
Stuart Waters
Lead Artist
he/him
Stuart has been a dance artist for 26 years, and after a decade developing a unique performance practice of his own, shared nationally across artistic, academic and community contexts, he has now brought all strands of my work together under Head:on: a container for an access-led methodology rooted in power within, power to and power with. Shaped by lived expertise of hidden disabilities, neurodiversity, mental health and addiction recovery, my practice centres care, shared leadership and co-created environments. Now mid-career, Stuart is refining and evolving this approach to support wider sector needs, building flexible structures that bring artists and non-artists together to reimagine how we create and experience art together.
Ross Flight
Sound Designer and Engineer
he/him
Ross and Stuart will collaborate on Ross’s Kinetic body instruments and motion tracking audio system.
