Projects
The Magic Paintbrush
The Magic Paintbrush
An immersive storytelling playground where children become the artists of the narrative. The Magic Paintbrush turns folklore into a living, interactive world.
The Magic Paintbrush investigates how immersive mixed reality can transform children from passive spectators into co-authors of a story world. Drawing on the Chinese folktale Ma Liang and the Magic Brush and the Japanese tale The Boy Who Drew Cats, it explores how traditional stories can be reimagined through projection, spatial audio, motion tracking, interactive objects, and real-time animation.
Experiment
£20,000
Aims of the project
The team will experiment with brush and ink techniques to give the 3D animation a hand-drawn, painterly aesthetic inspired by East Asian art.
The final demo will be an under-10-minute, single-room experience. The projection surfaces will become living canvases, where participants’ gestures and body movements serve as the primary narrative interface.
Meet the artists
Roma Patel
Artistic Director
she/her
Makers of Imaginary Worlds is a Nottingham-based creative studio that designs immersive, interactive art installations for children and families. Founded by Roma Patel and Rachel Ramchurn, the company combines storytelling, digital technology, robotics, and traditional craft to create playful sensory environments that encourage imagination and learning through participation. Their projects have been developed and toured in collaboration with organisations including Nesta, National Gallery X (a partnership between the National Gallery and King’s College London), Arts Council England, Lakeside Arts, Made with Many and the National Festival of Making. Working with museums, libraries, festivals, researchers, and local communities, the studio creates accessible experiences that inspire creativity, sustainability, and curiosity through play. By blending handcrafted materials with digital innovation, the company develops artistic environments that encourage exploration, creativity, and meaningful interaction. Its commitment to sustainability, accessibility, and community collaboration ensures that these experiences are not only visually compelling but also socially and environmentally responsible.
Rachel Ramchurn
Makers of Imaginary World socially engaged artist and producer with a background in participatory art and digital storytelling.
Jamie Sykes
The Melody Crafters is a contemporary drummer and composer with over 17 years of live performance and teaching experience.
Andrew Johnston
The Melody Crafters technical director. He holds a BA in Music Technology and an MA in Digital Art, with over 15 years of experience in audio-visual practice
Mike Payton
professional storyteller and educator. Over the last 15 years, he has delivered workshops in more than 200 schools and cultural institutions, including the British Museum and The Wellcome Trust.
